Software - MIS

While Imaging Services, the in-plant for the University of Colorado-Boulder, has been dedicated to offering high-quality, full-service printing to its campus since 1923, the shop has never worked smarter than it does today.

People are naturally social creatures—we crave friendship and positive interactions, just as we do food and water. The better relationships we have in life—including in the workplace—the happier and more successful we will be. President Teddy Roosevelt was on the mark when he said, "The most important ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people."

Managed Print Services (MPS) is becoming mainstream. Ever since a large IT research organization published a "study" a few years ago in which it estimated that organizations spend 1 percent to 3 percent of total revenue on printing, an entire sub-industry has evolved to tap into this market. The researcher called it a "gold mine" but failed to address the fundamental issue: Is 1 percent to 3 percent too high, too low or just right?

For us fans of team sports, isn't it exciting to see our favorite teams blend their individual talents and abilities and achieve success as a unified team? The good news is that our teams in the business world can also achieve success. One key to making that happen is teamwork.

Despite some chilly spring weather, Milwaukee gave a warm welcome to the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association last month. More than 130 in-plant managers were on hand to celebrate IPMA's 50th anniversary during a very busy conference. Their ranks included many first-time and long-absent attendees, which added a new dynamic to the discussions throughout the four-day event. A number of government printers from the National Government Publishing Association, now part of IPMA, were there this year, as well as two attendees from Australia.

When Gerry Pinela took over as supervisor of Central Services for the City of Torrance, Calif., in June of 2007, the job submission process at the nine-employee in-plant was somewhat laborious. Customers filled out a three-part NCR form, and then the staff manually entered the job information into an Excel spreadsheet. The manual process was time consuming and lacked the tracking and reporting capabilities Pinela needed to effectively manage the workflow.

Looking for a simple tool that will drive your operation to higher levels of efficiency and effectiveness? The checklist may be what you are looking for.

I was still a youngster back in 1995 when I walked into my first National State Printing Association meeting in Kansas City. Sitting at long tables all around me were state printers from all over the United States—even a representative from the U.S. Government Printing Office. They glanced at me with curiosity, recoiling a bit from my camera. I was intimidated.

Henry Kissinger once said, "The task of the leader is to get his/her people from where they are to where they have not been." How can we help our coworkers be successful here in the present—and move with us towards a better future? A big key for us as leaders is to build strong connections with people.

I read a LinkedIn discussion last month questioning whether industry associations still provide any value in this interconnected age, where social media and video conferencing seem to have made physical meetings obsolete. Thanks to Google, some argued, people no longer rely on associations for technical data and guidance.