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Ready to harness the energy of change?

I recently had a conversation with an old packaging pro who is a “thinker.” One advantage of being in the packaging business 35 or more years is having lived through the industry’s evolution. Another is being more willing than earlier in my career to listen and to try to drill down and understand what others are saying.

Pw 7679 John Mazelin Cp

That was the case as I talked with this packaging veteran. He waxed poetic about the future, and as he spoke, I often asked myself, “How come I didn’t see that until he mentioned it?”

Change is a topic of every conversation that involves company strategy. You are participating in change, voluntarily or not, and it will remain constant. Yes, the speed at which change is occurring is more rapid than 20 years ago. But if we embrace it, change is not overwhelming.

I would venture to say that many of the changes you embrace whole-heartedly have come faster than you realize. Think about your use of the Internet. Remember back when Bill Gates said Microsoft would not develop products to utilize the Internet because the company didn’t see any practical application? Less than a year later, Microsoft reversed itself and announced it was researching a broad spectrum of products for the online market. Try to imagine how you would operate today if the Internet weren’t available for just 24 hours!

Find the visionary

 So it is with your company. Change will affect it. The question is how you will harness that energy. As change comes in the contract packaging industry, who in your organization is the visionary who can see the options on the landscape five and 10 years out? Often the answer is “we don’t have anyone like that.” Then get someone who can challenge the status quo!

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