Mail Center Accountability™

I don't generally lay claim to much, but one thing I came up with recently was "Mail Center Accountability™". It is such a powerful term in the world of Mail Center Management because it hits on something that has been missing in that field. It is so spot-on, that I have noticed others in the industry starting to use it, including a competitor to the product I was going to bring to market. That is just more justification that the idea was sound, but the circumstances were not. I must, however, say that I own "Mail Center Accountability™, which is why I put that little ™ by it. It isn't registered yet, but I certainly used it first (you can Google to verify) and will register it someday if I need to. Precedence has been set, so just be aware.

- Lincoln

Personal vs. Professional Feelings

I was just involved in a misunderstanding on the Mailing Systems Technology blog. A couple of people took my comments about the dress code (or appearance code) as too harsh or insensitive. One person even said they were offended! I was looking at this subject from the outside as an observer of Mail Centers. I was not bringing any personal feelings into the mix. My personal views on tattoos and piercings are different from the way I know they are looked at in corporate America.

But I was reminded of something very, very important that those in the consulting game often encounter but just as often forget to take into account; personal feelings. One of the anonymous posters mentioned that one of their best workers has visible tattoos. I can't argue with that, nor would I want to. I am happy to hear when any Mail Center Manager says they have a "great worker".

Too often this is not the case, and I am very happy to hear those words. Too often as consultants we are asked to analyze a situation and make suggestions to fix them. Sometimes, in public forums, we choose to post a message with the same "impersonal" analysis, and it backfires. The bottom line is, whenever you are making suggestions that may impact personnel, it will also affect personal feelings, because it affects a person. I know I will from now on.

- Lincoln

Writing for Mailing Systems Technology magazine

It is official. I will be collaborating with Tom Wirth, Manager, Employee Services at Google, on a series of articles for Mailing Systems Technology magazine. We will be covering Mail Center Accountability and Performance Management. The catch is that we will not just be telling Mail Center Managers that they need to capture data, but what they need to capture, how to do it, and why it is important. We will provide examples, including sample spreadsheets (shared via Google's Documents and Spreadsheets).

Look for the first article it in the May/June 2007 issue of Mailing Systems Technology magazine!

- Lincoln