Bottom Line--September 2014

Essential Management Team Characteristics

SEPTEMBER 2014 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 6

Communication and Respect Keys to Management Success

Lay the Foundation for an Effective MIS

ii AMSP/NAPL/NAQP | Bottom Line | September 2014

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CONTENTSCOluMNS 4 Chairman’s Note

6 In the System

DEpaRTMENTS 2 Tip In

8 Executive Insights

10 Association News

26 Postal Points RevieWebinar

26 Gold Partners

28 Qualified Business Reply

30 Owner/Operator

31 Chapter Listing

31 Classifieds

32 Tech Trends

22Lay the Foundation for an Effective MIS

Identifying Team Management Characteristics12

16Does Your Company “Get It?”

With the correct assessment tools, owners and executives

can validate whether they are putting the right people on their team versus the old methods of debate after interviews.

Companies that manage their business most successfully are the ones that manage their people successfully. But exactly what does that mean in terms of best practices?

With a properly operating enterprise system, a company can realize considerable gains in efficiency, productivity, and profitability, while reducing operating costs. Here’s how to get started.

2 AMSP/NAPL/NAQP | Bottom Line | September 2014

TIPINMohawk unveils print Innovation Center Eu Services acquired

by Maidstone Capital Corp.

Bell and Howell Names larry Blue as COO Bell and Howell, Durham, NC, has named Larry Blue as Chief Operating Officer. Blue has 35 years of engineering and global cross-functional management experience including product development, sales, and manufacturing throughout five continents. He most recently served as COO of RF Technologies, Inc., and President of Kokua, LLC. Additional career highlights include serving as Vice President with Hughes Network Systems, Zagros Networks and Matrics, Inc.; Vice President and General Manager at Multek Flexible Circuits; Director at Micromem Technologies;

President, Global Sales and Marketing at New Vision Display; President and CEO of Hi-G-Tek, Inc.; and Chairman at Trojan Defense. He began his career at IBM in Research Triangle Park, NC, where he progressed to the title of Program Manager after 13 years and directed more than 130 professionals in the development of microprocessor, token ring, and digital signal processor systems. Blue holds three U.S. patents, has authored numerous papers on communications and RFID, and is a member of several industry associations.

Konica Minolta launches Regional Innovation Centers Konica Minolta, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, is establishing Business Innovation Centers (BICs) in five major regions to develop new businesses responding to regional customer needs and markets. BICs are in Singapore, London, and Foster City, CA, and will be opened at sites in Japan and China. Konica Minolta has been driving transformation of its core business technologies business by shifting from traditional business models based on sales of multi-functional peripherals to providing services that help customers improve and innovate their business processes with information communications technology. Each BIC will focus on gaining a deeper understanding of customer needs to develop new services and will collaborate with entities such as research institutes, partner companies, and startups during the development process.

Mohawk, Cohoes, NY, has announced creation of the new Mohawk Print Innovation Center, a $1.5 million investment in the future of digital printing. Located at the Port of Albany, NY, the center features three, new, state-of-the-art digital printing presses, including a Xerox iGen 150, Xerox Wide Format IJP 2000, and HP Indigo 5600. The company will utilize the facility as a platform to inspire designers, printers and students to use high quality paper for their print projects, and will provide employees with access to state-of-the-art digital press equip-ment critical for training and education, research and development, and enhancement of current products. The company will also maximize the facility’s state-of-the-art digital printing equipment to output marketing and sales collateral showcasing its digital printing papers.

Eu Services, Rockville, MD, has been acquired by Maidstone Capital Corp., joining the com-pany’s portfolio of marketing services companies. EU Services pairs strategically with Com-Pak Services within Maidstone’s port-folio. Together, the two marketing services organizations will offer clients direct mail production and postage optimization services from a single source. EU Services owner, John Loudon, will main-tain an ownership position and remain active in the business’ s operations. “I am very excited about the growth opportunities our new investors bring to our company and our customers,” noted Loudon. “Our customers will benefit greatly from the alignment with Com-Pak Services. Both my family and members of the Mackey family, the company’s original founders, are looking forward to our continued involve-ment in the business and a strong future.”

2 AMSP/NAPL/NAQP | Bottom Line | September 2014 AMSP/NAPL/NAQP | Bottom Line | September 2014 3


aRE yOu a MaNagER OR MaNagEMENT?

Bottom line © 2014 is published monthly for AMSP/NAPL/NAQP members by AMSP/NAPL/NAQP, 1800 Diagonal Road, Ste. 320, Alexandria, VA 22314, Tel: 703.836.9200; 800.333.6272 Fax: 703.548.8204, www.AMSP.org or www.NAPL.org

Editorial Office, same address. For advertising information, please contact: Kimberly Kight at [email protected] or 800.333.6272.

Postmaster: Please send change of address to Bottom Line, Association of Marketing Service Providers, 1800 Diagonal Road, Suite 320, Alexandria, VA 22314-2806

800.333.6272 | 703.836.9200 | FAX 703.548.8204

www.AMSP.org | [email protected]

www.NAPL.org | [email protected]

publisher: Ken Garner, COOpresident & CEO: Joseph P. Truncale, Ph.D.

Editor in Chief: Kimberly A. KightSr. Director/Communications: Dawn Lospaluto

Officers Chairman of the Board

Tom Duchene, TDMS, Huntington Beach, CA

Vice Chairman Niels M. Winther, Think Patented, Miamisburg, OH

Treasurer/Secretary

Tim Johnson, Impact Proven Solutions, Minneapolis, MN

Immediate Past Chairmen Mike Kellogg, Century Direct, LLC, Long Island City, NY

Nigel Worme, COT Holdings, Ltd., Christ Church, Barbados

Board of Trustees Charles Buchanan, World Marketing-Dallas, Dallas, TX

Craig Dellinger, New Haven Print, Fort Wayne, IN Joe Duncan, Leo Burnett, USA, Chicago, IL

Andrew Field, PrintingForLess.com, Livingston, MT William F. Gavigan, PDQ Print Center, Taylor, PA

Tom Glassman, Wilen Direct, Deerfield Beach, FL Keith Kemp, Xerographic Digital Printing, Orlando, FL Wayne Marshall, Edwards Graphic Arts, Des Moines, IA

Frances McMahon, Canon, Boca Raton, FL Ken Orr, ICS Marketing Services, Lansing, MI

Tom Saggiomo, DG3 Worldwide, Jersey City, NJ Bob Schimek, Satori Software, Seattle, WA

Jim Schultz, Great Lakes Integrated, Cleveland, OH Charlene Sims, The Master’s Press, Dallas, TX

Bottom Line

SEPTEMbEr 2014 | VoLuME 1 | iSSuE 6

Chairman’s Note

Years ago I remember seeing one of those brilliantly-illustrated New Yorker-type cartoons in a business publication. It took a tongue-in-cheek view of managers from the “Mad Men” era of business. The illustration showed a “manager” speaking to an associate across a sparkling clean desktop. The caption read, “The secret to good management is delegation…for instance, NOTHING ever reaches my desk!”

While this approach might be a bit of exaggeration, I don’t remember even remotely experiencing this attitude in my career. This is perhaps because I started in a family business where everyone wears lots of hats. I just don’t think this management style exists too often in our industry today. Being an active manager is what most of us do every working day of our lives.

But no matter how much or how well we manage in our organizations, we can always learn new techniques and skills to help us improve our management style and, hopefully, our results. This issue of the Bottom Line focuses on business management, with articles chock full of actionable information that you can use in your business today.

One of those “intangible” benefits of your Association membership is getting useful tips and advice specific to our unique industry and the people who we work with in our businesses. In today’s economic climate, none of us can afford to just claim the title “management” without a full range of capabilities that set our firms apart. For those of us who work with the USPS regularly, the other side of that syndrome is all too familiar!

From learning about “Companies That Get It” to the “Key Elements of the Business Plan,” absorbing the pages that follow is a great way to launch your company into the busy fall season. One of the articles, “Traits of Successful Industry Managers,” is particularly insightful.

Because of our recent merger, our Association is fortunate to currently have two amazing Immediate Past Chairmen, Mike Kellogg and Nigel Worme. These two gentlemen represent the best of managers and successful business owners in our industry. Please don’t miss the piece recognizing their commitment and contributions to our industry.

I hope to see many of you at the upcoming Owners Conference (Sept. 25-27) and GraphExpo (Sept. 28-Oct. 1) in Chicago. And as always, I welcome your comments and your input.


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AMSP/NAPL/NAQP | Bottom Line | September 2014 76 AMSP/NAPL/NAQP | Bottom Line | September 2014

CHaNCE fOR REfORM IN 2014 IS SlIMIn the System

Ben Cooper is the association’s lobbyist, and founded and chaired the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service. Contact him at [email protected].

To say that time is running out for a postal bill in 2014 is a gross understatement. But I am a University of Alabama graduate. Don’t tell me about what can or cannot be done with very little time left on the clock. (See 2013 Iron Bowl!)

As this is written, Congress is on its five-week August recess. It will return for about two weeks in September and leave again in October until the elections. Back again for about a week—gone again for Thanksgiving and back until December 11. You get the picture. In addition, virtually everyone who follows Congress will be able to list the VERY few things that Congress must get done, and postal is not one of them. But give up hope? Not us!

In the next few weeks, the AMSP/NAPL/NAQP lobbying team, working through the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, hopes to put the finishing touches on a proposal worked out in conjunction with the four major postal unions for a limited bill that could set the USPS on a positive financial course for the near term and perhaps a lot longer. Key to this effort is bipartisan support in the Senate and a lot of luck.

The elements of this deal require some significant changes in the way postal retirees are treated for healthcare. Currently, postal retirees may, but are not required to, use Medicare Parts A & B. This means that although they pay into Medicare (estimates are $28 billion in payments), many of them do not use Medicare as their primary insurance. This puts in jeopardy the entire healthcare cost of the retiree medical program which was the source of such concern in the 2006 legislation resulting in the $5 billion per year pre-funding requirement. Union retirees would be required to buy Medicare, increasing the retirement costs for many.

Additionally, the proposal would make a significant change in the way any excess retiree medical funds are invested. Currently, the pre-funded amount is just under $48 billion. This money is current invested in very safe, low yielding Treasury funds—currently yielding 2% per year. The four unions have proposed that the funds be invested in more aggressive funds that currently yield 7% per year. These improved investment results could produce enough revenue to not only pre-fund the retiree health care plan, but also generate excess funds to allow the USPS to invest in new vehicles among other things.

The proposal would not address controversial issues such as Saturday delivery, post office closings, and cluster box delivery. These issues would be left to current law and future Congresses to address.

For the industry’s part, the exigency approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission would be part of the legislation (two years at 4.3% without compounding) followed by CPI increases; however, rather than having the two year increase at 4.3%, the rates over the next four years would allow the USPS to add an additional 1% surcharge to the cap and the second 4.3% would be removed. The effect of this change would be to smooth the current PRC proposal over four years, after which time the PRC is scheduled to review the entire rate structure (beginning in 2017).

This is the narrow bill that AMSP/NAPL/NAQP has been seeking for two years, but which would not have been possible without the creative approach on retiree medical brought forth by the unions.

AMSP/NAPL/NAQP lobbyists were part of a small group that presented this proposal to Senators Carper, Coburn, Levin, and Ayotte just before the August recess. The proposal was also presented to the Postmaster General. It is fair to say that these audiences were unenthusiastic, but others in the Senate have been very supportive and it is expected that this proposal will be in legislative form in September.

Can this be done in the very limited amount of time available? It will be difficult, but leaders of the Senate on both sides have said that if an agreement can be reached that has bipartisan support, such a proposal could be included in a package of other bills that should be passed before Congress goes home for good (at least in 2014) on or about December 11.

AMSP/NAPL/NAQP | Bottom Line | September 2014 76 AMSP/NAPL/NAQP | Bottom Line | September 2014

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Executive InsightsplaNNINg IS TIME SpENT wISEly

Joseph P. Truncale, Ph.D., is association President and Chief Executive officer. He is a skilled meeting facilitator, working with entrepreneurial business leaders and their management teams in developing strategic plans with a focus on differentiation and unique organizational ability.

OK, so strategic planning may not sound like the most glamorous thing to do, especially with all the pressure you’re under to perform in a hyper-competitive, ever-changing business environment being transformed by technology. But the fact that the best performing companies in our industry now dedicate more time to planning (not less) should be enough to convince all business leaders that now, more than ever, is the time to take the time.

So why don’t more company leaders engage in strategic planning? Maybe it’s the name! To some, the phrase, “strategic planning,” has come to mean an esoteric or, worse yet, an academic exercise devoid of any basis in current reality. Some feel that strategic planning is for big companies whose senior executives can afford the time and expense of going off-site (read: junket) for a few days of supposedly high-level discussions.

If it is neither of these, then just what is strategic planning? In our view, it is a structured process that enables a company to identify its core strengths (and, thereby, its unique abilities), match those up with the biggest and best opportunities available in the marketplace (strategy), and set a course for accomplishing targeted and prioritized objectives while maximizing its available resources (a plan). In fact, I now refer to this process not as “strategic planning,” but as strategy formulation, planning, and execution.

Preparation and data are essential to the process. Data about your competitive position in the marketplace (as identified by your customers) using NAPL’s Competitive Edge Profile™ is a helpful starting place. So is a thorough examination of our best relationships as a means of developing target areas of sales growth, using NAPL’s Key Account Accelerator™ system.

Three essentials for an effective planning session: First, engage the services of a skilled, experienced facilitator. Resist the temptation to try to save a few dollars by doing this yourself. Strategic planning facilitation is easy when you don’t know what you’re doing and quite difficult when you do. Besides, you should be an active participant in the discussion and it is nearly impossible to do this as a facilitator.

Second, if at all possible, do not do this in your conference room. I’m not exactly sure why, but being offsite creates a different kind of thought pattern in the minds of the participants (and they won’t be running back to their desks during each break). The location does not have to be far away, fancy, or expensive, but it absolutely should be different than the workplace.

Third, turn off all electronic devices during the session. Your presence is required and you cannot be present if you are tied back to your office activities throughout the day. You can schedule frequent breaks for this purpose.

There is nothing vague, mysterious, or evasive about strategic planning. When done well, it is about eliminating distractions, confusion, and complexity; making sense of our best opportunities; and aligning organizational resources to create our biggest and best future.


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AMSP Chairman Mike Kellogg, NAPL Chairman Nigel Worme cited as instrumental in success of the associations’ merger.Successfully bringing together two organizations, similar in many ways, yet disparate in others, requires strong leadership on both sides. AMSP/NAPL/NAQP was doubly fortunate to find that strength in two highly capable and experienced volunteer leaders, AMSP Board of Trustees Chairman Mike Kellogg and NAPL Board of Directors Chairman Nigel Worme.Mike and Nigel were faced with challenges―and opportunities―few of their predecessors have encountered. They responded with leadership that was not only strong, but open to new ideas, cognizant of industry change, and determined to advance their respective organizations in a way that would offer each an opportunity for a bright future and provide the industry with a unified, robust resource. It is hard to imagine that the two organizations could have come together as equitably, seamlessly, and expeditiously as they did without chairmen of their wisdom, competence, and equanimity leading the way. Their contributions were recognized this summer during the first Annual Meeting of the combined association by its new Chairman, Tom Duchene, who said of Kellogg and Worme, “I would like to call special attention to two gentlemen who, without any overstatement, made our merged association happen. More than two years ago, these two leaders recognized the value of combining our associations’ efforts, and by their unrelenting and dogged pursuit, and despite their naturally shy dispositions, brought NAPL/NAQP and AMSP together.“Mike Kellogg and Nigel Worme still serve our association as joint Immediate Past Chairmen,” he continued. “I can tell you from personal experience that we are very fortunate to continue to have their creativity, wisdom, and counsel on our board for a little while longer. By this time next year they will have finished

their service to our association and will receive the accolades and thanks they so richly deserve. But I wanted us all to take a moment to thank them for their incredible efforts over the last two years.”Each chairman worked closely with his respective association chief executive officer and management team throughout months of planning and discussion about the myriad facets of a potential merger, attending numerous meetings with all parties from both organizations, while ensuring that the ongoing work of each association to serve its members would continue without interruption. In every step, their collaboration was one of mutual respect and support. Lengthy Connection Chief Executive Officer of Century Direct, LLC, in Long Island City, NY, and a long-time member of AMSP and its predecessor organization, the Mailing and Fulfillment Service Association (MFSA), Mike Kellogg was elected to the MFSA Board of Directors in 2008 and also became Chairman of the association’s Postal & Government Affairs Committee. He advanced to Second Vice Chairman of the Board the following year and went on to serve two years as AMSP Board Chairman from 2011 to 2013.His family and business connection with the association extends to the original foundation and incorporation of the Mail Advertising Service Association of New York (MASA) in the 1920s, and he has been an active member and leader of MASA since the 1980s, serving as its President from 1995 to 1997 and leading it during a time of organizational growth and strengthening.“Mike set a new standard for those who followed him as president,” said current chapter

Former Chairs Honored for Outstanding Leadership


Executive Director Jim Prendergast. “Again in 2010, it was Mike who came up with the plan to bring our New York Chapter into the national MFSA organization. It was his forward thinking that solved the roadblocks and made for a strong and successful union―we would be separate groups now if it weren’t for Mike’s leadership.”A licensed attorney and member of the Employment Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, Kellogg is also a trustee on the UAW pension trust and very involved in labor matters, including actively participating in collective bargaining. Clearly, his back-ground in the law, the mailing and graphic communications industry, and association leadership made him uniquely positioned to help lead AMSP during the activities that led to its merger with NAPL.“AMSP was fortunate to have had the benefit of Mike’s steady hand during a period of unprecedented challenges,” said AMSP/NAPL/NAQP Chief Operating Officer and former AMSP Chief Executive Officer Ken Garner. “His clear and purposeful leadership kept us focused and aligned. As CEO, I was grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Mike and benefit from his experience and direction.”Strong Commitment Nigel Worme is Chief Executive Officer of COT Holdings Ltd. in Christ Church, Barbados, an association member for nearly a quarter of a century. After working with his father for three years, Nigel took over running the family business at the young age of 19 following his father’s passing, and has since guided it through its growth into one of the leading graphic communications companies in the Caribbean. Nigel’s personal involvement with NAPL began with his attendance at its Management Institute, where he completed several courses

and earned designation as a Certified Graphic Arts Executive (CGAE). He served on the NAPL Board as Secretary/Treasurer and Vice Chairman before becoming Chairman in 2012. He will be honored this year with the association’s 54th annual Walter E. Soderstrom Award. “Nigel is a unique leader, mostly self-taught, and one who applies what he learns to the betterment of his business and to those around him,” noted AMSP/NAPL/NAQP President and Chief Executive Officer Joseph P. Truncale, Ph.D. “As a business leader, he has consistently reinvented his company to keep up with changing demands and new opportunities. As a volunteer leader, no one ever took his responsibilities more seriously or was more driven by doing what is best for the membership and the industry more broadly.”Common themes among those asked to comment on his leadership are his welcoming, upbeat disposition, rock-solid business acumen, and strong sense of commitment. “Nigel has inspired me with his dedication to NAPL and the industry,” said AMSP/NAPL/NAQP Vice Chairman Niels Winther. “He was instrumental in garnering momentum for the NAPL and AMSP merger. It has been a pleasure to serve on the Board with him ““Nigel’s passion for life comes through in everything he pursues,” said former NAPL Chairman Keith Kemp, “and his Board service, as well as his Chairmanship of NAPL, were approached with this same enthusiasm. Leading us through the merger with AMSP, actively representing our interests in the Graphic Arts Show Company, and all the while doing these things from a remote location, are just further testament to the outstanding character Nigel possesses. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to not only learn from him, but more importantly, call him my friend.”“Nigel is a delightful person and a joy to be around,” added Truncale. “Every NAPL chairman has helped move the Association forward. No one did it with more passion, conviction, fair mindedness, and good cheer than Nigel!”

Former Chairs Honored for Outstanding Leadership


How to Identify, Attract, and Select Essential Management

Team Characteristics

By Tom Bush


How to Identify, Attract, and Select Essential Management

Team Characteristics

Many print and mail companies I have consulted with or observed, have a very common, high-level problem: They suffer from shortages of talented, top-perform-ing people who will bring new skills, ideas, experiences, and leadership qualities to their business. In essence, there is a huge gap that is changing the ability of these businesses to adapt, change course, and redirect their business to grow. The gap is especially critical at the top levels of the business. Industry surveys indicate a concern with leadership and managers who have become stale and lack essential new knowledge, skills, and know-how to create a vision for change. A significant percentage relies on old-line methods and models to “fight” for business, rather than create new business.

Top-performing business owners and executives of rapidly growing industry companies are just the op-posite. A majority started searching for an infusion of new talent and skilled marketing services candidates as early as 2004. Many of these firms took a risk, hiring a new breed of employees with specific skills in data pro-cessing, analytics, Web-to-print creation, and website building or programming. Early adopters searched for candidates skilled in marketing or creative services.

Around 2008, forward-thinking industry companies started building integrated business models. Essential-ly, these owners decided to acquire small or struggling marketing services firms or other under-performing digital or mailing and fulfillment companies. Owners tucked the new services into their existing businesses. The results were the start of integrated, multi-service print or direct marketing businesses that are moving to dominate regional and local markets and market share.

The difference between these two models is rather stark, and the impact they can have on success or failure grows daily. The reasons why can be compli-cated by family-owned businesses that have layers of interpersonal conflict or business owners who lack a good understanding of emerging marketing services and technology.

Top Priority Identifying, searching, attracting and retaining a new breed of talent for your management team is now a top priority. Acquiring new talent requires a formal process―requiring specific strategies and identifying the exact eligibility factors and suitability behavior traits to find and retain the best and brightest people to manage and lead your business forward.

Every job requires specific eligibility factors to meet minimum requirements to qualify for consideration of hire or advancement. In HR terms, this is making “the first cut line.” Do you have a dedicated template that

determines what these factors are and how you define them?

Your first action should be to determine how strong or weak your current management team is. You probably have an intuitive feeling about how well your current managers are performing, but you likely don’t know how their performance stacks up against the best in their field or how they compare to each other. The goal is to identify who is qualified on your team and who is underperforming and will never be an agent of change.

Today, there are several personal assessment programs and online portals that allow you to accurately assess your key managers and supervisors for a wide spec-trum of eligibility requirements that are prerequisites for their job. Eligibility factors include the following top-line requirements:

• Education: Background and highest level of com-pletion related to their job description.

• Work experience in years, compared to high achieving contemporaries in their job description or similar work.

• Managerial experience in years, compared to thousands of previous survey profiles for their role.

• Highest achieved levels of budget responsibility compared to ranked standards.

• Number of employees managed, compared against thousands of assessments for the same job function.

• Hard skills required for the job, compared against top performers and their skill sets.

Custom Formula Once you have assessed these essential eligibility fac-tors, you will be able to create a custom formula that is built to determine minimum levels required for any managerial or lead role in your business and assign ideal levels for each factor.

For example, a production manager may require three to seven years of production experience to meet min-imum-to-ideal standards in years, and will also need five to 10 years of experience as a production man-ager, managing a staff of six or more. All are required to meet basic requirements for hiring or attaining the position of “production manager.”

The process creates an exact formula for every man-agerial role and creates a clear expectation of where your focus must be for job eligibility. By setting the standards, you are on your way to formulating required success factors for every job description. The process allows you to scan a resume quickly and determine if the candidate meets minimum eligibility requirements. This saves tremendous time and cost.


Behavior Factors Once you have determined what is necessary to meet minimum standards for eligibility, you are ready to assess the candidates or current management team on their ability to perform the job successfully.

Over the past two plus decades, HR professionals and assessment leaders have identified several key be-havioral traits that are essential for success in mana-gerial roles. The number and type of behavior traits vary based on the job description and the individual’s managerial experience (limited, moderate, extensive). Through research and analysis, the following behav-ior traits continually rise to the top for identifying top performers in many managerial roles:

• Takes Initiative: Wants Challenge. Authoritative. Persistent.

• Wants to Lead: Analytical. Effective Enforcing. Enlists Cooperation.

• Provides Direction: Handles Conflict. Interpersonal Skills.

Industry leaders have one priority in common: They are seeking management personnel with specific eligibility experience as successful managers first. While they prefer to hire or promote from within the industry, they no longer require industry experience for all positions. Creating capable leaders is far more important today.

Ownership is looking for individuals who are ready to lead, confident, willing to take on responsibility and be

held accountable. Top managers tend to be tenacious, good teachers, and skilled in interpersonal communi-cations with their peers and employees. Most impor-tantly, owners want managers who “act and think like owners,” understanding the business vision and adding value to areas of the business that are identified as new growth areas or new services to be delivered.

By assessing these traits for any managerial candidate or current manager, you will be able to gauge whether the individual meets minimum-to-ideal scores com-pared against thousands of individuals who have taken the same questionnaire. The results will allow you to ascertain whether the individual possesses the essen-tial top traits to be successful and grow in manage-ment roles for your business.

With these powerful assessment tools, owners and executives are able to validate whether they have the right people on their team versus the old methods of debate after interviews. The new tools apply logic and clear, concise analytical data that can take emotion out of decisions. The success factor in hiring or retaining top quality employees is significantly improved and HR administrative costs are drastically reduced.

Transform Your Management Team Over TimeBusiness transformation takes time…usually two years or more for the first phase. My most success-ful clients use a two-tier approach to changing and upgrading management teams. Tier One allows the legacy business to continue to operate “as is” and serve the needs of the core business base without interruption.

Meanwhile, the company quietly begins selecting or focusing on adding new business service(s) and reviewing all the options for acquiring talent and a capable leader. Options include partnering with a third-party vendor or similar venture to get instant traction in new services such as marketing.

Several industry owners are finding success by targeting marketing agency talent or candidates who work for very large industry firms in niche areas. Younger talent is eager for continued change and opportunities to grow at smaller firms where they feel challenged to build something and gain instant impact and personal achievement.

Millennial employees tend to have a strong desire to work for businesses that are “cause motivated.” If your new business service is striving to serve a socially positive need and clients, you are likely to be able to attract many good candidates.

Remember that today’s highest value clients are looking for solutions that they don’t have answers for. If you can provide and achieve solutions through new talent acquisitions and managers who will lead the initiatives, you are likely to grow and prosper! The top industry achievers are doing this–why not you? —Tom Bush

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There have always been companies that “get it”―those that walk the talk by aligning their em-ployees with their company’s goals, backing up their vision, stated mission, and principles with day-to-day practices that encourage employees to do their jobs well, providing open lines of com-munication, and recognizing that strategies work best only when they are implemented by every employee. Executives at these firms make it clear to staffers that they help themselves succeed by helping the company prosper, and the common thread that all appear to share is their belief in good commu-nication and respect for their employees. Open, Honest, Respectful “People want to know what is expected of them, what the goals of the company are and why; what they are working for, and what the benefits are to them,” says Wayne Marshall, Vice President of Sales for Edwards in Des Moines, IA, a fami-ly-owned business that was started in the mid-1960s and now has 70 full- and part-time employ-ees and sales of $10.5 million. “If they do not have that understanding,” he continues, “then they are just working for a paycheck. We want to create an environment that allows all to contribute and feel a part of what we are doing.”“I believe in being open, honest, and respectful of

my employees,” says Susan Rescigno, President of 22-year-old Rescigno’s Marketing Connections in Bridgeview, IL. “I try to communicate with all of them on a weekly basis. Sometimes it’s diffi-cult because we are so busy, but I try.” She be-lieves that the employees need to know her vision of the company so they can help bring it to the next level. “I steer the ship, but everyone needs to know what direction to push in order to get there,” Rescigno explains. “Employees always know where they stand with me. If there is a problem, I address it immediately. I expect my employees to work hard and give 110% every day because that’s what I do.” They also have to be willing to do whatever it takes to make a customer happy, she adds. “Some people are service-oriented, problem solvers and solutions people, and some are not. If they are not, then they will not be working for me. I believe it’s my job as a manager to make sure all the employees are trained properly and educated on issues in our industry. It’s good for them and good for our customers.”The success of a company “depends on the staff taking individual responsibility for their activi-ties,” says George Stewart, Owner of Spectrum Printing Co. in Tucson, AZ, a general commercial printer with 23 employees and approximately $3

Communication and Respect Are

Keys to Management

SuccessIt’s axiomatic: Companies that manage their business most successfully are the ones that manage their people successfully. But exactly what does that mean in terms of best practices?


million in sales. “We strategize on di-rection and articulate plans and goals as best we can to all staff.” Spectrum’s fundamental business values stress honesty, fairness, re-spect, and the Golden Rule. “We went through the whole vision statement process but find that the written word is best understood through the actions of management and leadership,” says Stewart, adding that his staff is “all in.” “They would almost have to be in order to be comfortable working in the business. It does not take long to determine who will be a team player and who won’t. With a shop our size, it is not difficult to communicate,” says Stewart. Staffers know they are encouraged to communicate with each other and with management.” Cohesive Family Spectrum has occasional contests and offers company-wide bonuses. “There are not many opportunities for ad-vancement with the compact organi-zational chart we represent,” Stewart says. “Advancement usually is mea-sured by more important equipment to operate or more responsibility to be undertaken.” All employees are cross-trained and fill in for one another as needed.Management can usually accommo-date flex time and needs for time off. The company celebrates employee birthdays with Pie Day, and holds sev-eral “pot lucks” throughout the year. “We have a good, cohesive work fami-ly that cares about what they produce and about one another. That does not happen by accident.”

The ownership of the Gabriel Group in Earth City, MO, works to share infor-mation openly with associates about all aspects of the business. Says Chief Executive Officer Michael Peterson, “We have regular all-com-pany meetings and share profitability, sales, marketing, and other things that we feel can continually improve our culture, which we feel is critical to our success.” On the Same Page The effort to make sure that all as-sociates understand the culture and mission is ongoing, Peterson notes. “This includes the all-company meet-ings, daily huddles for all associates, leadership training for all supervisors and managers, continuing education reimbursement, and association with industry trade organizations, as well as business management groups.”Gabriel Group is a combination of several companies whose owners have been in the direct marketing space for more than 25 years and which has continued to diversify since its incep-tion, adding fulfillment, cross-media, Web-to-print, DAM, and more. Its 110 associates consistently give the compa-ny high marks as a good place to work. “Most are positive,” Peterson relates, “but we still have work to do to en-sure everyone is on the same page.” The group recently went through six full days of leadership training, which management feels “will help us all get more aligned.” Gabriel’s largest and most popular benefit is called Angel Leave: Every associate receives one month of extra vacation beyond his regular scheduled time off every four years, and it must be taken at one time.Peterson says his company made significant strides in the past year in reorganizing its management structure to make reporting and decision-mak-ing more streamlined. “Additionally, we are working to increase communi-cation and awareness across all work levels so that everyone knows our goals and their role in achieving those goals.”


Firm and Fair Carisa Holmes-Peters, Owner of 40-year-old Holmes Marketing Services in Spring-field, OH, points out that she and her brothers Brian and Kevin are second-gen-eration owners. “We each oversee a segment of the business: sales, operations, and administrative. We have a very firm and fair approach.” The business has 12 employees and annual revenue of about $1.6 million. The siblings have successfully been moving the company through a transition from print-service provider to market-ing-service provider. “We moved out staff who were not going to be successful in that picture and encouraged others to move outside their comfort zones and engage in new profit generating services.” They have also brought on new talent to mesh with current staff and services. “This has been helpful in recovering from losses on the commodity print work,” says Holmes-PetersThe company’s vision statement was de-veloped during an employee workshop. “It’s due to be updated,” she says, “how-ever it was created by all of our staff us-ing words that were contributed by all.” Holmes’ employees respond well to the company’s management style. They “appreciate the no-nonsense approach we have to management, and respect it. I have employees past and current who tell others about what a great place this is to work. I feel good about that and know that we have worked very hard to make it that way.” The owners are heavily involved in day-to-day operations and thus able to see how individuals are communicating with each other. They also communicate with staffers electronically every month through a “state-of-the-union” email. “Our employees know I have an open door,” says Holmes-Peters, “and will give them time when they bring an issue to my attention. Likewise, when I approach them, they reciprocate and give the same in return.” Employee-developed ideas have also played a part in the firm’s success, she says, including “small things, day-to-day, to improve systems―and sometimes bigger ideas, too.”Among other things, the company pro-vides drinks and snacks to staff free of

charge, and offers flexible hours and time off on short notice when needed. “We have several employee activities through-out the year. We also do an amount of worthy-cause marketing, and it provides the staff with opportunities to do good deeds in the community,” she says.Training is available for staff members hoping to advance in the organization, including cross training. “Times are changing,” Holmes-Peters notes, “and we no longer have strict silos. We encourage employees to be involved and do what it takes to serve the customer.” The owners “do not turn away from issues and allow them to go unaddressed,” she adds. “We do not allow complacency. We set high standards by example. We are good peo-ple who believe in being fair and human with our employees.”Holmes-Peters is convinced that the single most important factor in successful business management is being “involved enough to know what is happening, both good and bad, and taking action on what needs to be corrected. The three of us have been told by our employees how much we are respected, and I believe that is a huge part of getting a team behind you and willing to follow you no matter how your business evolves.”

‘Can Do’ Management is “pretty flexible in giv-ing our co-workers room to do what is needed in performing their jobs,” says Edwards’ Marshall. “Most understand the framework of what we need to do to take care of our clients and what is best for the company at the same time. Most of the time, the best thing that we can do is get out of their way so they can get it done.”Marshall recalls that at the beginning of his own career “a lot was learned by trial and error. In the past 15 years I have been lucky to work with some folks that have done much to shape what I/we do in de-veloping a better approach to managing.”In customer surveys, he notes, one of the most consistent things executives hear back is that clients appreciate our “can do” approach to taking care of them. “This has come from all who work here and has been noticed by our customers. That is the reason we embraced it and made it part of our core values.”


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While management does a good job of commu-nicating its goals and objectives, “I think that we can do better,” says Marshall. “I don’t think that you can over-communicate, and I would rather see us share more info so that all can better un-derstand the challenges and what can be done to help improve our overall operation.” Personal Touch Much of what Susan Rescigno learned through-out her career came as a result of observing man-agers with whom she had worked. “You can learn a lot by watching other people. I learned from both good and bad bosses and decided long ago what type of manager I wanted to be.” Rescig-no’s started as a mail shop and has reinvented itself as a marketing-services provider doing consulting, strategic planning, design, print and mail, largely for non-profits and fundrais-ing.Rescigno’s managers know what is expected of them, and are expected to treat their employees with respect and guidance, she says, “just like I treat them. I speak with all the employees and I visit with them on a regular basis. All employees know that they can come to me with any-thing. My managers know that, too. I make it a habit to walk on the production floor a couple of times a week to just say hello to everyone.”The personal touch is a key part of her management approach, she says. “I try to do nice things for the employees when we can, like buying lunch once in a while and having cake for everyone’s birthday. We have a Christmas party for the whole staff, which is usually a nice dinner, and we play games and do a lot of laughing. They seem to enjoy it.” The company has not had bonuses since 2008, but is starting to provide opportunities for advance-

ment now that it is growing again.“When the economy hit our industry in 2008, Rescigno’s did everything to pull through, and we did,” she recounts. “Then in June of 2009 my partner and husband, Ron Rescigno, was strick-en with a life-threatening illness that abruptly took him out of the office for six months. Ron is our only salesman.” It was during that time that Rescigno figured out she needed to bring printing in-house because the firm was outsourcing over $375,000 to area printers. “When Ron returned to work, that was his pri-ority. Then he and I spent the next five years establishing ourselves as thought leaders in the industry of fundraising and development.”


Now executives consult with them on their annual fund programs instead of just doing their print and mail. “My background was fundraising and development in non-profits, so we now train our staff so they too can add value to our clients’ programs.”At the time, Rescigno continues, she was do-ing everything she could to keep the compa-ny running successfully. “I don’t really think I did anything unusual. I took a good look at the industry and our company, I listened to what the experts where saying, and I created a plan that I believed was the most sensible for Rescigno’s. I shared it with the employees and they all bought in. They believe in what we do and they were willing to take the jour-ney with us.”

She admits that “there were times when things were really bad that I didn’t share with them. I tried to be strong and guide the way and it wasn’t always easy, but I didn’t want them to know that. They needed to believe that everything was going to be okay.”Rescigno’s determination―“This was my business; I started it from nothing in my garage and I fought hard to keep it going”―never wavered. “Now all our hard work is paying off. We are not competing on price with printers in the area. We are getting paid for the knowledge we have and we are being looked at differently by our clients. They are willing to pay for the added value that we bring to the table.”

Determined, ‘Hands-Off’ LeadershipTracey G. Cohen, President of Target Copy in Tallahassee, FL, views herself as “pretty hands-off” when it comes to managing her staff. “We try to hire go-getting self-starters who don’t need or want a lot of micro-management. I set expectations high, try to give them the tools they need to succeed, and let my people figure out how they are going to get there.”Founded in 1982, Target is a full-service digital printer with commercial and retail divi-sions, 28 employees, and sales last year of nearly $2.8 million. The company specializes in short-run, quick turnaround digital print projects such as training manuals, annual reports, and event programs.Cohen admits that she learned her management style through “trial and error, mostly,” as well as by speaking with and learning from other leaders. “Most of all, I had to real-ize that I have to manage the company the way in which I am most comfortable. I can’t try to emulate anyone else or enforce rules or policies I don’t really believe in. I try to hire people who can fill in my gaps and make up for my weaknesses, and they help to maintain balance and order.”Cohen credits the fact that she is a second-generation owner with a “very different” management style than her mother had. “She was much more involved in the day-to-day business. She believed in face time and long hours. She was hard-driving and walked fast and made waves. She was successful. I am more laid-back; I believe in work-ing only as much as you need to in order to reach your goals. I walk slowly and observe, and I, fortunately, have also found some success.”One thing that mother and daughter have in common, though, is that they both believe that it is the team that creates success, not the individual. “Yes, good management is important,” says Cohen, “but having a team that can and will do what it takes to win— that is the magic bullet.”


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Some companies are moving toward MIS in some business areas, but they still seem to have difficulty effectively implementing a fully integrated MIS that embraces all company functions from prospecting and sales through order entry and job completion to billing and accounting. In many, if not most, cases ,the problem in doing so seems more the result of a failure of will (or management support) or the lack of a solid foundation and company-wide buy-in than any technology shortcoming.

Using a fully integrated MIS is not a new concept. Large corporations have long done so by adopting enterprise systems that combine data used through-out the organization in operations and logistics, financial, human resources, sales, and marketing. One of the key elements that makes this systems succeed is that all areas of the business operation are integrated within them―—no “lone wolf” units or departments are allowed to go their own way.

Legacy Systems Every company collects, processes, generates, and stores a tremendous quantity of data from every area of its internal and external operations. The prob-lems arise when these data are not kept in a single database repository, but instead travel through

numerous “legacy” computer systems that cannot share information with each other, or that use soft-ware incompatible with their counterparts in other areas.

In many companies, accounting, human resources, and sales cannot—or will not—use the same sys-tem or software to handle their data, even though management needs to be able to track every area’s expenses and income and funnel all the numbers into a single Profit & Loss statement.

While each independent legacy system may operate very efficiently in its own department and/or for its own specific, and often rigidly defined function—and on which employees in that department have been trained and now have extensive, almost “second nature” experience—the lack of a fully centralized and integrated system can result in significant drains on productivity and hamper management’s ability to gain a clear and total picture of its operations.

In addition, maintaining different computer systems within the same organization can lead to tremen-dous inefficiencies and costs in terms of processing redundant data multiple times, rekeying and refor-matting information from one operating system to another, maintaining additional staff members who are well trained in specific programs and yet limited in scope or unable to transfer these skills to more useful multiple-application programs, and constantly updating and/or debugging unique programming codes―—or trying to figure out customized work-arounds after a key employee leaves.

And there are indirect costs when a company does not have a fully integrated MIS. If the sales depart-ment and order entry function cannot communicate easily with the scheduling and production areas, for example, productivity is likely to be compromised and delivery to the customer slowed—and that can put a company at a competitive disadvantage.

Potential Solution Today’s robust MIS software offers a potential solu-tion. By employing a single centralized information database, all modular applications in a company’s activities can be supported in every function and lo-

Lay the Foundation

for an Effective MISBy Gregory S. D’Amico, Ph.D.

today’s graphic communications industry has evolved to a completely dig-ital workflow on a nearly universal scale. Job Definition Format (JDF) and Computer-integrated manufacturing (Cim) applications are commonplace, but companies have been much slower to adopt similar computerized man-agement information systems (miS) to help them run their business.


cation. With a properly operating enterprise system, a company can realize considerable gains in effi-ciency, productivity, and profitability, while reducing operating costs.

In their landmark MIS study, “The Enterprise System Experience—from Adoption to Success,” M. Lynne Markus and Cornelis Tanis outlined a four-phrase framework for enterprise or MIS system implemen-tation. They concluded that an important part of any successful implementation process includes bring-ing together managers, technicians, and advisers to discuss the numerous details of the project well before the company undertakes to begin the imple-mentation phases.

This first phase of their model is called Chartering, and it is followed by the Project, Shakedown, and Onward and Upward phases. As with most projects, the foundation, or Chartering, phase is critical since it sets the stage for all that follows.

The primary goal of the Chartering phase is to make the decisions that will result in determining the cost and required financial support of introducing an en-terprise-wide MIS. Participants in discussions should include department managers, information technol-ogy (IT) specialists, system vendor representatives, and internal or outside advisers.

Their deliberations cover topics such as building a business case for using the system, choosing a soft-ware package, naming a project leader, and devel-oping a budget and implementation schedule. Their deliberations should go forward only after sufficient data-gathering about existing methods and practic-es has been completed and potential short-term/long-term needs and aims for the new system have been identified.

According to Markus and Tanis, this includes “docu-menting current business processes, analyzing the potential for improvement, comparing processes with the ‘reference models’ or ‘best practices’ em-bedded in the enterprise system’s software, decid-ing which software modules to implement in what sequence, and deciding how to roll out the new functionality to various business units.”

How well Chartering responsibilities are performed will undoubtedly affect how well the system is accepted by employees, given support by frontline managerial and support staffs, and be implemented on budget and on time. During this phase, manage-ment should communicate its goals to the entire organization—and solicit feedback—as well as con-sider what organizational changes, if any, might be needed in order for the project to succeed.

Since the parameters of the project and the timeline established during this phase will to a great extent determine the system’s final choices and limitations, any shortcuts taken or decisions avoided or pushed farther down the road can have disastrous conse-quences at a later date when adjustments may not be possible or may be attainable only with significant additional cost or delay.

Unfortunately, this is also a time when numerous mistakes may be made. Markus and Tanis note that common errors or problems that can occur during this initial phase include overpromising by soft-ware vendors, failing to consider business strategy when developing a technology plan, formulating unrealistic goals, or not properly articulating key performance milestones. Other pitfalls: Failing “to recognize need for business change, underestimat-ing change management difficulty, and misunder-standing organizational requirements, particularly as related to need for data access and reporting.”

Later Phases With proper preparation completed, the company can move to the Project phase, which, according to Markus and Tanis, “comprises activities intended to get the system up and running in one or more orga-nizational units.” Activities at this point include “build-ing a specific, detailed project plan, constructing a project management team, providing any needed training for team members, testing, data conversion, and, ultimately, rolling out the system.”

By employing a single centralized information database, all modular applications in a company’s activities can be supported in every function and location. With a properly operating enterprise system, a company can realize considerable gains in efficiency, productivity, and profitability, while reducing operating costs.


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CUPRDPRP-14-001_A_FENWAYCanonPrint7” x 10”7.875” x 10.875”8.875” x 11.375”Quick PrintingDigital Publishing SolutionsNAPLPine ( Cover 4 )PIA San Fran

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243585_01b_CUPRDPRP-14-001_ASIZE_FENWAY.indd 1 7/2/14 12:12 PM

Dr. Gregory S. D’Amico is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Strategic Communication, Marketing & Media Management Programs at New York university. He previously served as an Associate Professor at Kean university and as Director of the NYu Center for Graphic Communications in the Steinhardt School of Education. He is the author of three books, including “business Growth Through Effective MiS.”

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One all-too-common error occurs when buyers too readily accept assurances by salespeople that their specific needs can be met with a generic system. Potential buyers should ask if the system has the capacity, configuration, and flexibility to handle their tasks or will have to be “upgraded” at additional cost. Staff members from all departments that will need to use the system should be included in discussions with vendors.

Once the system has been built, installed, and implementation has begun, the project enters the “Shakedown” phase, which Markus and Tanis char-acterize as “the organization’s coming to grips with the enterprise system,” noting that at this point the team “may continue its involvement or pass control to operational managers and end users and whatev-er technical support it can muster.”

Activities during the Shakedown phase “include bug fixing and rework, system performance tun-ing, retraining, and staffing up to handle temporary inefficiencies.” This phase is complete, note Markus and Tanis, “when ‘normal operations’ have been achieved.”

The final phase, “Onward and Upward,” begins when the new system is operating sufficiently and contin-ues until it is replaced with an upgrade or a different system. During this phase, the organization is finally able to ascertain and quantify the benefits (if any) of its investment.

Key players during this step include operational managers, end users, IT support personnel, and vendor personnel and consultants, particularly if

upgrades are being considered. During this phase, companies should focus on continuous process im-provement, user skill building, and post-implemen-tation benefit assessment.

One problem that commonly arises during this phase is the turnover of skilled personnel familiar with the system and how it was built. Another danger is that today’s MIS can quickly become tomorrow’s legacy system, rife with modifications and work-arounds.

The system is also unlikely to enjoy a completely successful implementation during this final phase if it has not been adequately anchored into the or-ganizational culture or if there has been a failure to manage it to the level of its anticipated results in one or more departments.

Keep the conversation going. Visit ilink.me/community to share your experi-ences and opinions on utilizing manage-ment information systems.


CUPRDPRP-14-001_ASIZE_FENWAY.indd7-1-2014 5:20 PM Lauren Moise / Lauren Moise

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CUPRDPRP-14-001_A_FENWAYCanonPrint7” x 10”7.875” x 10.875”8.875” x 11.375”Quick PrintingDigital Publishing SolutionsNAPLPine ( Cover 4 )PIA San Fran

Job info

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Notes

Art DirectorCopywriterAccount MgrStudio ArtistProofreader

Daniel ThanerNoneAngelene PadavanoLauren MoiseNone

Approvals

FontsMyriad Pro (Italic), Adobe Garamond Pro (Italic, Bold Italic), Whitney HTF (SemiBold, Book, SemiBold Italic, Light, Bold)

ImagesCanon_Logo_Red.ai (69.78%), 237950_01c_SHOT_02a_A_204_swop3v2.tif (CMYK; 408 ppi; 73.5%), 237956_01g_MASTER_SHOT_03_C_337_swop3v2.tif (CMYK; 1492 ppi; 20.1%), enabling_creativity-06_WHIT-Ered-01-01.eps (13.59%)

Inks Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black

Fonts & Images

Saved at 100%from nyc03lmoise by Printed At

PRODUCTION SOLUTIONS

We are well positioned to have a healthy and strong business for the next several decades. The Canon relationship has helped us to

evolve into the company that we are.

“

”RICK SANDSPresident of The Fenway Group

UNLEASHTHE FULL POWER

OF PRINT.

Today’s world of print is constantly changing, creating new

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Fortunately, you have more to offer your clients than ink on

paper. You provide vision and creativity. And now, you can

have the tools to help realize that power for your clients.

Fueled by your ingenuity, we develop solutions that allow you

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creativity to a project. So as you plan for the future, get more

than a return on your investment—expect to see a return on

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Go beyond printing at:

usa.canon.com/enablingcreativity

©2014 Canon USA, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. in the United States and may also be registered trademarks or trademarks in other countries.

S:7”

S:10”T:7.875”

T:10.875”B:8.875”

B:11.375”

243585_01b_CUPRDPRP-14-001_ASIZE_FENWAY.indd 1 7/2/14 12:12 PM


Issue # Postal Points Issue Date Webinar Date

14-13 September 15, 2014 September 22, 201414-14 october 6, 2014 october 14, 201414-15 october 27, 2014 November 3, 201414-16 November 17, 2014 November 24, 201414-17 December 8, 2014 December 15, 2014 14-18 December 29, 2014 January 5, 2015 15-01 January 19, 2015 January 26, 2015

This program is a unique opportunity to partner with the association and max-imize your exposure to the marketing ser-vice provider community. This program will save you money while giving you a host of avenues to reach your best cus-tomers and improve your bottom line.

For information about becoming a Gold Partner, contact AMSP at 800-333-6272.

Postalpoints

ReviewebinarwMembers and loyal readers who receive Postal Points are invited to attend our FrEE Postal Points revieWebinar. registration will be taken on a first-come,

first-served basis. (Membership and subscription status will be verified before registration is accepted.)

NAPL proudly welcomes the companies below as valued Partners. A Partnership with NAPL is designed to help supplier companies gain an increased presence among our industry’s leading companies. Our Partners have an active involvement with NAPL membership and an ongoing commitment to advancing the graphic communications industry.

accuZIp, Inc. adphos North america, Inc.

Bell and Howell Canon Solutions america

gMC Software Hewlett packard

interlinkONE Melissa Data

RR Donnelley logistics Satori Software Virtual Systems

western States Envelope Company

Canon KBa

Konica Minolta MaNROlaND

Xerox

For information about becoming a partner, contact NAPL at 800-642-6275.


September 28 - October 1, 2014McCormick Place | Chicago, IL USAwww.GraphExpo.com

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Qualified Business ReplySIX TIpS fOR BECOMINg a gREaT BuSINESS lEaDER

John Foley, Jr. is CEo of interlinkoNE and Grow Socially. John helps companies get inquiries and leads utilizing inbound marketing strategies (they come to you!). His approach includes consulting, Web development, software, and unique strategies. Learn more about John at JohnFoleyJr.com, and his companies, interlinkoNE.com and GrowSocially.com.

In every organization, there is an order of management that helps enable the entire operation to work effortlessly. There are certain actions that need to be taken, as well as things to avoid, in order to become a great leader for your business. Often times, managers get stuck in the mindset of repeatedly allocating all tasks to their employees to get done individually, rather than working with their team to produce actual results. An excellent leader carries superior guidance skills in order to steer the team and business to success. Consider these tips moving forward to help you become a great business leader.Motivate Your Team Motivating your employees is a great way to start guiding your team. Do not take for granted that your workers are just there for financial reasons. Your principles are what drives your employees to stay within the organization instead of resigning or quitting. When you guide your workers respectfully, they will give you their greatest effort in return. Refrain from punishing your entire department for what one employee is guilty of doing. If you notice one of your employees being late, for example, confront that employee individually. Show Concern Showing concern for your team’s well-being is always appreciated. Ask your employees how they feel about their job on a constant basis and take their concerns seriously. Take note of what you could be doing to make their jobs better. Inspire them to be straightforward with you. Then take action based on what has been addressed by your workers. Suggest benefits that your employees can make use of. If your workers are having family issues, then be more understanding that they might need additional time to prepare their children for school in the morning or pick them up after school hours in the afternoon. Maintain a positive mindset towards your team. Reward Your Employees An effective leader is excellent at taking notice of his employees’ strengths and makes sure to commend them for their efforts often. A wise leader is aware that making employees happy equals productivity. Go out of your way to encourage your workers in public and private settings. Mention and acknowledge your team’s achievements.

Set Goals Setting goals for your business is key. You do not want to be the type of individual who is known to constantly have radically idealistic goals that are never reached. Instead, you want to become known as the type of person who sets consistent goals that wind up being exceeded. Never be the type of person who is not willing to go beyond your expectations. You will be taken as someone who lacks the desire to make a success.Give Expectations You should make your employees aware of what is expected. Having actual goals enables your employees to stay concentrated on their tasks. Provide your employees with a rapid response that is focused on their task. This technique could help your company excel. Practice having your employees meet together in small groups or individually so you can provide detail on their work.Maintain Standards Maintain the topmost standards. You want to avoid being a manager who is continually shouting or harshly criticizing when errors are made. Instead, become a leader for your department and act as someone who wants to be followed. Try to be tougher on yourself than you are on your workers. As a leader, you are not supposed to handle everything on your own. Your requirement as a business leader is to educate your team on how to perform excellent work. Start out by giving your employees tasks that can be corrected if they have made mistakes. Then continuously give them tasks with higher responsibility as you come to full awareness of their strengths and flaws.


Simply Powerful©2014 Satori Software Inc., a Neopost company. All rights reserved. Satori is a registered trademark of Satori Software Inc.

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Owner/OperatorBuIlD a STRONgER COMpaNy ONE STEp aT a TIMEThe strength of a business is a more important measure of its odds for success than its size. Whether your company is large or small, you can improve how it operates and make it a stronger business by the end of the calendar year if you focus on the following basic, but critical, management areas.

Begin at the beginning: What is the mission of your organization? When was the last time you reviewed and/or updated it? Do your employees, customers, and vendors know what your mission is and what it really means? Does it sink down deep enough into every department, every location, and every individual so that they understand it and live by it? One way to make sure that the mission has penetrated to the various levels is to walk around and ask individuals to tell you what the company’s mission is.

Secondly, what is the vision of your organization? When was the last time you reviewed it? Does it have meaning and purpose? What needs to change so that it has those elements? Take the time to think through where your organization is headed and what the future looks like and how close it is likely to come to realizing your vision for it. This is the only way you will ever be able to make it happen.

Customer Perspective Now drill down a little further into everyday management. How effective are your management systems? Have you reviewed each one from the perspective of a customer or a vendor? Take 10 minutes to follow a customer order through your own system, and discover where the roadblocks are. Is your service beyond expectations? When was the last time you surveyed your clients to see what they need and whether you were meeting their expectations? Many companies find conducting an eKG Competitive Edge Profile™ (http://napl.org/ekg/) is a great way to see how their service measures up to that of their competitors.

How effective are your communications? How do you keep employees, customers, and vendors informed about what is taking place in your organization?

Are you devoting sufficient resources to promotional efforts to achieve your vision and

business objectives? How do you measure the effectiveness of marketing expenditures? Put a pencil to marketing efforts to see if there is really an adequate return on investment or if you are doing the same things you have always done, whether truly effective or not, just because that is what is expected.

What human resources do you need to achieve your business goals? Is your current staff up to the task of achieving the mission?

What financial systems are in place to take you to the next level? How comfortable do you feel about finance? Will you learn what you do not currently understand? When and how will that take place?

Put It in Writing Do you have a written plan in place that states the goals of your printing company on a short-term and long-term basis? What controls and measurements are in place to measure your progress? How can you improve your information systems to make better business decisions?

Do you and your team have the ability to execute effectively every day? What is missing from your daily habits that would improve performance? What do you need to do to make it happen for your business starting today?

Finally, what is your accountability system? What is the punishment for not getting things done right or on time in your organization? What rewards do you offer if people do get things done when and as promised or exceed goals?

Running a business is not easy and it’s definitely not simple. This list may seem daunting at first, but set aside even a small amount of time to tackle the first item and then work your way through, one item at a time. Even if you complete just one each week, within the next three months you will have made major strides toward strengthening your company and ensuring its continued success.

AMSP/NAPL/NAQP Vice President and Managing Director/NAQP, Mitch Evans ([email protected]) leads the small printer segment of its business Advisory Group. He began his career as a consultant before successfully owning a printing company for 23 years, bringing to his advisory role insights gained as an entrepreneur and business owner.

AMSP/NAPL/NAQP | Bottom Line | September 2014 31 30 AMSP/NAPL/NAQP | Bottom Line | September 2014

INCREaSE DElIVERaBIlITy & SaVE MONEy Melissa Data’s popular Data Hygiene and Data Enhancement services, such

as automated 48-month NCOALink® processing, DSF2® processing, and sup-pressions like deceased/inmate and the DMA’s Do-not-Mail list will help you improve campaign deliverability and save money by qualifying mailings for

maximum postal discounts. Call 1-800-800-MAIL or visit www.MelissaData.com/dataservices

RISINg ENERgy COSTS DRaggINg DOwN yOuR pROfITS?

The AMSP/NAPL/NAQP member Energy Program will help you find the best rates for your electricity and natural gas. It did for Kevin Dempsey of Spring Quality Printing, Wilmington, DE. “Having NAPL do the research and comparisons really saved me time and clarified the most suitable

options. They were able to save us over 25% on our energy costs.”Learn more at http://ilink.me/NAPLenergy or call (201) 523-6314.

NEED HElp? Call pOSTal 911... THE pOSTal HOTlINESpeak with the postal professor, George Heinrich, for advice on postal

regulation, mail acceptance, or operational issues. This is an AMSP/NAPL/NAQP membership benefit—the first 30 minutes is complimentary. George can be reached at (303) 325-3048, 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Mountain Time. Need help with a postal regulation? Remember the AMSP/NAPL/NAQP Communities

Open Forum or contact Leo Raymond at (800) 333-6272, ext. 203.

Printed on 70lb. Sterling Litho Premium Text.

Manufactured in North America.

wElCOME NEw MEMBERS

AMSP/NAPL/NAQP Chapters

gET INVOlVED wITH yOuR lOCal CHapTER TODay!

Chapters provide educational and networking op-portunities and are a great resource of information that affects the industry.

The regional chapters are governed by local volunteers and function under the umbrella of the national headquarters. They serve their specific regions, each with its own opportunities and challenges.

More information can be found online at: AMSP.org/chapters or call Leo raymond at (703) 836-9200 ext. 203.

Northwest ChapterPresident: Cindy Gulling, Seattle Mailing bureau

Pacific ChapterPresident: Tom Duchene, TDMS

New England ChapterPresident: Luis Sepulveda, universalWilde

Southwest ChapterPresident: Stan Hastings, Commercial Mail Service

Chesapeake ChapterPresident: Ken Gossett, AMi

Rocky Mountain ChapterFor more information, please contact Leo raymond, AMSP.

Ohio Valley ChapterPresident: Tammy Caserta, Think Patented

Great Lakes ChapterFor more information, please contact Leo raymond, AMSP.

Southeast ChapterPresident: Scott Coggin, dDirect

Philadelphia ChapterFor more information, please contact Leo raymond, AMSP.

Great Plains Chapterboard Member: Craig Schiller, Action Mailing Services

New York ChapterPresident: Tim Kennon, McVicker & HigginbothamFor more information on meetings or member information, contact Jim Prendergast at (212) 217-6824.

ADVERTISEBOTTOM lINE

UPCOMING EDITORIAL THEMES and SPACE DEADLINES:

November : Employment/HR October 1, 2014

Contact Kimberly Kight for both editorial and advertising opportunities at [email protected] or

(703) 836-9200.

Sharpening the Web-to-Print AdvantageWeb-to-Print: Is the Time Right?The Trust Edge: What Top Leaders Have

Advanced Direct Marketing, Inc., Loveland, CO

BCT Marietta, Marietta, GA

BuckBlue, Atlanta, GA

Campbell Media LLC, dba Marketplace Printing, Roswell, GA

D & A Offset Services Inc., New York, NY

Fullerton Printing, Fullerton, CA

Gemini Office Products, Pearsall, TX

Geskus Photography, Inc., Grand Rapids, MI

Graphtech, Harrisburg, PA

JKG Group, Inc., Boca Raton, FL

Metrocolor S.A., Lima, Peru

Nuss Printing Inc., Havertown, PA

Pikewood, Bethlehem, PA

Print City Graphics Inc., Phoenixville, PA

Printing Specialties, Inc., Arlington Heights, IL

Printwell, Inc., Williamsburg, VA

Service Press Inc., Salt Lake City, UT

Unicorn Graphics, Garden City, NY

Whale Publishing, Carlisle, PA


Tech TrendspRINTINg/MaIlINg INDuSTRy faCES uNIquE DaTa SECuRITy TECHNOlOgy CHallENgESIn 2013, there were 619 known data breaches in the United States, often happening in business, education, healthcare, and government, with nearly 58 million personal or financial records being exposed or stolen, according to the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center. Cyber-attacks are so rampant and sophisticated these days that some in government, law enforcement, data security, and IT believe that they cannot be avoided.

While most third party hosts managing sensitive personal data for their clients focus on serving one or perhaps two business verticals, in the printing/mailing industry major houses may serve—and provide massive data storage for—numerous clients in myriad business verticals.

Among the steps companies can take to strengthen data security procedures in the industry is a professional examination by a third-party assurance/compliance firm. One of the levels of compliance they may want to achieve is SOC 2 Type 1, followed by Type 2, which is a Service Organization Control report that we recommend for all major printing/mailing operations.

five principles SOC 2 is an attestation report issued by an independent CPA firm that provides an opinion on the design or operating effectiveness of a service organization’s controls and whether it has achieved one or more of the following five American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Trust Services Principles: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and/or privacy.The SOC 2 report is most useful for service organizations whose clients do not necessarily rely on the reported controls for financial reporting purposes, but depend on their service organization’s ability to maintain a controlled environment. The SOC 2 report demonstrates to a service organization’s clients the organization’s ability to be independently assessed against the AICPA’s defined principles:

• Security: The system is protected against both physical and logical unauthorized access.

• availability: The system is available for operation and use as committed or agreed.

• processing Integrity: Processing is complete, accurate, timely, and authorized.

• Confidentiality: Information designated as confidential is protected as committed or agreed.

• privacy: Personal information is collected, used, retained, disclosed, and disposed of in conformity with the commitments in the entity’s privacy notice and criteria set forth in Generally Accepted Privacy Principles issued jointly by the AICPA and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA).

Compliance Mandatory In addition to SOC reporting, we have seen a major increase in the need for a third-party Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security assessment. The HIPAA Security Rule is a United States federal regulatory requirement specifying a series of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for assuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of certain healthcare data.

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) extends the HIPAA rules to include business associates (such as service providers to the healthcare industry) and promote various other aspects of HIPAA compliance and information technology standardization.

Compliance with HIPAA standards is mandatory for any organization handling, storing, managing, or utilizing private individual healthcare information.

Some good advice for firms in the printing/mailing industry came from a 360 Advanced client in the industry: “You need to start your program and start it soon,” she said. “Get on board. This is the future. I think a lot of people in this industry are really not addressing it the way they should. I find it very interesting when I find other companies offering print-mail that have not gone through SOC 2 compliance.”

Eric Ratcliffe ([email protected]) is Director of Client relations at 360 Advanced P.A., (www.360advanced.com), a national, multi-service, licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) firm that specializes in integrated compliance solutions for service providers related to internal controls, security, confidentiality, privacy, processing integrity, availability and other elements critical to information surety.


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Bottom Line--September 2014

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