How Did This Team Move Forward - As one....?

By Sid Chadwick, Chadwick Consulting, Inc. – 01/22/2026

Published in American Printer :”Sid's article reviews how a print team found unexpected growth by focusing on repeat orders, measuring what mattered, and giving employees room to improve the work themselves. Their steady gains show how small operational habits can reshape customer loyalty and monthly revenue.”

“There are two levers to moving men – interest and fear” ..…….Napoleon Bonaparte

INTRODUCTION:

W began our “Monthly Plant Managers’ Conference Call” – with a Review of, “AI is being used to… improve Athletic Performance”….and then, “How some Manufacturing Environments are adapting – what is being learned from AI – to Improve Athletic Performance….!”

Then, one of our Plant Managers (who is also the company owner) began to explain that about three years earlier he developed several large Customers, who send him regular, monthly work requests – that are often identical to previous requests.

He began recording in a “separate book” – the productivity and efficiencies of these “repeat orders.” His personnel who work on these projects – watched him record these numbers in that book. “They asked permission, and then began reviewing those records, and discussing ways to improve productivity of these repeat orders” (within earshot of our Plant Mgr.), which he allowed, and did not interrupt, unless their discussion was going in a non-productive direction.

At the time, he had all of five employees producing these repeatable projects, billing out about $20,000/mo. (plus their other job duties and billings).

Over the last three years, his major Customers were slowly increasing their repeat orders (as long as he met their delivery and quality standards), but he refused to hire anyone extra who did not have the right work ethic and attitude. (Eventually, a sixth employee was found and hired.)

Today, those six employees, along with “other work being produced, are producing over $35K/mo., much of it “repeat, profitable work!”

This Plant Mgr./Owner recognized early on that “ownership of Performance Improvement” contained a powerful incentive for his employees – if there was a reward for them, as a result of what they were developing.

We asked our Plant Mgr./Owner, “What’s next?” He said he believed he had a great Team of employees, and he wanted to apply the same principles of Employees’ Performance Improvement Incentive – to Customers work that was not repeat work.

Everyone on our Monthly Conference Calls looks forward to tracking and learning from that development.

Our Conference Call then turned to Opportunities for gaining and improving Customers’ Work – that Sales Reps – and their Companies tend too often – to overlook.

Our discussion included: (a) Product Diversity needed by certain “profile Retail Customers” – who are committed to growth (often needing combinations of Wide-Format, Fulfillment, Direct Mail, Trade Shows, Packaging),  and (b) Top-performing Sheet-fed Presswork – for successful pursuit of short-run Publications (the “Mother-Load” of Publications is available at the Gale Database, organized by state, that offers website, address, phone no., publisher/editor – and includes frequency of production).

SUMMARY:

Great Teamwork needs to be nurtured.

Great Teamwork, clear on its objectives, requires (a) mutual respect, and (b) ownership of the processes and results – by participants.

“I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles, but today it means getting along with people.”………………………..Indira Gandhi