Week of 11 September 2017: Be careful how you define your team, part 1
Jim Thompson
Email Jim at jthompson@taii.com Listen to this column in your favorite format I have had the privilege of mentoring a bright young man recently (our son, actually). When he came out of university, he worked at a boutique financial analysis firm for several years, leaving it this past winter to go to work for a company that is on a large acquisition binge. **** Save the date! The Pulp and Paper Industry Reliability and Maintenance conference, sponsored by IDCON and Andritz, will be held March 19-22, 2018 in Raleigh, North Carolina. **** First, this whole enterprise is a "lash up" of several somewhat unrelated enterprises that have been bought and shoved together (although at the top, there is a sensible and cohesive strategy for doing this). Some people in the corporate group are ducks out of water and completely unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the tasks they are being asked to do. One group, in particular, is led by a thirty-year veteran of a certain segment of the business who is now being asked to lead something he has never led before. The young analysts do not report to this person, but they report to the same boss. **** Souhegan Wood Products' two core plugs feature superior crush strength, helping paper companies reduce loss claims for pennies per roll. **** Then I gave him the lecture on what a team is. A team is your specific, small group of personnel assigned to do a specific job or set of jobs. Although I am not much of a sports fan, I can give an example from there. Suppose the quarterback notices that the waterboy forgot to fill the drink containers? Does he ask for a time out so the players on the field can do this job? No. While in the bigger picture, they are all on the same team, when it comes to specific tasks they are not. **** Jim Thompson is back again...with a new book on a taboo subject: the personalities in the pulp & paper industry. Jim has written in the past on many subjects based on his four plus decades in the worldwide pulp and paper industry. This new book is packed full of information valuable to the senior member of the industry as well as the recent entrant. A must for every pulp and paper library. **** Nip Impressions has been honored for Editorial Excellence by winning a Tabbie Award! ________ Other interesting stories:
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