Telling Your Story: A Key to Success
These types of questions are red flags that signal a situation I try to avoid. However when the executive asks for help understanding the in-plant, I take that as a positive sign.
The other thing this conversation tells me is that the in-plant manager may not be doing a very good job of telling her/his story. The things that make sense at the operational level may not mean a lot to someone at a higher level. Remember that the person you report to is juggling several balls and may not be inclined to dig through the minutia to understand what you’re doing.
Ray Chambers, CGCM, MBA, has invested over 30 years managing and directing printing plants, copy centers, mail centers and award-winning document management facilities in higher education and government.
Most recently, Chambers served as vice president and chief information officer at Juniata College. Chambers is currently a doctoral candidate studying Higher Education Administration at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU). His research interests include outsourcing in higher education and its impact on support services in higher education and managing support services. He also consults (Chambers Management Group) with leaders in both the public and private sectors to help them understand and improve in-plant printing and document services operations.
