Economic Success Depends on People

I had the good fortune to not only attend but also present at the NAPL Top Management Conference in March. I also had the opportunity to listen to Andy Paparozzi present his latest economic assessment of the printing industry. I was totally surprised to learn that his presentation was all about the people. It was great because he had it right. I like it when other people think the way that I do.

Andy spent some time talking about both the state of the industry and the economy. He touched on the background for the crises and the actions that are being taken to resolve them. He feels that ultimately the economy will come back, but it will take time.

Still, the major point he tried to hammer home is that even when the economy recovers, the graphics industry will not be the same. It is not just a business downturn; it is a major restructuring of the industry, and we will not go back to business as usual.

Times They Are A’Changing

Andy quoted from the NAPL State of the Industry Report from October 2008: “With the economy getting all the attention, it’s easy to forget that our industry is changing structurally as well as cyclically. Structural change is redefining our clients, services, markets, competition, labor force, critical skills, value proposition, and everything else that counts. And because structural change doesn’t turn off when the economy turns down, simply surviving the recession isn’t enough anymore: We now either come out of downturns stronger than we went in…or we get left behind.”

I have seen other studies which talk about the need to be ready for the resurgence with a new mindset. You have to build the strength now in order to be ready when the economy comes back because it will be a wild ride. The decision for owners and managers is whether they are going to concentrate on surviving or are they going to drive for growth and success.

The other major difference is that just because something worked before does not mean it will work again. We have to understand how our customers are changing, how the industry is changing, and we have to make the preparations now to deal with those changes.

As always Andy had some suggestions for the audience and he built them around a discussion of what he termed “Recession Facts”:

• Recessions redistribute market share, so they provide an opportunity to grow at someone else’s expense.
• Beating a recession requires unwavering focus on what’s most important. Lose that focus and the recession wins.
• During a recession, people are looking for help. You are the expert; let them know that you are there to help them.

Then Andy echoed the message that I have been promoting in my articles and presentations since we started to experience the downturn: You have to work hard to overcome the fatigue brought on by the recession. Even in companies that are doing well, unless you take overt action to let your people know things are okay, they will have uncertainty and fear. They will create their own truth with rumors and speculation. It is absolutely critical to keep their spirits up and maintain the productivity that is essential to success.

Changing With the Times

Here are the some suggestions that I believe will make a difference. These are in the same context of Andy’s suggestions, but I took the liberty to rephrase and reorder some of them: