Bruce Hamilton is President of Greater Boston Manufacturing Partnership and producer of the world famous video “Toast Kaisen.” He is always one of our favorite speakers, and he did not disappoint us. With very funny examples and illustrations, Bruce talked about how we might overcome organizational barriers to change for the better. He offered twelve ideas which showed great respect for employees and associates while being less serious about the structure: “Don’t fight the current organization, just ‘fail to take it seriously’.”

The centerpiece of the conference was a Keynote Address by Mike Rother, author of the book Toyota Kata. Mike urged us to think less about the traditional tools of Continuous Improvement and more about encouraging the patterns of thinking that gave rise to those tools.

He was referring to the notion of Critical Thinking and how that type of problem-solving is to be part of every employee’s job description if we want to optimize our outcomes.

Mike believes that the usefulness of Action Item lists is limited as it isolates parts of the process and treats them as something to be remedied quickly or worked around. The real benefit comes when we understand the entirety of the current condition (the “problem” as well as the environment in which it exists), and can also accurately describe the ideal condition to which we aspire. Only then can we discuss what an appropriate target condition (something part way to the ideal) would be and design a measurable change in the process to get there. This is how real continuous improvement is realized.

One Write’s team returned home with many new ideas and high hopes to be able to share them. Time will tell if we are able to make them part of a better future for us all. 

Our desire is to be like those companies who want to make a difference in the world, in the community and in individual lives. 

To help make our desire become reality we are always looking for ways to engage in activities that foster this idea. This month we took a team to The Foundation to serve dinner for those in our community who are not able to provide for themselves at this time.

Foundation Dinners has been providing meals to those in need in our community every day for twenty-two years. Ed Clum came up with the idea in 1990 and put it into action. Ed was actually there the evening the One Write employees and their families served.

Ed told us that the program was begun in response to a need that existed on Lancaster’s West Side and that it was still about feeding the hungry there. But he said that today the main focus is on community involvement and making sure everyone was aware that the situation still existed. 

In both respects The Foundation is a success largely because of Ed’s faith and his belief that the work aligns with the heart of Jesus. There is always a time before the meal for a prayer of blessing and a word of encouragement for the ones who have come to be served.

All our volunteers were blessed to participate and we have already scheduled our next date to serve in May.

He is an older man, in fact he is over seventy, and he walks with difficulty. A young off-duty firefighter named Aaron escorts him.

Jerry was born with Cerebral Palsy and has lived his entire life in Central Ohio. Because in the 1940’s people like Jerry were expected to find their own way in the world like everyone else, he has always worked for a living. He is a natural at sales and he loves to give and receive a good-natured barb.

Before we get down to business, there is a time of general conversation. Usually the talk turns to the people Jerry has encountered on the road. In today’s world, many people are not prepared to be confronted by a so severely disabled a man as Jerry.

The result is often embarrassment or anger or an abrupt dismissal.

And Jerry’s heart is broken; not for himself or for his circumstance, but rather for the people who have been encouraged to ignore those in the world who are very different from themselves. Jerry is adamant in his opposition to the idea that the only place for people with disabilities is in a controlled environment like a sheltered workshop. “How can a person learn what life is unless he is allowed to be with other people?” he asks.

Jerry Spangler is a throwback to another era. The world has changed much during his lifetime, and not all for the better. But we are the beneficiaries of his love, experience and wisdom. With every visit he blesses us and changes us, making us better people.

If he sees his shadow, tradition tells us that we are to expect six more weeks of winter; i.e. spring will begin on March 15th. Otherwise, if he does not see his shadow, spring will commence on the usual date of March 21^st.

The value of that forecast seems very limited. It is difficult to see what one might do differently based on that information which would create a significantly better outcome.

Much of what we do is based on how we see the future. For One Write that means discerning and preparing ourselves in the ways which we can respond to unmet needs which are not yet revealed.

We read about economic trends and study market analyses to guide our decision-making, but there is no silver bullet to insure a safe and secure path to the future. Risk is always a part of life.

So while it is important for us to listen and pay attention every day so that we can understand where the world is heading, our trust is best placed in the One who is sovereign and over all.

God’s heart is shown best in Jeremiah 29:11. “I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” One Write has chosen to operate out of that truth, and by aligning our actions with the Kingdom of heaven, balance the uncertainty of the future with God’s reign and rule.

Besides all their family activity, One Write employees are asked to produce at the highest level of the year to accommodate the large number of orders which come in now.

So the addition of one more task may seem unfair or impossible. But in fact, one more job has been given to each person at One Write. This Christmas season every employee must designate $500.00-worth of the company’s charitable contribution to a specific cause, organization or individual in need.

The request is taken very seriously by all and typical is the way Tracy Shahan responded.

Although she knows of some people in her life who are in need of a helping hand, Tracy felt led to do something different than what she has done in the past. So she went to the local town’s Elementary School and asked the Secretary if she knew of any unmet needs there.

The School Secretary didn’t hesitate, and told of one student’s mother who had just been diagnosed with cancer.

Even though she doesn’t know them personally, Tracy’s $500.00 will allow that family to have Christmas gifts in spite of the disruption caused by the radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the mother.

Stories like this remind us that lives, even the lives of strangers, can be touched in many ways when we demonstrate a generous spirit.

Yes, it is a busy season and we can often be weighed down by the part we are expected to play, but sometimes adding one more thing makes the rest of the load lighter.

But just because printing can be produced without much effort doesn’t mean that it should be. A good printed piece requires more than just fancy printing equipment; it requires careful attention to design and detail. While many of our clients have excellent designers on staff, it would be difficult for them to be familiar with all of the equipment in today’s printing facility. In order to take full advantage of the advanced capabilities available in today’s printing facility, one would have to spend a significant amount of time studying the technology available. This is where we can help.

At One Write we recently opened our own Design Studio to better serve our customers. Our skilled graphic designers are equipped with state of the art equipment and are well educated in our production methods. This allows One Write to design with the product in mind, taking full advantage of our digital printing capabilities. Whether we are tweaking a customer’s design to make it look better on paper or designing a new brand from scratch, our work is of the highest quality. Ask one of our customer service representatives what One Write’s Design Studio can do for your organization!

The purpose of the event is to allow all those who participate in Graphic Arts to see and hear about developments and innovations that will shape their future.

This year, One Write sent a crack team, comprised of Dick and Joe McCafferty, Joe Schorr and Norm Boyd, to observe and gather information. After a preliminary reconnaissance mission to Wrigleyville, the group settled in to some serious examination of the equipment on display.

Although there were only a few Lithographic Offset presses set up and running, the number and variety of Digital presses was impressive. Wide format inkjet presses were the order of the day, and many varieties were demonstrated throughout the exhibit hall. (These also had the benefit of providing souvenir posters for family and friends back home!)

One of the high points of the show was a “Lunch and Learn” session sponsored by Konica Minolta. One of the principle takeaways was that times have changed for our Industry. Those of us who formerly described ourselves as “Print Services Providers” (or PSP’s) are now encouraged to become “Marketing Services Providers” (or MSP’s.) It remains to be seen if that transition will be so simple as the two areas seem vastly different.

A sad note from the trip was that of the miserable performance turned in by the One Writers at Giordano’s Pizzeria. The four were soundly defeated by two medium-size pizzas, only one of which was true Chicago deep-dish style.

Nevertheless, the team brought back exciting reports of new developments in continuous-feed inkjet presses and bindery equipment. There will be continuing conversations about how One Write can best utilize the new ideas in the coming months.

The media covered the movements of the weather system as though it was an enemy army advancing on our homeland. According to the Weather Channel this was to be the most devastating natural event of all time. Anticipation ran high that a Katrina-like government response was in the offing to the upcoming catastrophe. Officials outdid one another to proclaim the resources they were bringing to the relief effort.

Then the maximum wind speed began to diminish and the meteorological description changed from a Category 3 Hurricane to a Category 2 and then to a Category 1 Hurricane. The news coverage began to lose its steam. When the carnage didn’t measure up to the hype, the attention focused elsewhere. Hurricane Irene was relegated to the back pages.

But to the residents of Hatteras Island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the storm was devastating. Route 12, the single strand of highway that connects the island to the mainland was severed by the raging seas. The ocean carved at least five inlets through the island to connect with Pamlico Sound. There could be no truck or automobile travel on or off the island.

Electricity was cut off and drinking water was compromised. All water had to be boiled to insure safety. Homes were flooded and neighborhoods swamped. Emergency rations were delivered by boats.

There is a familiar house on Elizabeth Avenue in Hatteras Village that remained standing after the storm. It was built in 1970 by our founder, Mac McClelland, and it is used by many of our employees for their vacations. We trust that with repairs to the roof and cleanup of the water damage, it will again be a place of rest and refreshment for our extended One Write family.

It will be weeks, maybe months, before the return of some kind of normal life there. Yes, the people of Hatteras Island choose to live right up against the vast Atlantic Ocean, and they know their choice has implications. Nevertheless, we watch and pray for their speedy recovery from this one.

On July 22^nd, 2011 the Pirates hosted the Cardinals at PNC Park. It was Pittsburgh Presbytery Night and The Home Runs for Hunger Campaign was officially launched.

The program features a $100.00 donation to The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank for every home run hit by a Pirate player.

The following week One Write contacted Gregg Hartung, the Executive Director of the Presbyterian Media Mission, to ask if they could contribute to the campaign. Many of the member churches in the Pittsburgh Presbytery are One Write customers, using our Offering Envelope Books, Pledge Cards or Forms.

Gary was very helpful and welcomed One Write’s participation even though the program was set up for churches to fund.

This year’s revival of baseball in Pittsburgh is something to see. The Home Runs for Hunger campaign focuses that positive energy in a way that benefits the community.

The result of our time of discussion was the formation of a number of Kaisen teams. Each of the groups chose a different area of the company to observe and analyze, with an eye toward process improvement.

The groups included Shipping Reorganization which made suggestions to increase the efficiency of the way product left the plant. Different staging of packing materials was one of the results.

One team worked on our Digital File organization.  The outcome was a new way to archive records that takes less time to reference jobs and their folders.

Another group took on the Perfect Binding function and actually reconfigured the traditional U-shaped line itself. They also implemented more efficient daily inventory areas for the needed materials.

The Communication Kaisen team updated all the bulletin boards with current and relevant information. They also posted summaries of each of the regular meetings that are held throughout the plant.

In like manner, we mark events along life’s journey which are significant to us. Mostly these milestones are about forward-looking things which move us into new possibilities and opportunities. But some commemorate things that are ending as well. Today One Write marks the end of an era as Tom Boyd died.

In 1957 Mac McClelland chartered Cyril-Scott Company and began selling One Write forms and envelopes to churches in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Mac spent much of the early days on the National Road as he built the business. His manufacturing source was his friend Tom Boyd who owned a printing shop on Route 40 in Wheeling.

In 1964 Mac and Tom combined forces in Lancaster, Ohio, to begin the business that today is One Write. Mac died in 2008 leaving Tom as the last man standing from the beginning days.

Tom Boyd retired in 1991 but remained active in the company by serving on the Board as a Director. His printing background included a Graduate Degree in Printing from Carnegie Mellon (then Carnegie Tech), nine years in management at William G. Johnson & Company in Pittsburgh, seven years as President of The Boyd Press in Wheeling, West Virginia, and twenty-seven years as Vice President of Cyril-Scott Company.    

His wisdom, humor and encouragement will be greatly missed at One Write. But we recognize the valuable legacy he left to us. We accept the torch and move forward knowing that we have been provided a firm foundation for One Write’s future.

The Refuge, a Christian Recovery Center, has moved into the building formerly occupied by the Trillium Health Center.

The website for The Refuge is www.mensliveschanged.org and that name is significant. Founded eleven years ago by Tom Thompson, the organization’s mission is to provide a way out for men caught up in destructive patterns of living.

The Lancaster site will be used for men entering the program as a three-to-four week orientation period. Here, they’ll learn the discipline that will be required to complete their recovery. It is not a twelve-step plan; it is a one-step plan and that one step is turning it all over to God and living as a follower of Jesus Christ.

Following the orientation time comes the centerpiece of the Refuge journey for each man. It is an extended period of time living at The Farm in Vinton County, Ohio. There the men study and pray with others on the same journey, strengthening themselves in the Word of God.

The final piece is rejoining the workforce through the Marketplace Ministry phase of the program. That is located in Columbus, Ohio and includes HIS Marketplace Services (a temporary agency) as well as other businesses that partner with The Refuge.

We are very excited about the ways in which One Write can support The Refuge in its mission to bring about restoration and healing to those who are living in the darkness of addiction, alcoholism and brokenness. 

However, the main supporters of the idea (Reds’ fanatics Dick McCafferty and Phil Herington) continued to lobby and eventually hit upon the perfect plan. The Reds schedule included a May19th “Businesspersons’ Special” against the Pittsburgh Pirates which began at 12:35.

The combination pleased everyone: a Thursday road trip that would get us home before too late and an incredibly weak opponent (Pittsburgh is currently in an 18-year string of losing seasons) made the plan go forward.

The Fun Bus departed our parking lot at 9:00 am carrying 30 employees and family members decked out in full game day dress.

Anticipation ran high as we found there were special concession stands for this game at which every item was only a dollar! Life was good!

Unfortunately the teams did not cooperate and the Pirates (who had lost their previous six games) managed to hold on to defeat the Reds (who had won their previous five games) by a 5-3 score.

The two and a half hour ride home allowed time for healing and spirits revived as some forward-thinking travelers had kept some cold beverages on the bus “just in case.”

 It was a good day and we agreed to continue this tradition again soon.

But here in Central Ohio it comes harder to us. April set a record for rainfall and May is determined to do the same. The ground is so saturated that farmers cannot plant crops and everyone wonders when the rains will end.

So this week when the sun returned and warmed our hearts, we all experienced a renew sense of purpose.

The focal point for us right now is the creation of Kaizen teams to begin to consider small changes for the betterment of our processes.

On Tuesday we all viewed a DVD entitled “Toast Kaizen” in four groups throughout the day. It is a humorous look at the process of a man making toast for his wife in their kitchen. It illustrated how we could look for waste in a process, even our own.

Then on Thursday each of the four groups gathered again and brought ideas on how to improve our processes. Over fifty ideas were given! Next week we will form small teams to consider the first of these ideas, and propose measures to implement them.

One Write Company is very fortunate to have been exposed to the concepts of Continuous Improvement and Lean Thinking. All of us have begun seeing in a new way, and what we see is a brighter and better future.

The annual Continuous Improvement Conference is designed to help printing companies become better at what we do. Along with 250 other attendees, we learned how to improve our Customer Service experience as well as how to create a more efficient product flow.

John Goodman, one of the co-founders of TARP (one of America’s premier customer service research firms), encouraged us to see customer complaints as a gift. He said that we can only resolve the problems that we know about, and that getting negative feedback is sometimes the only way problems come to light. His contention is that the most important thing is to act quickly on the complaint and correct the problem.

The emphasis all week was on Lean Thinking. This is the idea that all our activities must add value as our Customer defines it. If we are doing something in our process that is outside that definition, we should consider it Waste and stop doing it.

But because our corporate accounting is based on a non-calendar year which ends every March 31^st, One Write seized the opportunity to celebrate the new fiscal year last Friday.

We shut down the press room and offices at noon on April 1^st and gathered for a party. Gene Hennessy was the Master of Ceremonies overseeing the grilling of the meats and the distribution of the beverages.

Gene also organized an all-company Corn Hole Tournament which saw the team of Joe Schorr and Kevin McCartney taking home First Place honors. 

The purpose of the celebration was to commemorate the completion of a successful year by enjoying an afternoon of relaxation and fun. But it was also a time to look forward to the new things we anticipate in the coming year.

We don’t know exactly what the new year will bring, but there are a few glimpses of what it might look like. One is that we are now including contribution envelopes for the Japanese Relief effort in all of our outgoing shipments.

Another is having an area adjacent to the plant divided into employee garden plots so that extra produce can be donated to the Fairfield County Community Gardens organization, which distributes it to the local food pantries.

And maybe the best picture of what’s to come is our new part-time employee, George Bolin, who started working after school this week. He attends Crossroads, the alternative school here in Lancaster, and comes out of a bleak situation. He was just released from the Juvenile Detention Center and is on probation, so there are not a lot of job opportunities available to him. But we have offered him a chance to work and to learn a trade here. Even more, we want to show him he has value and worth. We are intent on sustaining an environment at One Write that honors and respects all people, including the ones marginalized or seen as “bad” by many in our community. This is a great opportunity for us to demonstrate our vision to be light to all those we contact.

We can’t wait to see what the new year holds! 

Carol Cruise came to meet with us and see our facility. Hers may not be a household name, but she is no less remarkable than the best-known of celebrities.

Carol lost her right leg in 1989 and she had many questions about it. But despite her questions, her response was to ask God to use her with one leg in a way He couldn’t when she had two.

Accordingly, Carol felt called to walk which was something the doctors said would be impossible following her amputation.

Not only did she learn to walk but she determined to walk around the entire perimeter of the United States, praying for the country and leaving small wooden crosses in the ground at mile intervals to commemorate her act.

Nine years and 10,460-some miles later she has returned to tell her story. It is a story of faith and hope and courage.

Carol speaks to and about people with disabilities, who she calls “people with other abilities.” She encourages us all to move out on our own personal faith walk. It doesn’t have to be like hers, she says, but we all have a calling and we ought to seek it.

We felt changed after Carol’s visit and we do not want to take our lives for granted any more. It was a great blessing to be with her and hear her story.

Although One Write shares a boundary with a pygmy goat/donkey ranch and it does lie downwind from Charlie Beery’s hog farm, there are other sounds and smells, too. Birds seem to return all at once and the ponds are alive with the ceaseless chirping of peepers. As the farmers plow their fields, the rich, earthy aroma signals the arrival of the new season.

We sense that at One Write as well. We have successfully maintained the momentum from our usual end-of-the-year rush and have continued to steadily produce and ship our Offering Envelope Books. Because we offer a generous discount for early orders, many churches have already allowed us to print their 2012 books. We have also benefitted from a new program which permits an existing customer to refer a new church so that both receive $100.00 credits.

In addition we have installed a new laser printer in our pressroom which gives us the ability to offer full-color envelopes economically in a wide variety of designs and formats.

We are very excited about the possibilities for the coming year and look forward with anticipation to a “new season” in the life of One Write.

Last Wednesday the FMC team brought their traveling health fair to One Write.

All our employees were invited to come to be prodded, poked and measured under the general heading of a “Wellness Screening.”

Although it was voluntary, twenty-eight of our thirty-six people participated. First we were weighed and our height recorded. Next, each employee’s blood pressure was noted and pulse taken. Then they measured Body Mass Index and Body Fat Percent.

Finally, in exchange for a couple of drops of blood, we learned what our cholesterol and glucose numbers were.

The team’s Dietitian then spent time with each person explaining what the results meant and offering suggestions to improve our health.

We are fortunate to have a medical center like FMC in our community. We are especially grateful that the hospital has a vision to promote healthy life choices and is willing to come to our work setting to help us share it.

This year One Write employees got a breath of fresh air to push back against the February Blues.

Last Saturday over fifty members of our extended company family participated in The Adaptive Adventure Sports Coalition’s 12^th Annual Ski-A-Thon. It was held at Snow Trails Ski Resort in Mansfield, Ohio, and we got to tube, snowboard and ski with some amazing people.

Adaptive skiing is not for the faint of heart. We saw people with a wide variety of disabilities flying down the slopes in special equipment that allowed them to overcome their circumstances.

The program, its participants and its volunteers are inspirational. Those of us who spent the day at Snow Trails will never view things in the same way.

We received a lesson in perseverance and courage that cannot be dismissed: Circumstances are not what determines who we become.

We are wonderfully and fearfully made and no matter how it looks outwardly, we are truly equipped with sufficient heart, mind, soul and strength to live fully and in abundance.

But really there is no standard formula for a Wellness Program, so each organization must create a structure that best suits its people.

One Write has adopted a pretty basic system using “Wellness Points” that accumulate and can be exchanged at various levels for cash.

The events which qualify for points are diverse. They include: Attending a class about health at Fairfield Medical Center, participating in Weight Watchers, or even walking regularly on our fitness trail. We even give points for volunteering in community service and we contribute support for short-term mission trips.

In fact, our Web Master, Dan Spurling and his wife Wendy are going on such a trip next week. They’ll be in Bangalore, India, for two weeks supporting the in-country team planting a church there.

We are honored to play a part in Dan and Wendy’s journey, and we gladly pass along their request for prayers for what is to come.

One Write wants to expand the strict definition of Wellness to include the spiritual side as much as the physical, and we are very grateful for our employees who support that by their actions.

We have asked ourselves what significance that might have and last month we received a possible answer.

Mr. Burgett cares deeply for the people of our community and he has been active in the battle to stem the epidemic of drug addiction here. The past ten years have seen this small Central Ohio County become one of the state’s leaders in drug-related crimes, incarcerations and deaths. Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said last week that over half the inmates in the local jail are there because of drugs. He estimates 85% of theft-related crime is now committed by drug users.

Our courts are clogged with an endless stream of drug cases. Our addiction treatment and rehabilitation centers are overburdened and unable to stop the trend.

Mr. Burgett has called on the community for a concerted effort to draw new battle lines. The foundation for his plan of attack is spiritual, looking to God for authority. He is asking people to put aside differences and come together in prayer and fasting against the drug addiction problem.

One group has begun meeting in One Write’s conference room during the last hour of each week. Between 4:00 and 5:00 on Friday afternoons, people gather to listen and pray for the healing of our community. This is just one of many meetings that have begun throughout the county.

We welcome Mr. Burgett and all those from the community who come here on Fridays, and we feel honored to host such a worthy activity. This is one way to “stand watch”, helping to make our community a better place, and we look forward with anticipation for the changes that will result from the power of these prayers. 

In our world at One Write the year was one of change. It was marked by steps in a new, uncharted direction. Each person here had a little different take on whether it was good or bad.

When a small company like ours has financial success over a fifty-year span of time, the natural reaction is to leave it alone. (“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it!”) So some resistance was to be expected.

But 2010 and the year or so preceding showed us that there is just no way to stay the same and hold your position. We must either improve or we get worse.

Fortunately many of the changes we made yielded immediate benefits. Lean tools like standard work, visual management and employee involvement have given us a much stronger production process. We were able to get through our end-of-the-year rush season in fine fashion. From order entry to delivery, our reshaped work flow performed smoothly and efficiently.

With Continuous Improvement established as our base, we are looking forward to 2011 and all the opportunities that it holds.

Even though we know this happens every year, the season presents many challenges.

One of our responses is to run our printing presses and bindery operation more hours each day to generate more output. But staffing twenty-four hours of production means our core group of employees must be deployed over three shifts instead of all working during the day shift.

We need temporary help in the pressroom, and this year we are partnering with a new group to get this done. The Refuge is providing workers to fill some of our personnel needs.

The Refuge is a Christian Community Ministry dedicated to rebuilding the lives of men who have struggled with drugs, alcohol and other addictions. The men in this program spend thirteen months living at a farm in rural Vinton County, Ohio. They work and study there in community and are given opportunity for the Holy Spirit to begin a heart transformation.

The presence of men from this place changes the atmosphere of One Write for the better. They do not take anything for granted, but are genuinely grateful for the opportunities they have had as a result of their choice to seek God and change their lives.

We are blessed to have the Refuge men here during this busy time.

The challenge for us at One Write is to remember what is most important, even under such pressure.

Of course, we want to make each customer’s delivery date. And that means getting orders to them before the first Sunday in January when the 2011 Offering Envelope Books are given out.

But more basic and fundamental than that lies our company’s purpose “to be a light to everyone we come in contact with.”

That means that even under the demands of the season, we exhibit the gift of the Spirit called “Hospitality.” This is at the heart of our ability to offer good service.

It requires us to be truly interested in our customer and to be willing to make reasonable sacrifices for the best interests of that customer. This builds trust and creates the sustainable relationships we need to be successful beyond the present and into the future.

Each day One Write’s employees encourage one another to offer gracious and sincere hospitality, and we see this as an important step on our company’s journey of Continuous Improvement.