Dear Prospective Client

By now you have probably looked over our website, through a list of accomplishments etc. Mostly self promotion and bragging rights.

I wanted to communicate with you some things that have been a real issue for me as I have observed the industry over these last 17 years. Indeed I have managed and built a large company, but it has taken me three years to absolve myself of those responsibilities, because there is one thing I wanted to concentrate on. That is consulting.

Countless times throughout my career in newspaper circulation, there has always been one common theme that makes it or breaks it. That is:

• quality people
• and quality systems

There are a lot of sincere people in any industry, but do not confuse sincerity with truth or wisdom. It is easy to be sincerely wrong. Increased subscriptions, lower expenses, innovative product or system solutions, are all derivatives of quality people. Dedicated and loyal servants who take pride in building their Circulation and Operations departments.

There are numerous training courses popping up as other industry leaders recognize the lack of good quality, long term, circulators to deliver and manage their products. A generation of Circulation Professionals are passing,

and in so doing leaving somewhat of a gap in those that are ready to fill the shoes of those that have gone before. Whether you have all your circulation functions in house, or deal with a blend of distributors and in house staff. Good management is essential to keeping a handle on expenses and labour.

I feel the key is an ongoing relationship, even a mentorship if you will of circulation directors, managers, district managers, and mid level management positions that really carry the heavy load of the circulation department. So often I have seen eager people who want to do their best promoted well beyond their abilities because they were the only option, or because they put in their hours so they should be next… and so on.

The next most common scenario is, where the pressure is on to perform, and the best intentions of the manager are good, but there simply isn’t the industry knowledge to take the department to where it needs to go. A common problem in smaller newspapers.

The third most common problem, is a peak performer, a true talent in circulation, yet he/she stands often alone without counsel or a place to work through accountability in his/her own development or service to superiors. This is a lonely spot, and eventually the quality circulator will have to leave this place in order to continue developing their abilities and correspondingly earning more money.

From a Publishers stand point, one of my roles as a consultant is not just to swoop in and tell everybody what’s wrong and swoop out never to be heard from again, but rather to establish points of improvement (PIP) and then have a role in executing and solving them alongside your local leadership. My associates or I coming and solving a problem is OK for the short term, but does nothing to improve your department long term. It may “Break the Cycle”, but long term it makes no sense to have a consultant running your operation from a distance. You need to have local management that can be worked into the leadership requirements of your newspaper circulation department.

From a senior Circulation VP viewpoint, often the “busyness” of operating a circulation department can take away from what I call “sharpening the saw”. Your subordinates are working diligently to serve your goals and purposes, yet continued “cutting” can dull the blade, which makes for more effort to cut through the same amount of work. The result is poorer quality and burnout. When new projects or innovative improvements come along, the mid level managers and workers are already maxed out, and even if they are not really maxed out, they feel like they are.

Consider taking my 17 years of successes and failures and using them to improve your own staff or to use for an innovation implementation or project improvement. I don’t come to the table with all the answers, but I do bring a wealth of experience, a clear mind to concentrate on your issues, and if I can solve it drawing from my own experience then great. If not, together my associates and I have 119 years of experience in the circulation business, plus numerous outside resources that can be brought in to apply their experience and skill set to work through a problem.

Save the mistakes of trial and error, the cost is minimal by comparison. The first hour of phone conversation is FREE. I would be happy to schedule an appointment for a phone call and discuss anything you want addressed.

Thanks for your time. Look forward to your call.

Sincerely,

Dean Adams
Principal
D.L. Adams and Associates Ltd.