ACUP Focuses On Management Skills

College and university in-plant managers enjoyed another successful ACUP conference, this one at Wright State University. Find out what they learned.

When Joy Heishman agreed to host this year's Association of College and University Printers (ACUP) conference at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, she set reasonable goals. Little did she know, the conference would take on a life of its own.

"I just wanted to provide some good seminars and have a little fun," said the director of Wright State Printing Services. "I was concerned that we might have 'dead time' to be bored, and it just didn't happen."

In fact, attendees were far from bored. Seminars and roundtable discussions kept them busy all day, and in the evening they were entertained by such diversions as an Ohio River riverboat dinner ride and a visit to the United States Air Force Museum. In addition, field trips to the Champion International Paper Mill and to Wright State's in-plant also gave attendees a chance to get out and still stick to business.

This year ACUP drew 96 university/college attendees from more than 70 institutions. This included visitors from Australia, England and Scotland.

The theme of the conference, "Taking Management and Technology into the New Millennium," was reflected in the numerous seminars, discussions and activities. Subjects included digital color, CD and VDV technologies, non-profit mailing, equipment financing, copyright permission and overseas in-plant issues.

In addition, a vendor exhibit area was available throughout the week for attendees to view a range of equipment, software and supplies.

Imagine The Future

Brenda Kramer, president of Customized Performance Solutions gave a great keynote address on "Enhancing Your Leadership Potential."

"Leaders imagine the future the way things should be, then translate that vision into a mission," she said.

She implored attendees to communicate their expectations to employees personally, and then hold them accountable for these expectations.

Personnel issues dominated the agenda. Seminars on stress management, dealing with difficult people, building trust in times of change and creating effective labor-management relations were presented to help managers understand the rapidly changing workplace.

Cindy Schisler, of Wright State's Center for Performance Education, led managers in the completion of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator, to develop better understanding, not only of themselves, but of those they manage.

Schisler went on to explain that people's minds and bodies find stress synonymous with any change, not just bad news. Stress, she said, is the nation's top health problem, and about a million workers are absent from work daily due to stress-related complaints. To cope with stress, she suggested:

• Alter it by changing something.

• Avoid it by walking away.

• Accept it by going to a relaxing place or doing something therapeutic.

Ray Chambers, of the University of Louisville, presented a very informative talk on "Moving to Digital Color." He led attendees through: building a case for digital color; marketing strategies to be implemented for digital color; the economics of the purchasing/selling decision; and installation problems and barriers.

The packed room heard Chambers discuss the major players in the industry: Indigo, Xeikon, Xerox and Canon. Chambers talked about pricing models, and illustrated what it would take to achieve break-even status with such digital presses. Chambers encouraged managers to do their homework before considering digital color, stressing that digital color, in the right situation, could be a good investment.

Long-time ACUP participant Keith Nickoloff, president and chief executive officer of planetprint.com, talked about his new company's Internet strategy and how it can help in-plants deal with outsourcing threats. The Internet, he said, must be embraced and mastered before it helps close your in-plant.

In another session, Nickoloff discussed implementing a successful enterprise-wide document strategy using a 10-point plan:

1. Pursue a "less paper" environment.

2. Leverage scale without jeopardizing quality.

3. Build logical migration paths to digital, to a dominating Web presence and to copy centers.

4. Keep "cradle to grave" ownership of a document life-cycle under one roof.

5. Recover costs closest to the point of use.

6. Realize reporting ease through an online, on-demand reporting mechanism.

7. Focus as much on process, content and receivers as on quality, the Internet and brand.

8. Outsource all other non-core business processes.

9. Partner with like-minded suppliers.

10. Execute with flawless precision.

Road Trip

Attendees boarded buses on Monday and took an hour-long road trip to the Champion International Paper Mill in Hamilton, Ohio. During the tour, managers viewed the process of paper making from pulp to coating. Two paper machines were in operation, plus the large coating machines making cast-coated sheets.

After the mill tour, attendees boarded a riverboat in Covington, Ky., for a river tour of Cincinnati and a dinner of prime rib and chicken. Banjo Bob entertained the crowd during the cruise.

Another day, Joy Heishman and her staff hosted an open house to showcase their new printing facility. The fragmented, tunnel-connected plant of the past was a distant memory compared to the spacious floor plan of the in-plant's new home.

One of the highlights of the week was the tour of the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. In addition to the delicious dinner, participants toured the museum with its aircraft exhibition and assorted Air Force memorabilia.

Successful Conference

All in all, the 36th annual ACUP conference was a big success.

"I left ACUP more charged up than I had from any conference in a long time," said Ray Chambers, who hosted the 1998 conference at the University of Louisville. "All the digital stuff was great. Seeing people and hearing what they're doing was, too."

Like all in-plant managers, Joy Heishman was not alone in her efforts.

"I know how much work my staff had to put in to pull this whole thing off, and I can't tell them enough what a great job they did," she praised.

Pasadena Community College's Richard Jones, who will host ACUP 2001, came away with many ideas.

"We want to keep the spirit alive and show everyone a good time, mixed in with a great educational conference and some super surprises," he promised. In addition to over 25 California schools as co-hosts, "we have lots of sponsors and vendors who will share in the expenses and help make this conference stand out."

Joy, exhausted but content, is delighted with the feedback she has received. "I bet some folks thought Ohio might be boring, but boring is only a state of mind," she said. "I have a good time everywhere I go.

- Eve Bohakel, Harv Dahl, Mike Loyd, Gary Rubin and John Sarantakos

Building Trust

At ACUP, the topic "Building Trust During Times of Change" was addressed by Sandra Kennedy, director of the Center for Performance Excellence at Wright State. She said trust between supervisors and employees and between coworkers was essential to creating successful teams to achieve organizational goals.

Kennedy defined trust as "a comprehensive set of interactions that require risk and mutual respect." In building trust throughout an organization, managers must "establish a cyclic pattern where each individual is willing to trust the other to an increasing degree."

Some important trust-building behaviors include:

• Open and honest communication.

• Showing confidence in coworkers.

• Listening, even when you disagree.

• Keeping promises and commitments.

• Cooperating and looking for ways to help each other.

Noting that positive interactions with employees build trusting relationships, she recommended managers strive to do five positive interactions for each negative one. Praising an employee for a job well done is a positive interaction, she said, that creates a "psychological paycheck" and is an excellent trust builder.

She also noted that clarifying expectations for performance was a positive relationship-building action. She said managers must create an environment where employees want to do the job, are able to do it and are permitted to get on with doing it. She suggested beginning each day with a five-minute meeting so everyone understands the priorities and requirements of that day's tasks.

Kennedy challenged managers to view the process of change in a different way. As managers, we are required to act as change agents to ensure that our operations stay competitive and consistent with our universities' missions.

Many of the changes are viewed by our employees as disruptive; some see change as life altering. It is our responsibility to make change a nonthreatening event. We all have employees that resist change, she said, but most employees, if informed, can weather the changes.

• ACUP drew 96 attendees from more than 70 universities and colleges.

• Seminars covered stress management, labor-management relations, CD technologies, equipment financing, copyright permission and more.

• One session discussed building a case for digital color, the economics of purchasing this equipment and installation problems and barriers.

• Trust between supervisors and employees is essential to achieve organizational goals. Managers should have five positive interactions for each negative one.

• Attendees toured the Champion International Paper Mill.