Managing NAGASA In A Turbulent Channel
By Greg DuRoss
NAGASA President
My friends and colleagues have been kidding me about my rapid rise to the top, knowing of course that NAGASA runs very lean when it comes to staff. Coincidentally, as I was writing the first draft of this Perspective Column, I received an industry newsletter that, among other topics, pontificated about the woes of trade associations. As I undertake my tenure as President of NAGASA, it seems appropriate that I address some important issues raised in this piece, because they relate to the challenges that NAGASA and its members are facing.
The author of the newsletter item raises the issue of senior management in associations that have "little or no experience in the graphic arts industry." This is an age-old question of whether an association executive needs to have industry experience or have an association background. I believe there is no single answer. It depends on the industry and the challenges being faced by the association at a given point in time. No one can be an expert in all areas, but successful executives are smart enough to surround themselves with people who have the expertise needed to create a successful management team. Good association executives are generalists with competence in a number of areas; something that the private sector is increasingly recognizing and finding valuable.
Just because one knows the printing and graphic arts industry does not automatically translate into successful ownership of one's own business. God knows we have seen plenty of evidence of that in all industries. We have also seen very knowledgeable people fail when they try to move from the technical area into sales, and we have seen excellent sales representatives fail as sales managers.
Working in or owning a graphic arts business does not necessarily translate into success at meeting & conference planning, contract negotiations, or skill at consensus building that is necessary when an organization is governed by a Board of Directors and has a committee structure. Surely knowledge of an industry is extremely helpful in one's job as an association executive, but I would suggest that some will succeed and some will not, and industry experience will not be the decisive factor in that success or failure.
The newsletter author also wrote about the woes of associations in planning meetings because there are no hot topics to pursue. With the triple challenges of continuing industry consolidation, significant technological changes and improvements, and the birth of e-commerce, I would suggest that the printing and graphic arts industry, and the distribution channel in particular, is facing the most turbulent time in decades. With all that the members of NAGASA are facing today, I know that my challenge in planning Forum 2001 is to provide as much useful and helpful information as possible to help owners and managers meet their challenges.
Last but not least, the author, who is also an industry consultant, concludes by saying "there's little 'glitz' in the basic issues that the average graphic arts company can immediately leverage for substantial and recurring improvement in its bottom line." If one shares this perspective, I suppose one must also ponder whether the short-term prospects for industry consultants are rather bleak because cost conscious business owners might be well advised to not waste their money if there is likely to be little or no improvement in the bottom line.
I on the other hand believe that companies need all the resources they can obtain to meet the challenges posed by the triple threat I described above, and to be able to maintain their bottom line. Consultants ought to be one of those resources, and so should NAGASA. I believe that dealers and manufacturers need the services of NAGASA more today than at any time in its eight years of existence.
Just as the channel has been impacted by consolidation, so too has NAGASA. We are a smaller organization both in terms of members and budget. NAGASA faces significant challenges to remain viable and useful to our members in these changing times, and to deliver quality services with a budget that has shrunk by almost 1/3 over three years. We must find new revenue sources, as we cannot continue to rely on dues as our primary revenue source. We cannot continue to do everything we have been doing. We have to reevaluate and make difficult decisions. To that end, we will be conducting a member needs survey this fall to help guide us in this effort.
We are a business and you the members are our customers. It is my goal to continue to serve you with programs and services that you find useful. "Useful" rather than just interesting being the operative word as an important measurement device in these times of information overload. I am prepared to forge ahead with the able assistance of new Member Services Director Mary Beth McCutcheon. We are prepared to tackle the challenges. Are you?
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