Mar. 31, 2008— Executives from print companies around the country gathered in Orlando, Fla., March 9-12 for the annual NAPL Top Management Conference. Held at the Ritz Carleton, the event was filled with fun networking opportunities, as well as informative sessions looking at topics ranging from the state of the industry to how to run your business better.

Recognizing Outstanding Work
In addition to the sessions, a variety of awards were given out at the event, recognizing those individuals who have done outstanding work in a variety of categories this past year.

Benjamin Cooper, principal, Williams & Jensen, Washington, D.C., won the coveted NAPL Technical Leadership Award. He was given the award for his years of service as one of the industry's chief lobbyists, as well as being the founder and treasurer of the PrintPAC political action committee, founder and chairman of the Coalition for a 21st Century Postal Service, founder and executive director of The Print Council, and executive director of Mail Moves America.

In the 2007 Management Plus awards, there were several local companies that received recognition. In the Merit Awards, Cohber Press Inc., Rochester, N.Y., won an award in Category 4, $10-$15 million in sales. For the Silver Awards, two local companies stood out, both in Category 5, more than $25 million in sales, both All-State Legal, Cranford, N.J., and Hammer Packaging, Rochester, were given awards.

The winner of the William K. Marrinan Management Plus Hall of Fame Award went to Action Printing, Fond du Lac, Wis. Greg Davies, president, accepted, noting that, "We have a great team at Action, and it's a pleasure to work with them every day." He went on to note that they enter the Top Management competition every year, and that doing so, "really forces you to look at the basics, and be all you can be." Action Printing has won 10 awards since their inception, seven of which were gold.

Finally, the RAVE Awards were given out at the event. Formerly known as the eKG Customer Focus Awards, they were established to recognize companies with superior customer service departments. They are given based on reviews of the firms directly from their customer base. This year, two of the winners were local companies—Sandy Alexander, Clifton, N.J.; and Pictorial Offset, Carlstadt, N.J., both won silver awards.

Bridging the Generation Gap
In one educational session, the topic was Generations in America, which looked at demographics, and how the various age groups require very different marketing strategies, not to mention that they are looking for different environments in the workplace.

The presenter, Thomas Carroll, executive vice president, chief human resources officer, RR Donnelley, noted that you have to understand different generational needs if you want to succeed in both hiring and targeting a diverse group of people.

He began by breaking down the groups into four distinct categories: Traditionalists were born before 1945; Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964; Generation X was born between 1965 and 1980; and the Millennials were born between 1981 and 1999. What was very interesting about this presentation was that he then went further, breaking down the groups in broad categories, in terms of what influenced them, and what their outlook on life tends to be.

Traditionalists are conservative, loyal, and are very respectful of authority. They like a hierarchal form of leadership with a clear chain of command. Baby Boomers, on the other hand, tend to be more liberal. This was the generation that developed the idea of "selling yourself," and they also pioneered the idea that everyone should have an equal shot at a college education. They have a love/hate relationship with authority, Carroll noted, and prefer a consensus form of leadership where everyone contributes.

The Gen Xers are the "repurpose, rebrand, reskill generation," says Carroll. They are resourceful and independent, unimpressed with authority, and are looking for leadership by competence. In other words, if the boss isn't the one they view as the most knowledgeable and capable leader, they will naturally look elsewhere in the company. Finally, Millennials have grown up with technology, and it is an intimate part of their lives. This affects the way they see the world and communicate with it in profound ways. They are the most "color-blind" of the generations, are life-long learners, and view authority respectfully. They see leadership as something that can be achieved with hard work and competence. However, on the flip side, this generation also doesn't trust the corporate world easily. They go to blogs and friends for information and news, and they have been raised with a sense of entitlement, Carroll noted.

So what does all this mean to you, the printer? Well, it means that different generations in your company are looking for different things from you, and if you want to keep both the older, more experienced generations as well as the younger, up-and-comers, you will need to keep the differences in mind, and try to find a balance. It also means that when you are working with clients to design campaigns, that knowing the target demographic is a key point. Without that information, the odds of crafting a message that will impact and drive the target to a buying decision is drastically decreased.

The Critical Trends
In another informative session a panel of industry experts looked at four of the critical trends that will impact the print industry in the next year. Those were: offset and digital coming together under one roof; a more tightly integrated digital workflow, with successful applications of Web to print; a growing market for RFID technology; and increased offshore partnerships and collaborations.

The topics came from issues attendees have expressed concerns about over the past year in various communications, as well as in the previous Top Management Conference. To address them, Ray Prince, vice president and senior consultant, NAPL; Howie Fenton, senior consultant, Technology and Production, NAPL; Mark Roberti, editor, RFID Journal; and Sherm Sweeney, president, Williamson International, gave brief presentations and then took audience questions.

All in all, the conference was packed with great information. This is just a very small sample of what was presented, and was well worth attending. It's one to put on the schedule for next year for anyone who owns or operates a print shop of any size, shape, or category.