In the past two installments (Part 1, Part 2) of this three-part article, we delved into some issues that affect our businesses and our daily lives as we navigate through the ever-present rocks and shoals of our production world. In Part Two, we looked at the need for workflow optimization in order to achieve both print predictability and cost avoidance. Now, in Part Three, we bring it all together and take a very hard look at what we seem to lack in our industry, leadership.

We will look at what we can do to empower our companies, our staffs, and ourselves to achieve efficient, effective, and consistent success in all production processes from image capture through final delivery. These are “ideals” that, if applied consistently, will bring incredible results. I’ve seen it in others and, from time to time, I’ve seen it in myself when everything is in sync. I do want to add that I, too, violate each of the attributes I describe below on a regular basis.

Leadership is a term that I have heard for many years; it was ingrained in me as a United States Marine and its basic tenants have never left my daily interactions, personal or business. I say that I have “heard” the term, because I can honestly say that I have encountered very, very few true leaders in the corporate environment. I have seen managers, supervisors, etc., but honest-to-God leaders are few and far between.