United Parcel Service delivery people are trained to knock on the door instead
of ringing the bell. Why? Because doorbells don’t always work and waiting for
someone to respond to a defective bell wastes valuable time. UPS drivers only exit from
the right side of their vehicle and make deliveries on the right side of the
street. Why? Crossing the street leads to accidents and potential injury or
worse. They've thought things through.
There’s an old joke, what’s the difference between the post
office and the shoe store? ...The post office has more loafers. For sure there are some hard-workers in the
USPS, but it is this perception that fuels the public’s contempt. It has only
been over the last few years the postal service stopped turning a blind eye to
competition. The postal service instituted changes to service (and politeness)
when they realized that they were losing not only the battle, but the war. FEDEX, UPS and moreover, email has put a cramp in their once monopoly of
message delivery. Failure to react, and
adapt to a changing environment has led to their downfall. In many ways they
failed to look at what works efficiently. Okay, having to feed an annual
pension fund of $5.1 billion hasn’t helped – an expense that will unfortunately
fall to the taxpayers at some point, not stockholders as it would in a
corporation. The postal service now has debts of over $11 billion. That’s
enough to make clear thinkers go postal.
It’s true the United States Postal Service has a laudable
history that built a nation. BenFranklin had a clear vision and the pony express riders enacted it. It was
realized early on that getting information to people in a timely manner was
vital to society and developing commerce. Technology and effectiveness has
outstripped the long standing ways (and commonly held beliefs) of doing things.
A kaleidoscope of opportunities are now available to message-senders from
texting to overnight delivery by big
brown… inter alia.
A colleague once emailed me that he had six pages of printed
information that he needed to send. “I’ll fax it,” he said.
“Fax is down. Scan it and email it,” I replied.
“I don’t have a scanner.
I don’t know how I am going to get these forms to you.” He was now on
the phone dizzy with panic.
“Why don’t you just stick it in an envelope and mail it?
Better yet, drop it in my mailbox. You’re only five blocks away.” He had never
readjusted his thinking on efficiency, or common sense.
Many point to technology as demise of printed books. Like
email, ebooks and ereaders haven’t changed the message, only the way it is
delivered. Bookseller giant Borders shrugged at ebooks years ago, saying it was
only a passing phase. eBooks weren’t the only reason they folded, but it was
one of the reasons. Borders did not embrace ebooks as others had and took too
little action too late. Those who do not evolve, perish.
When adversity challenges your position, analyze the basics,
revisit efficiency and keep it simple. Learn how to knock.
Thanks for reading. Please visit www.tomgahan.com
