Quick Printing

NOV 2014

Quick Printing is the only business resource serving the quick and small commercial printing niche in North America. Quick Printing is the authoritative source for business information, emerging technologies, shop profiles and management insight.

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24 Q U I C K P R I N T I N G / N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 4 w w w. M y P R I N T R e s o u r c e . c o m EXECUTIVE SUITE M y wife was very much involved with a growing company. It was run by some- one we will call Louis. Louis was clearly what people would call a self-made per- son, a real boot-strapper. One-Man Gang By David Claerbaut, PhD each is. If each gets a hearing, he or she will buy in. What To Do At the very least, consult with your key people reg ularly (not just your spouse, if you have a husband/wife operation). Get their ideas. Assign some research. Get them involved and, in so doing, make them accountable. Go to industry meetings. Read the trade publications. Confer with other owners or use a consultant. Get a wide angle view of everything. P.S. If you do these things you will make better decisions. Better decisions will likely bring growth. Right there, you can leapfrog Louis by delegating. That's right, find good people make them accountable for an area of your business, reporting to you. Now you have competent people with a stake in your success; people with an informed opinion that you can use to make better decisions. You have two choices here. You can be Louis—really important and quite a potentate in his own substantial baili- wick. Or you can be successful. ◗◗ Get expert problem-solving inexpensively. Contact Dr. David about his special online and phone consulting. Dr. David has been solving printing problems for over 25 years. Reach him directly at 702-354-7000 or at drdavid@fcbb.com. Louis started his own business and, against all odds, made it immensely successful. His company became a real player in his industry. But it is maxed out. I don't see it growing much from here on in. Why? Because Louis is making the same mistake I see print owners make all over the country. His company is him. It is a one-man (or woman) gang. All key decisions are made by Louis. Symptoms One of the symptoms of a one-man gang company is that its owner-faced with having to make key decisions— consu lts w it h no one. I've made a ca reer out of work ing closely w it h pr int ow ners f rom large and small companies. In almost every case, they had (in me) a voice other than their own in making decisions. Interestingly, these successful own- ers also consulted with others. I am not talking about "wearing the pants" here. The owner made the call. But it was a more informed one than any Louis will be ma k ing. I n t he c a s e of L ou i s, my wife regularly could see him heading in the wrong direction, but he didn't want to hear it; wouldn't hear it. It was his call. He was the man. Another symptom is overload. Louis was making so many lone-wolf decisions that, as his company grew, he could not manage his business intellectually. There were too many people, too many issues, and too much change for him to handle. The result was that his company had no real plan and, even worse, there was growing cha- os: He would forget a decision he had made a month ago, only to cou nter ma nd it in a subsequent moment. Furthermore, his people knew he made all the calls so they became com- plaint lackeys, people far more commit- ted to nodding their heads and keeping their jobs than making positive contri- butions to his company. Size Does Not Matter I can hear some of you saying, "Look, Dr. David, mine is a small print opera- tion. We aren't RR Donnelley. We only need one quarterback." That, however, does not mean: a) You are not having to make key decisions; b) You would not like to grow; and c) You would not like committed employees. People often ask me what it takes to be a successful consultant. "You better be ready to make decisions, and you better not be wrong very often," is my reply. That also applies to every owner. We a re liv ing in a fast-paced business world, characterized by gurgling change. Key decisions have more consequence than ever and, often, they are immediate. You want those deci- sions to be correct and to bat 1.000. As for growth, your company will grow only if all aspects are effectively managed and retained mentally. Even in a small print con- cern, everything is connected. You need more than one set of eyes and gray matter to see it all. Finally, you need dedicated employees. The small- er the workforce, the more important "Look, Dr. David, mine is a small print operation. We aren't RR Donnelley. We only need one quarterback."

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