USPS Is Right

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I hope you were sitting down when you read the headline, but it’s true.  The move to five day delivery, whether we like it or not, is necessary.  USPS has to reduce its operating costs because the market has changed.  The status quo is no longer the new norm – but the bureaucrats in D.C. don’t get it.

On Friday, March 22, the Washington Post reported, “The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the current stopgap budget requires the Postal Service to maintain six-day delivery. GAO counsel said the same rule would apply under the funding plan Congress approved Thursday. Lawmakers who oppose five-day service applauded the GAO report, saying it proves that the Postal Service must continue delivering mail on Saturdays.”

Fortunately, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Rep. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) are putting up a fight and telling USPS to move forward.  For the long-term health of our industry, we also need to backup the USPS.  It may not be the easy thing to do, but it’s the right thing to do.

The Ugly Truth

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There’s a fire storm in Chicago as Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the proposed closing of 54 schools.  Per the Wall Street Journal, Karen Lewis, the head of the Chicago Teachers Union, said Mr. Emanuel is sending the district into “utter chaos,” and that closings are unnecessary, won’t save money and would expose students to academic and safety concerns. The “school-closing policies put our students at real, not imagined, risk,” she said.  Yet, Mr. Emanuel and his team are saying the closings would save the district $560 million over 10 years in capital costs and $43 million annually in operating costs.

So who’s right?

The ugly truth is that both are right – but when we start talking about education of children, especially inner-city children, it gets very emotional.  Yes, it behooves society to support educational efforts for the long-term betterment of society.  Yet, the uglier truth is how do we pay for it?  And I’m not going down that rabbit hole – but just think sequestration, or federal budget.  You get the idea.

And this morning the media woke up and declared that insurance carriers are privately telling brokers that rates could possibly double for small businesses and individuals in 2014.

Are we having fun yet?

What’s For Lunch

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I recently had a discussion with one of my siblings regarding the evils of lobbying , or as I prefer to say advocacy.  It’s an interesting phenomenon.  People like to trash the idea of special interests groups, but without them, we would have a very un-balanced society.  I was reading a WSJ article this past Wednesday, that brought it home for me.

In Utah they’re cracking down on a smog problem.  Smog in Utah?  Yup.  Given the vast increase in population in the Wasatch Front (Salt Lake City), when cold air slides in during the winter, inversion layers get created and various pollutants (VOC, NOX, particulate matter) are trapped and quickly transform into smog.  Needless to say dozens of new regulations are being passed and industry and small business are paying the price.

So, what does this have to do with advocacy?  Some of these regulations would never have been passed if there were not advocates for health.  Case in point, Brian Monech, president of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment stated to the Wall Street Journal, that smog constitutes a health emergency that claims up to 1,400 lives a year to pulmonary and other illnesses.  He feels that the Utah regulations don’t go far enough as do many other health and social advocates.  And of course there’s the auto problem.  Many experts in Utah (and the other 49 states) feel strongly that “mobile sources” are a major contributor to smog (this is true in Kansas City and Dallas/Fort Worth).  Yet, anytime states/metro areas attempt to modify air emissions for vehicles, the biggest advocacy group of them all (voters) voice their concern and nothing happens to cars.  Thus, it’s small business who bears the brunt of the regulations.

And that leads me to advocacy which helped the printers in Utah.

Several years ago, when all of these smog rule discussions were starting, the industry was targeted as a major polluter.  A serious polluter.  Fortunately, one of the industry’s leaders, Randy Sparrow grew concerned and through his aggressive leadership and with assistance from the PIA regulatory team led by Gary Jones, they were able to provide factual and realistic data to the state’s regulatory community.  What could have been extremely harmful regulations to Utah’s printing industry, based on erroneous data, was re-shaped to be less harmful to the industry – and still accomplish the goals of the state.  That’s what advocacy is about.

In today’s world of special interests, advocacy plays an important role.  Fortunately for the printers in Utah, they had Randy Sparrow and the Printing Industries of America team working on their behalf.  Otherwise, it would have been the interests of the health community and motor vehicle drivers which would have been the only voices heard.  There’s an adage I heard several years ago while I was in Austin (Texas’ state capitol) which says it all  – “If you are not at the table, you will be on the table.”

So, next time you get a letter from Bob Murphy (PrintPAC chairman), or you’re wondering why should you be interested in what goes on in Jeff City , or Topeka, or Oklahoma City , or Austin, just remember where you want to be when our government gets hungry.

Social Media – What’s Wrong With It

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Nothing is wrong with it.  What?  You expected a different answer?

Well it is different, and that’s what throws many of us for a loop.  Here are some of the laments we hear:  It’s not face-to-face communications and not as effective.  Yes, but how would you get your personal message out instantly to tens, hundreds, if not more?  It’s really only for the young.  If that’s the case, no one over 40 would be using it.  It’s going to break down the way we communicate and hurt society. OK, I do tend to agree with this, but every generation does it different from the one before.  Let’s face it, most of us are uncomfortable with change.

The biggest challenge we all have – regardless of when we were born – is that the changes in communication are occurring at a pace never seen before.  Ten years ago very few of us could envision how ubiquitous the use of texting and smart phones would become, and we’re just starting to see the “tablet” revolution.  What’s it going be like in 2020 when everyone is wearing Google Glasses?

So, before we all mimic Peter Finch’s character in “Network” and “not going to take it anymore,” let’s keep in mind that social media is just another channel of communication.  It will have its success and its failures.  And don’t expect it to be static.  As we are already seeing, sites such as Facebook are becoming passé to the under 18 crowd as they explore other methods and styles of communicating.  And who knows, the typewriter, dial phone and VHS just might make a comeback.

Here We Are Again

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I was just re-reading some of my posts over the past month or two — gotta make sure I don’t repeat myself — and discovered that we are back on the edge again.  On December 27, I wrote that I expected us to go over the Cliff and that Congress would hopefully get it right by March.  Well, here we are and it should be  no surprise to many of us that the stalemate which started last summer continues.  Neither side is willing to say that the other side has valid points and that the right decision WILL be painful for everyone. Yet, how painful will the results of sequestration be?

As was mentioned on ABC’s  ”This Week” this past Sunday, the “slow-down” will affect some areas more adversely than others.  Fort Worth  with its major defense contractors may be affected more than it’s neighbor Dallas, 32 miles away.  And of course there’s all the rhetoric.  Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was recently quoted talking about the long waits already occurring because of sequestration.  Yet, today’s Wall Street Journal ran an article supporting the fact that long waits were not occurring — or not yet.  Regardless, there may be something good that comes out of this mess.

All of us need to realize how much “big” government affects us.  Yes, there are many things we may dislike, but there’s also a lot of benefits Uncle Sam provides.  So, let sequestration run for a while and maybe it won’t be as bad as the politicos are telling us — or maybe it will be.

Accepting Loss

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Loss. It’s something we all experience in our lifetimes. It could be the loss of a parent, sibling, or spouse. Over the past few years, my siblings and I have lost both parents. While we understand the reality of death and accept that they no longer suffer the debilitations which created their death, we still miss them.

We miss them because of the support they offered when we needed it. It could be the humor that they shared among family members, or even sometimes the sharing of memories. Those are gone, and acceptance can sometimes be difficult. Yet, as mentally healthy individuals, we must move forward.

As I look around our industry, I see many who are struggling and searching for an industry that no longer is what they grew up with. I recall seeing a posting in the Print Production Professionals LinkedIn Group of people lamenting the industry changes and why they had to leave. All very valid reasons, but it was the loss of “what used to be” that they lamented. Many of them could not get past the fact that the industry they knew had left them. They could not, would not accept the loss. AND it is a loss. The printing industry we knew in the ’70s, ’80s, 90′s, and even the beginning of the 21st century is not the same. That industry is gone.

When we lose a loved-one, we accept the loss and take from it what was good. The memories, the stories, the guidance. So, for those of us still lamenting “how it used to be,” let’s complete the grieving process and move on to the many opportunities still available to us.

Are New Technologies The Answer?

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Over the past week, I’ve had several conversations plus have read several articles and listened to radio broadcasts on what some consider the newest print technology — 3-D Printing.  In those discussions, there’s a notion that there might be a business opportunity for commercial printers in this technology.  Just as many think there’s an opportunity for “printers” in the electronics industry (circuit boards).

I for one would like to challenge that thinking.

The word printing should not define our business – that form of thinking is fraught with dead ends.  Business is about finding AND fulfilling a customer’s needs, and we have to think strategically in exploring those demands.  If your business is in the visual communications industry, which is what I prefer to call our industry (creative, production, fulfillment/delivery in all its forms), are your customers demanding/needing 3-D printing?  Circuit Boards?  I didn’t think so.  Thus, if we are going to be a 3-D printing company, we must search for those customers. That, my technologically-driven friends is the challenge.

Yes, there may be dramatically growing business opportunities in the world of 3-D printing and circuit boards, but does a commercial printer know how to reach that market?  Understand the competitive pressures?  Is there knowledge of the suppliers in this market space and what are the costs of manufacturing?  What’s the real demand?  How does he/she find the people who will sell and market to that market, AND run the equipment.   And last, but not least, commercial printers are in an industry whose profit margins are minimal; thus, not only may a company lack the know-how, it more than likely lacks the capital.

So, let’s get real.  3-D printing is not printing – it’s a form of manufacturing.  Ditto on circuit boards.  Might there be a printing company who steps into that market space – sure there will be those companies.  But as much as I hate to say it, a commercial printer will stand a much better chance of succeeding as a “marketing services provider” than a 3-D printing company.

Scattershooting – February 2013

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No one was really surprised with the recent USPS announcement of going to five day delivery this coming August.  At this point in time, no one really knows what the affect will be to the print and direct mail industry, but check out this recent article in Forbes.

I continue to hear of various print producers struggling to find skilled employees — especially in bindery and customer service.  This may very well become one of the industry’s major challenges over the next decade.  Recruiting and training will play a much more important role than in the past.  On another level, keeping skilled individuals from leaving an industry they see is dying, or no longer challenging, is being faced by more and more companies.  Read this interesting blog, which was also posted on Print Production Professionals on LinkedIn.

OK.  I’ll admit it.  I didn’t turn on the tube to watch the State of the Union speech, I had more important things to do.  Before my Democratic friends “get Medieval on my . . .,” I haven’t watched one in 15 years.  I’d rather read it, or read about it.  It’s much more interesting that way.  From what I have read so far, or listened on the radio, as expected President Obama will work to move the ball more left of center.  Whether it’s done through Congress or Executive Order.  My concern is if he tries to move too fast or too aggressively that there will be economic harm to our country.  We are at point in time like we’ve never seen before and where serious economic harm could occur, which would last decades.  I may not like some of the ideas — but I accept that there are different perspectives and that there are no absolute rights.  Let’s just move a bit slower.

I was recently asked to be a judge at two print competitions — Printing Industries of the Carolinas (PICA) and Printing Industries of Southern California (PIASC).  Now I won’t get into who were the better printers (it would be tacky for me to say they’re found in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas), but what was thrilling was seeing the continuing role that print plays in communication.  No, we are not going to go the way of the Dodo Bird.  Yes, change is occurring — but not the fundamental role of print to communicate. It’s tactile, colorful, dimensional, and in many instances provides a much better ROI than other media.  It was also warming to see print providers entering the competition so they can be recognized for their company’s (employee’s) ability to transform raw materials into  outstanding communication pieces.

Plato Supremo

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I saw a “Big Game” commercial the other day that was one of the better ones in terms of creativity, and in that it tweaked the NFL and their protection of the phrase “Super Bowl.”   OK, I said it; so sue me.  Several years ago I used the phrase GraphExpo out of context in one of our newsletters and was chastised over it.  I do understand the reason for protecting these “trade marked” phrases, but sometimes it can get out of hand.  Or at least a bit silly.

I will say this — the game was fun to watch and if it wasn’t for the malfunctioning lights (didn’t we have something else malfunction a few years ago?), it might have been a real snoozer.  Or at least not very Super (can I say that?).

A Free Lunch

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One of the concerns that I had with the Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA) was the first word — affordable.  In all the spinning going on several years ago, people were being led to believe that health care was going to be cheap — or at least cost less.  Many of our legislators truly believed it, as Ms. Pelosi said, “Everybody will have lower rates, better quality and better access.” How she, or anyone in Congress, could believe that by expanding coverage and creating massive bureaucracies (insurance exchanges) was going to be cheaper, I don’t have a clue.  Now the chickens are coming home to roost.

Per the trade organization American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) representing the health insurance industry, there are several cost drivers which will adversely affect premium rates over the next several years — this excludes internal drivers which already have medical costs rising at 6-8% a year.  Although The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will help millions of people get coverage for the first time, there are three areas which could accelerate health care costs:

1.) A new health insurance tax on carriers;

2.) Mandated benefit requirements, and

3.) Age rating restrictions.  This could lead younger and healthier Americans to decide not to get coverage, which could further increase costs (less bodies to absorb premiums).

For those of us who get wonky on health care costs, visit the AHIP site for more information. Although I applaud some of the issues which were covered by AHCA (preexisting conditions, mandated coverage), this piece of legislation is going to create turmoil in the marketplace that no one expected — and it’s not going to reduce costs.

Now, if we could just get those chickens to roost in that proverbial pot that Herbert Hoover promised everyone over 80 years ago, we can get our free lunch!