Pros
As you’ve likely seen, great people focused on really trying to do great things. I made a career, raised a family, and accomplished life dreams... by working for this company. Yes, there was stress, and frustration too (see below). I still believe there is a long future with Print... digital is needed, but not the only answer. As I once heard a Harland Clarke exec say ‘if people think digital is the only future, they don’t understand how profitable print is.’ I miss the people I worked with... all but a couple.
Cons
The shift in leadership a couple years ago, to put more pressure on making digital the future, clearly didn’t work. The big mistake happened years earlier by developing a full, separate digital division versus having it under the same umbrella. But once that leadership shift happened, that ‘focus’ resulted with many key associates displaced, which led to confusion and anxiety. Basically, all print based leaders were displaced with digital leaders. And since it appears that strategy didn’t work, the CEO was relieved of duty in late 2020. Some strategies make sense but are so rushed, they don’t produce results and pull the company back. The culture has always been that restructures occur every 1-2 years. Not fun, but you got used to it. Should this be an instance of trying to many things and changing too many times? Perhaps. I support strategic change. But if not done correctly, it’s devastating to the core of the company... the incredible associates.