AICC Boxscore 2013

AICC ASSOCIATE MEMBER BOARD

ASSOCIATES COLUMN

Dynamic Leadership By Kevin Widder

Tom Kowa Huston Patterson Printers Chairman tkowa@hustonpatterson.com

In a time of challenging issues, it’s very important for all of us, in the packaging industry, to show leadership. But not just any leadership – dynamic leadership! The word “dynamic” is defined as a physical force or energy, marked by usually continuous and productive activity or change.

I believe that dynamic leadership begins with our willingness to change.

We’re all facing challenges such as a shortage of labor, government infighting, energy consumption, safety concerns, tax breaks, embracing new technologies, and more. When it comes to all of this, I suggest that the only thing we have total control over, and thus have the opportunity to show Dynamic leadership, is our minds – the way we look at our circumstances and our willingness to change. John D. Rockefeller, the founder of the family fortune, said that attitude is everything. It’s not a part of the thing. It’s not the majority. It is everything. If we are to show Dynamic leadership, the way we look at our circumstances will make all the difference in the world. When we look for the good, we will find more good. When we focus on the bad, we’ll focus on that. Whatever we focus on tends to expand. Every day is a new opportunity for us to change our attitude, look for the good, and do the best we can with those things that we can control. Here are a few simple ideas that, I believe, could help all of us to have a more positive attitude every day and thus help us show Dynamic leadership to our co-workers, customers, and suppliers. Before going to sleep each night, may I suggest that you NOT watch the late TV news. It’s usually full of negative stories that don’t help us move forward with our thoughts. In the morning, turn off radio and television news and stop the paper for a while. If something major happens, someone will let you know. Instead, read some positive affirmations, out loud, that declare what you do want instead of what you don’t want. Many people go around each day declaring things that actually take them backwards: “It’s hard to get good labor. The government is hurting our business. New technology is too difficult to understand.” These are very powerful affirmations, in the wrong direction. Is that what we really want? I don’t think so. So, I suggest that we should stop declaring such thoughts because words are previews of things to come. Our words become our thoughts and our thoughts become our actions and our reality.

Kevin Widder Automatän Vice Chairman kwidder@automatan.com

Brian Kentopp Bobst North America Inc. Secretary brian.kentopp@bobst.com

Keith R. Umlauf The Haire Group First Alternate kumlauf@hairegroup.com

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David Callif BCM Inks Immediate Past Chairman dave@bcminks.com

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