Message from The President: Q1 2023

Be Quick But Don't Hurry

Back when I first started my career managing industry associations, my boss introduced me to a book which I have revisited a lot over the past 20 years. Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization is by legendary college basketball coach John Wooden who led the UCLA Bruins to ten NCAA championships. The book is full of fantastic guidance and memorable quotes, but one that always stood out to me is what Coach Wooden told his teams often at practice: “Be quick but don’t hurry.”

There’s no doubt we all must move fast in today’s business world. Your customers want speed and quality (and a low price too!). You have the same expectation from your vendors and partners. But being fast and timely can be problematic if you don’t follow Coach Wooden’s advice. Being quick means speed with control. If you’re in a hurry, you’re impatient. Things are erratic, hasty – and mistakes get made.

It’s helpful to follow this advice when pursuing your goals too. PIAG is rolling out a new 5-year strategic plan designed to help the organization stay focused on a set of critical, but limited, priority areas through 2027. The Board agrees that these strategic goals will help take PIAG to a new level for its members. We will focus on the things we can control, not get impatient, and recognize that even as we move quickly, impactful change can take time.

I encourage you to stay optimistic and lean on PIAG for support. We’re your connection to the statewide print community – colleagues, suppliers, consultants, information, and resources. Just let us know how we can help.

Sincerely,

Jon Krueger
PIAG President & CEO