Business Management - Productivity/Process Improvement

At the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’ Management Conference last week, I had the pleasure of attending one more lecture by James Schrager, clinical professor of entrepreneurship and strategic management. In his lecture, Schrager presented a very simple tool to analyze our business success.

Isn't growth good in a business? Doesn't growth give you extra resources to hire more employees to take on some of the workload? My answer is YES and NO.

Huge customers are great when you have them, but what happens if and when you lose them? It can be a disaster, and even put your firm at risk. We see this more and more in today’s market. The most successful and growing firms often have one or more very large customers that grow to dominate their sales and influence how they do business.

It's not easy to humble yourself and admit to other business owners that you need help. I know about that! We ALL need help and direction at some point.

Whether you keep a very strong current ratio with large cash reserves in the business or you choose to keep it in liquid personal assets, do one or the other. You will sleep better and will be better prepared for emergencies. Equally important is to be in a position to capitalize on the great opportunities that are still out there in our industry.

If employees are happy, they will enjoy working there, and the end result is that customers see the benefits as well. Don’t be afraid to hear what your employees have to say. Most companies fear the worst, but these fears are unfounded. If done right it can be a very positive experience.

When I hear someone talking about how they're so busy that they had to neglect a task, I suspect the issue simply isn’t a priority for them. Business (busy-ness) is a false pretense that gives cover to someone who doesn’t feel comfortable telling you the truth.

Zoo Printing has un-veiled a new location in West Deptford, NJ. This new production facility shortens shipping times to the East Coast without requiring rush shipping or additional production costs. Combined with its locations in Southern California and Kentucky, Zoo says it can now deliver almost anywhere in the U.S. within one to two days using standard ground shipping.

In print, experts look not just to leaders like Joel Quadracci or Thomas Quinlan III, but also to leaders in other fields like Jamie Dimon and Eric Schmidt. Experts look beyond today and look beyond our industry, to develop a vision for what lies beyond.

Brokering or outsourcing has become more prevalent, especially for smaller firms that do not have the resources to keep up with rapidly increasing technology advancements. Also in recent years, “trade printers” have become more prevalent for certain types of work at very good prices. However, if the company brokering the work is not adding value to the job from other services performed, they are really in a potentially low-margin, commodity market.