Archive for year: 2010

We run a lean operation. People are often surprised to learn that we employ only 12 full-time team members. We try not to over-hire, and when we lose a staff member, we don’t immediately replace that position. I do realize that this can be counter-intuitive if our goal is to grow the economy.  But let’s be honest, that’s not our goal.  Our primary corporate goal is to make a profit.  If we are profitable, all other goals, including growing the economy, will eventually be met.

But in order to profitably grow our business, we occasionally have to take on tasks for which we are understaffed.  Or under-talented.  Don’t get me wrong, I never accept work that is not a good fit for our core competencies. To do so would be a disservice not only to our clients, but to us as well.  But as we adapt to this “new economy,” we have to adapt our offerings as well. Sometimes, we realize that we can do more, and do it quite well, with the assistance of the right people.

It’s no secret that an effective leader surrounds himself with individuals that are smarter than him.  No secret to me, anyway. Sure, the quick retort is to say, “Paul, aren’t most people smarter than you, anyway?” Well, yes, but I believe that my one of my greatest strengths is seeking and utilizing this wealth of talent, both internal and external.

Twitter has greatly accelerated my access to this talent. Over the past 18 months, I have befriended a variety of individuals who continue to contribute to our success.  And I do sincerely consider them friends.  Having met them via Twitter, they were avatars, then individuals, and finally friends….before I ever considered them as talented assets.  And so outsource opportunities continue to make us a larger entity than we are…but that’s okay. We are considerably stronger because of it.

All of these talented individuals listed below have contributed on more than one occasion to my operations.  (And I am listing only those individuals whom I’ve compensated.  The wealth of free information that I’ve received from the Twitterati would be too voluminous to list.)

First, an infrequent tweep and longtime (pre-Twitter) friend is Steve Davison (@sdavison52).  For many years, he has assisted me in my sales and marketing efforts.  If you open a sales opportunity for him, I have no doubt he will close the sale.  He is that good.

The remaining list (and it is probably not complete) are those friends whose talents I’ve have used on at least two occasions. I would highly recommend all of them to you as well:

Karl Hills — @karlhills (web site development)
Rob McBryde — @ROBmcbryde (web site development/application installation)
Arlton Lowry — @arlton (web site development/micro-site implementation)
Brant Collins — @brantc (video streaming projects)
Greg Henderson — @jgreghenderson (social media and other marketing projects)
Amy Bradley-Hole — @amybhole (social media, promotional and other marketing projects)

But all work and no play makes one hungry. And for that need, I have outsourced my sweet-tooth desires to Kelli Marks (@kellimarks), cake-baker extraordinaire.

My point is this: No one person — or even a good team — can do everything. Sometimes it really does take a village. I’m thankful to have found a great networking platform (Twitter) that has helped me meet some really talented, cool people. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask others for help. It’s what successful people do.

One of the perks of working in a family owned business is the opportunity to work daily with my parents. Okay, they only come in twice a week, and we hardly ever see each other, but still. Dad still does quite a bit of the estimating and reviews our equipment needs. Mom handles the payroll and the bookkeeping duties. (Please don’t tell her I’m a CPA; I hated that stuff.)   I realize how blessed I am to be in such a situation.

A while back, we toyed with the idea of having my father be a regular contributor to a blog, or maybe a twitter account. The tentative handle would have been $%@t My Dad Prints. Well, I figured he wouldn’t go for that, so we toned it down to Stuff My Dad Prints. It kinda went on hiatus after that.

Until now.

We opted for a video blog. We wanted Dad to tell the world about some “old school” printing techniques and tools. Forget all this digital hoo-haw. First up, is the California job case. Here’s a good article that goes into great detail about the history and specifics of what is more or less a storage bin for type. But I thought that hearing, and seeing my dad’s own take on it would be more entertaining. (And stay for his last line…it’s worth it.)

So, in what we hope will be one of many educational presentations, here is Ira Strack and the California Job Case:

Now can you guess the origin of the terms “upper and lower case”?

 Paul Strack, CustomXM

Having recently returned from a national trade conference, I’m determined to put into action some of the “take-aways” from that event. But I often find myself time-challenged in doing this. So that’s when I consider delegating certain tasks.
 
The term “delegation” sometimes gets a bad rap.  The book ReWork warns that “with a small team, you need people who are going to do work, not delegate work. Everyone’s got to be producing. No one can be above the work.”  Even Webster’s says that delegation involves the assignment of a task “to one who is less senior than oneself.”  In a small business, I would agree with these terms to a certain extent. After all, as a business owner, I am entitled to delegate some less desirable tasks, like payroll, to someone else, right?  (Sorry, Mom, but you really do process payroll better than I could ever imagine.)
 
But instead of these definitions, I prefer to use the term entrust.  Certainly, as a small team, we do need everyone to work. But because of our size, there are often tasks, projects, even ideas that cannot move forward until I entrust them to someone else.
 
And that’s where I turned to my favorite blonde.  But since my lovely wife really had no strong desire to assist me in our ongoing marketing and branding efforts, I’ve had to look elsewhere. Marketing projects are some of my favorite undertakings.  They allow me to be creative, and let’s face it, they’re fun.  But, since I wear many hats (except that of payroll clerk) I cannot effectively accomplish all that I want, or need to do in these areas.
 
I have often entrusted many of these duties to some talented friends.  Greg Henderson, (@jgreghenderson) helped greatly in establishing the online, social media presence of  CustomXM.  Additonally, he has shared his marketing insight in this blog, and will continue to help me with special projects.
 
But I came to the realization that if I wanted a consistent, dedicated marketing plan for my company, I couldn’t do it alone.  I needed to delga…uh, entrust this to someone else. And that’s where another of my favorite blondes, Amy Bradley-Hole (@amybhole) came into play. Like so many of the talented communications professionals in Little Rock, I met Amy via Twitter. In this forum, Amy initially struck me as a mildly irreverent, overtly outrageous individual, with uncanny marketing skills.  I mean, if anyone can parlay stolen hotel pens into a successful marketing ploy, she must certainly have some talent.
 
Amy has a strong marketing background in the Hospitality industry. Given her Southern roots, her successes in that industry come as no surprise. More recently, she has become quite a social media maven, receiving rave reviews from her presentations on blogging and personal branding. And fortunately for me, Amy decided  a few weeks ago to take a chance by going out on her own as a branding/marketing coach.  And I decided I wanted to play on her team!
 
 
In short order, Amy has has outlined my “to do” lists, projects, and other tasks and will stay behind me until they are complete. (Hey, did I mention I already had a wife?) In a nutshell,  she will be my extended communications coach.  She will help us continue to develop our brand across all communications channels. Because you see, that’s what we do, we help folks communicate. And we’ve committed to doing a better job of it – both internally and externally.
 
So thanks for joining us here.  Stick around and you and I know you’ll have some fun, and possibly learn a thing or two.  I know I will, because I have a good coach.

  Paul Strack, President, CustomXM

Last year, thanks to social media in general, and Twitter specifically, we were able to produce a very attractive wall calendar that featured photographs provided by many of our Twitter friends.  Beautiful shots from around Little Rock and Central Arkansas were featured each month, as were those funny little things called QR codes.  (Have we really been talking about QR codes for over a year now?) And evidently, you guys set the bar pretty high, as I am pleased to report that last year’s calendar won theBest of Category Award in the annual PIAS print awards competition.

Well, it’s that time to begin preparing for the 2011 calendar, and we need your help again. Since we are all so focused on being connected, and since we use this connectivity to improve the way we communicate, the 2011 calendar will have Communication as the theme.  Think about photos you have taken, or will take, that remind you of how you communicate.  Is it that old telephone booth on the corner? (Do those still exist?) Is it a favorite text message, or even tweet, that you have saved?  Maybe its children playing with two tin cans tied together with a string.  Be literal, or be conceptual, but be creative.

As we did last year, all who submit photos will receive a free calendar.  But because we have set a precedent with an “award winning” calendar, we are really getting serious.  Okay, maybe not that serious. But since we do anticipate a larger response, we will actually have some professional photographers assisting us in determining which photos will be included.

To submit your photos, simply email them to me at [email protected].  Please be sure to include your name and phone number.  There is no rush, but please hurry. Deadline for photo submission is Sunday, November 14^th.