Managing for Survival
A subsequent speaker criticized me for daring to suggest that we need to "defend" our operations. He accused me of being defensive, and he was correct. He argued for the better-mousetrap theory: do a good job and your customers will beat a path to your door, and that should be all you need. My point, while decidedly more cynical, was based on my experiences working with dozens of in-plants: do a good job and the commercial sector will still do everything it can to close you down. If you want to survive, you have to have a defense strategy.
- People:
- Guru Tom Peters
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.
