Marcus Timson

As our 2022 Leaders’ Summit came to a close, we left Geneva buzzing with new ideas and perspectives. Here, we present a list of 10 themes to take away from two days of thought-provoking presentations and discussions.

THIS IS THE NEW NORMAL

Straight off the back of the COVID-19 crisis and 2 years of prolonged lockdown comes a new crisis which nobody foresaw. The war in Ukraine.

To a large extent, the COVID-19 crisis, although strange, distressing and challenging, was the most certain of times we may have had for a generation. The whole world was synchronised; we all experienced the same struggle and situation.

Then came liberation and then shortly after, mega disruption & rapid change. The world shifted from facemasks to military helmets.

Since then, in spite of the chaos, leaders have been challenged to make some sense of it, simplify it, and provide our community with some clarity and confidence.

What the summit confirmed is that the challenges we believed to be widespread are exactly that. We are all in the same boat. Uncertainty is the only certainty.

Leadership is needed now to help navigate these more confusing and stressful times.

BOOM & INFLATION

Despite what the media may prefer to report, we are in the middle of a boom. Full employment, house price increases, consumer spending and, naturally, inflation.

What has caused the boom?

Behavioural economist Roger Martin-Fagg explains, “Imagine the GDP of China entering the world economy, but this GDP of $17 trillion is cash given to people as part of government support schemes and loans.”

Mix this up with human frustration at lockdowns, then this newly printed money — and a lot of it — is being released into the global economy. This leads to a boom and, of course, its less desirable companion: inflation, which has been supercharged by the war in Ukraine.

The global economy now needs to reset and cool… and there are signs that it is. But still, the extra money in the system is generating spending well above average and inflation is rising quickly.

SUPPLY CHAIN UNDER STRESS

This is posing problems for the print technology sector as digital print technology requires many components including microchips.

But why are supply chains under so much stress?

In 2021, $600 billion was spent in the US alone on consumer electronics.  The demand is unprecedented, leading to a scarcity of components such as microchips for a variety of sectors, driving up prices once again. This is not helped by sectors such as the automotive industry buying in bulk.

But when demand cools (and there are already signs of it) then we hope the supply chains become more robust. War has added further strain, and global tensions remain.

The question is whether digital printing technology can play some kind of role in solving this?

LEADERSHIP CRISIS

When in times of uncertainty, people look to leaders to provide a sense of certainty and direction. But some leaders are not inspired by a purpose which is coming from the right place.

Putin is a man motivated by fear, resentment and hubris. He is the worst example, but there are others too. There are some strange and dubious decisions being made. There is a crisis of leadership in the world.

Trust is a vital element of effective leadership. Especially so in stressful times. Fear, while it does engender compliance, it does not lead to healthy or sustainable growth.

Yet, there remains a cause for inspiration with some leaders, not least Volodymyr Zelensky and New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, who are examples of how inspiring leadership can create positive outcomes.

Challenging times call for a dynamic and confident type of leadership.

Where and what is our leadership in print?

SUSTAINABILITY

In 2012, we ran EcoPrint.  We believed that the print industry needed it! The event was a successful conference, but did not work well as a trade show.

However, the event succeeded in being a focal point for discussion, but it was not at that time a true marketplace.

Unquestionably, sustainability is now rising to the top of the agenda, but has it finally become ‘action-oriented’? Are people and big business genuine?

Why is the issue still so confusing?

Does inflation make sustainability the preserve of the wealthy while most normal people struggle to pay their bills?

Why is there no industry unification?

We discussed these issues and more during the main event and on Day 2 at the interactive workshops. While the topic is far from clear and consistent, the big brands are investing and accelerating their sustainable production, and this, accompanied by fast-changing consumer attitudes and government legislation, could mean change for good.

BRAIN DRAIN

The global workplace is experiencing a brain drain.  So too is the print sector.

Why?

50-somethings who have the benefit of house price increases are deciding to leave their jobs and try new things. To balance this, the print sector, like many others, needs a brain gain.

A big exit of talent and experience is not easily replaceable.

This poses the following question: What are we doing for the next generation in print? There is a challenge and a fight for talent not least as there was a birth rate dip in the early 2000s. This is a challenge in particular….

Kristi Duval made the point well by asking conference attendees, “who has intended to join the print industry?” Nobody responded positively.

In our podcast where we have interviewed over 100 people, everybody says that they have fallen into this industry!!

Wouldn’t it be great if young people actually wanted to join the print industry from the outset?!

What would happen if print technology had 10% of the same battle and interest for talent that the social media industry benefits from?

DIVERSITY IN PRINT

Diversity in print? What diversity? We are over populated by middle-aged white males with an average age of 57.

We have an issue in the industry when it comes to diversity. Many people believe this to be merely a generational problem in that the next generation in time will come to replace the leaders we have in post now.

But the problem is that if people do not see people they relate to, then their unconscious assumption is that the industry is not right for them.

Is it so surprising that women and young people may not relate to the printing industry?

DIGITALIZATION

Digitalization is the word of the moment and has reportedly gained further traction and attention during the COVID-19 Crisis.

Many believe that a fully automated and digitalized manufacturing operation will better equip supply chains to respond to fast-changing demand and issues with supply. Naturally, digital printing technology is positioned to be an enabler in this regard.

Yet there remain very few examples which we can point to of successful digitalization where digital printing is helping to solve these problems.

There is no question the work is taking place, but the inkjet printing world remains stifled by NDA’s.

How will digitalization grow if there are very few examples of how it is generating success?!

CULTURE

Leadership sets the tone and behaviour of a culture. What kind of culture do our people work in, and what kind of purpose does our business have?

Is it kind, encouraging, supportive of new ideas? We had plenty of inspiring examples of leadership from Alon Bar-Shany, Andreas Skantze, Richard Boon, Beate (van Loo-)Born, Jelena Madir and others particularly in the morning session of Day 1.

But is our culture overly judgmental, critical and punitive of ideas that do not work? Do we disapprove of those who make mistakes?

The image above is of the oldest coffee shop in Europe which is still functioning, located in Oxford, UK. The introduction of coffee led to the creation of a different culture; people moved from pubs and alcohol to cafes and culture. People shared ideas. It grew creativity hugely and the enlightenment ensued.

What is our coffee shop?

Do we permit failure, or is failure considered a disaster?

Failure kills progress, not because failing itself is a problem, more our human disapproval of it.

But we need to fail in order to learn and innovate!!

PEOPLE

As an industry, we are fixated on technology.

It enables so much.

Yet people are the origin of the technology. Therefore, people need investment and so too does talent acquisition and then motivating and retaining people.

The world of print technology and production is diverse, creative, innovative, global and inspiring. If we lose people to other industries, it is therefore our fault because we do have an incredible industry. We have the tools to captivate people and inspire them with purpose and possibility. But we cannot sit back and expect people to get it.

So the key question must be: how are we inspiring our people with a shared vision? How are we looking after people, their motivation, wellbeing, mental health, future and purpose?

The challenges laid out here are not insurmountable, but if we do not address them we will be making it harder for our community to continue to thrive in the future.