Proficiency Profiles

Pichler’s high
performance

principles

90’s megadealer’s message
to progressive independents

23 Apr’12 (Updated)

Eastman (Long Beach, CA) was the first megadealer in the OP market. CEO Bill Pichler was widely admired by peers as the most innovative leader on the planet. We sat down with Bill last week in NY to discuss his achievements…

Read more: Bill Pichler's high performance principles

Amazon: Bezos'
business beliefs

Top 10 leadership lessons from
the guy that’s eating your lunch

18 Apr’12

With the passing of Apple’s Steve Jobs, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is now tech’s leading philosopher-CEO…

Read more: Amazon: Bezos' business beliefs

Proficiency Profile

FSi: Go for Gold

Four more marketing steps
towards the $100m sales quest

11 Apr’12 (Updated)

Charlotte (NC) based FSI (ex Forms & Supply) is one of the top 5 US OP resellers. Later this year it celebrates its 50th anniversary with a series of consumer shows. We spoke with director Mark Leazer...

Read more: Proficiency Profile: FSi go for gold

Proficiency Profile

Penketh's: the
OPS progressive

Personalized productivity

p r o v i d e r  o f  h i g h

performance workplaces

21 Mar’12 (Complete)

Last week, we visited Penketh’s, one of the UK’s top 3 progressive OPS resellers. It was joy to review the tremendous progress they have made in the past few years…

Read more: Proficiency Profile - Penketh's

Discount dynamos
double sales drive

US #2 etailer embraces Twitter
and Facebook to fuel growth

9 Mar'12 (Complete)

In February, we visited Columbus (WI) to meet the team leading one of the hottest etailers on the planet, Discount Office Items (DOI). We speak with Tim and Jim Horton and marketing chief Joe Schaefer…

Read more: Proficiency Profile - Discount Office Items

Proficiency Profile

The Office City
lights the way

Bill Jones discusses the progress
of AOPD and his Bay Area ace

6 Mar’12 (Complete)

Bill Jones is chairman/director of global contract group AOPD and CEO of The Office City (Redwood, CA). We discussed the remarkable progress of the group over the past 5 years and the brand refresh at his progressive OPS reseller…

Read more: Proficiency Profile - Bill Jones The Office City

Proficiency Profile

Twitter is not
social media!

It’s strictly the best business
communications medium

3 Mar’12

Jack Dorsey is the genius founder of Twitter and Square, the brilliantly simple and affordable mobile payment device that is revolutionizing small businesses. He talks with Fast Company’s Ellen McGirt…

Read more: Proficiency Profile - Jack Dorsey Twitter & Square

Pay–LESS for
more productivity

Omaha reseller gears up
to double sales by 2017

25 Feb’12 (Complete)

Jim Matgen and Keith Powell started Pay-LESS Office Products 26 years ago and built one of the leading US regional resellers. They have just invested in sales and marketing professionals to start a new phase of growth...

Read more: Proficiency Profile - Pay-LESS Office Products

Proficiency Profile

Friends for
productivity

Ohio’s leading OPS reseller’s
plan to double sales by 2017

19 Feb’12 (Complete)

Last week we visited one of the most progressive OPS resellers in the US, Ken Schroeder’s Friends Business Source based in Findlay (Ohio). We speak with VP sales and marketing Betsy Hughes…

Read more: Proficiency Profile - Friends Business Source

Proficiency Profile

U n i t e d
unplugged

Shelton shares strategies
for inspiring independents

18 Feb’12 (Complete)

Last Tuesday the management team of United Stationers, the US#1 OP wholesaler, reported 2011 results. We asked new president Todd Shelton to expand on the plans he outlined in the webcast…

Read more: Proficiency Profile: United unplugged...Todd Shelton

Proficiency Profile
Winning women in OPS

Xerox vision
Burns bright

CEO’s passion to win the
BPO, managed services market

14 Feb’12

Xerox CEO Ursula Burns sees her company’s transition to services provider as part of its longtime mission: streamlining businesses’ processes.

Read more: Proficiency Profile - Ursula Burns of Xerox

Winning Women in OPS

Banner's managed
services champion

Catherine Burke talks about her ‘land and expand’ personalized services strategy

31 Jan’12 (Complete)

Banner Managed Communication (BMC) is the fast expanding services division of UK leader office2office. We discuss its success with MD Catherine Burke…

Read more: Proficiency Profile: BMC chief: Cath Burke

Proficiency Profiles

P r o g r e s s i v e

OPS performers

Snapshots of Sun, Friends, Hurst,

Ontime, Pay-LESS and Economy

28 Jan’12 (complete)

In recent weeks we’ve been in touch with many US progressive resellers and will be visiting more in February. Make sure you learn from these movers and shakers…

Read more: Progressive OPS performers

Proficiency Profile

R e g e n c y’s
regal progress

Progressive OPS reseller achieves
HP MPS advanced specialist status

18 Jan’12 (Updated)

Leading US OPS reseller Regency Office Products based in Raleigh (NC) has made remarkable strides in recent years. We discussed progress with president Eric Beguelin yesterday...

Read more: Proficiency Profile - Regency OP

Proficiency Profile

Tales of Tallgrass’
Midwest mission

Sustainability at the core of merged Iowa reseller’s growth plans

19 Dec’11 (Complete)

Last May, Midwest OP resellers Frohwein, Matthews and Pioneer announced a merger and celebrated the highly complementary combine with a brilliant brand name: Tallgrass Business Resources. We discussed plans with CFO, David Parsons...

Read more: Proficiency Profile: Tallgrass Business Resources

Success was hard,
but it was worth it!

Source OP... probably the most
progressive OPS reseller on the planet?

4 Nov’11 (Reviewed and updated)

We’ve published a number of success stories recently about progressive resellers offering new services e.g. FM, MPS and tech support. Here is a terrific case study to inspire dealers into action…

Read more: Proficiency Profile - Source OP Updated

Proficiency Profile

MPS success for
United resellers

OP+ and Southwest demo how
sales skill, not size is everything

25 Sep’11 (Updated)

Managed Print Services (MPS) is a hot topic right now, but very few traditional OP dealers have achieved conversion success. United’s HQueue service has gone back to basics with powerful results….tomorrow

Read more: MPS success for United resellers

Proficiency Profile

9 Passions of Porcini

3M’s design chief’s
elegant office designs

19 Sep’11 (Updated)

The excellent Fast Company magazine features the 9 passions of its design guru Mauro Porcini. We highlight the most elegant designs …

Read more: The 9 passions of 3M's Porcini

Proficiency Profile

The Office
Environment
Company

OEC’s leadership in low-cost,
low-carbon, local communities

1 Sep'11 (Updated)

It’s rare to see genuine commitment to local community care…to real green processes, not just products; to cutting clients costs. Louisville’s Office Environment Company (OEC) has been committed since 1907. We discuss its success with president Tricia Burke…

Read more: Proficiency Profile - The Office Environment Company

Proficiency Profile

Steve Jobs’
great genius

Tribute to technology’s über user

27 Aug’11

Fast Company’s Cliff Kuang just posted a great tribute to Apple’s new chairman Steve Jobs that captured the true genius of the greatest business innovator of at least the last 50 years

Read more: Steve Jobs great genius