Oh No! Now What?

Credit: Bill Gillespie

Can you spot a defining moment? When things “blow up” do you see problems or opportunity? How do you process disruptive change? Do you become part of the panic, or do you lead the path forward?

Early in my career I lived through what looked like a company closing loss. Our top rep got mad and walked off the job. He was mad because the company elected to add two new reps. There were no account conflicts. He argued that more reps would “dilute his access to internal resources.” He was worried about estimates, press time, and client service attention. He was 50% of our billing.

Let me add that the company was already struggling. We didn’t know our cost. Hourly rates were guesses. Production estimates were actually hopeful assumptions. We were losing money regardless of what we billed.

One of the partners appeared in my office. “Bill, we can’t survive another 90 days at our current run rate. What cash we have will be gone. You’ve been full of suggestions since you got here. Do you have a miracle in your pocket?” I had been an employee for just under eight months. I was worried for my future.

I called a former coworker. He was a cost accountant for a building products manufacturer. I asked him how to calculate hourly rates and finished costs.

My pal gave me a list of things I needed. He suggested I get those files (numbers) and come to his house the following Saturday. He would help me calculate rates and teach me the formulas I would need going forward. I did as he asked.

Our company leadership wasn’t excited when they got the new rates. Every press needed to double. Our prepress rates tripled. It was similar for the bindery and delivery. Our remaining salesforce was petrified.

The market didn’t even notice. Doubling our rates didn’t cost us a single order. We had been giving work away and didn’t know it. Sales increased disproportionate to labor and overhead.

Another good thing happened. The remaining reps enjoyed better service. The departed top dog had dominated internal services. Estimating, production and client service had more time and took better care of our remaining clients. Our service reputation improved with a larger audience.

We were able to attract more reps. Our top dog left but we grew as a company. We doubled our size in twenty four months.

It was a learning and defining moment for me. I learned that opportunity lives in struggle. When things get hard look for the change waiting to be made. The resulting solution will make you better. I’ve seen this play out again and again in the many years that followed.

It was also a defining moment for my employer. They never looked back. They refused to be dependent on any rep. They nurtured company relationships with clients and suppliers. They got intimate with their costs and became scientific with estimates and process improvement.

Facing a dilemma? Don’t fear it. Respect the issue and dive into the problem. You’ll surprise yourself with what you can do. Tariffs, AI, Workflow Compression, Sales Automation? Nothing you can’t leverage to make yourself stronger.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions.