The Old Guys are Getting (back) Into Managed Print Services - And I thought MPS Trainers were Bad...

"...Everything dies baby that's a fact 

But maybe everything that dies someday comes back 

Put your makeup on fix your hair up pretty and meet me tonight in Atlantic City..."

It's not the same scale as the gang-wars of New Jersey, but there is something here.

If you've been in this nutty industry for more than five years, you've probably heard tell of the mythic millionaire copier dealer who built a dealership and sold out.

He waited in siege around the non-compete, got back in, built up another dealership, sold out once again.

A millionaire, twice over.

Hey, this is America and there is nothing wrong with doing what you do well, and getting paid to do so. Capitalism at its best. I love it.

Yet, after talking with a couple of these new/old comers,  I walked away feeling the need for a shower.

Slick, sly, oily...ummm...gross.

He was 69. Clarence Clemons...DOTC PowerPlayer of the Last 40 years...

"...Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The rat pulls into town rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance and disappear down Flamingo Lane...

...And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand but they wind up wounded, not even dead
Tonight in Jungleland..."



I first saw Clarence October of 1980, during The River tour.  My back was against the wall of Cobo Arena, Detroit, - I was in the very last seat.

I did not matter.

What seemed miles away, the Big Man in a white tuxedo atop two stories of speakers blaring out from what appeared to be an impossibly big golden saxophone, the sax solo to end all others was, dare I say, religious. If you've seen, you know.

Hundreds of concerts later, I still remember that Michigan autumn night. The band started just after 8PM and rocked to just before 1AM. For the last set, which I believe was the 3rd or 4th encore, all the house lights remained on. It seemed everybody in the joint was up, dancing in the isles and sweating.

That night, those few hours together, was about as human as you could get.

Fucking Glorious.

Bruce's music is a good friend of DOTC, a good friend of mine. I've played him here many times.

I will miss The Big Man. Tears were shed.

Bruce -

"Clarence lived a wonderful life," states Springsteen. "He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage.

His loss is immeasurable and we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside him for nearly forty years.

He was my great friend, my partner, and with Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music. His life, his memory, and his love will live on in that story and in our band."

The Autumn of Managed Print Services: Out with the Old, In with the "new"

Managed Print Services - I Swear, You Learn More from a 3 Minute Record...

Video of The Week: She's The One, Springsteen

"I saw Managed Print Services Future and it's name is Bruce Springsteen."

Click to email me. 

Summertime in America: Let's Run in the Hills of Carolina. Do kids still play Cowboys and Indians?

No. I guess Cowboys and Indians is not politically correct, is it?

I guess red tipped plastic toy guns and football games with no scoreboards are the theme of these new generations. Here's your empty trophy.

What a disservice we perform.

How we have destroyed imagination, reference for toil, discovery and wonder.

Wii !!!

We talk about the death of the copier.

Humans, fight the machine.

"Make Love, not War..."
"Make Content, not Prints..."

Holy crap.

Toner Crime from Down Under: "40 years Worth of Toner purchased" - MpS, OMG, LOL!!!

In the, "Gee, MPS is a really good fit for Public Sector" file, a story of back room shenanigans, intrigue, gift giving and 40 years worth of toner from our friends in Australia and a place called Arts Victoria.

Well, it ain't toner bombs from the Middle East, its a bit more fun.

Odd as it may seem, a number of Purchasers in Australia have been caught, allegedly, paying 4 times the going rate for toner cartridges and receiving 'gift cards' in return.(No way!)

Cut right out of the report from the Victorian Ombudsmen:

"Ricoh CL7000 printer

In June 2003, Arts Victoria purchased a Ricoh CL7000, black/white and colour printer. The purchase of this printer included a service contract with Ricoh
Australia (Ricoh).

OfficeMax, the approved supplier under the State Purchase Contract, do not supply toner cartridges for a Ricoh CL7000 printer. OfficeMax advises purchasing officers to purchase toner cartridges for this printer from Ricoh.

The Ricoh service contract included:

• regular servicing
• black toner cartridges free of charge
• colour toner cartridges at a set price of $342 each. In January 2004,

Ricoh reduced the price of colour cartridges for this printer to $263 each.

My officers received advice from Ricoh that the price of $263 per unit for colour toner cartridges for a Ricoh CL7000 printer was available to Arts Victoria and remained until May 2010."

I know what you're thinking, "wait...Ricoh is supplying black toner cartridges for free?"

More tomfoolery, no doubt.

DOTC to Review books about Managed Print Services. Starting with Tab...

A collection of my fav's...and some not so fav...

Quote from a World Famous IKON Rep:

"I don't read, books..."

She said this out loud, during a Monday morning sales meeting.  I ain't kidding.

She was a very successful copier rep.

Over on LinkedIn, there is a nice little conversation going on around books. Books that exist, and books that do not exist - books about selling MpS. In my not so humble opinion, books aren't the answer.

On my desk, up there in the pic, are a few of the books I have read and collected over the years.  I had many, many more, but I lost them it what I loving call "the flood".

Let me first say this - there are more Poser authors, cloaked in mysterious garb, than one can point a stick at.  Most honestly believe what they are saying. Some even believe they are the first to utter such brilliance.

I find value in most, but in some, very little.

So here it is - DOTC will review "MPS: Managed Print Services" by Tad Edwards. Then we will look at "Designing a Document Strategy" by Kevin Craine and "Power Selling" written by Steven Power.

Honest reflections as seen from the trenches, from the Selling Professional, and from the MpS Practice Manager.

Hang on to your hats...

MpS & Selling: Are You a Hunter or A Farmer? Lions Prefer Farmers...

In the beginning you thought there was only one. But there were two.

At first, you thought you were smarter than both. But you were wrong.

They were simple animals, no scheme, no plans. Again, you were wrong.

Then you called down "The Devil" - he helped get one.  But was consumed by the other.

Tonight, the blood soaked field is afire.

Tonight, you're alone. Tonight, you're "going to sort it out."

Solutions Sales: The FireBox 500..."Do You Want it In Red or Blue?"

"I do not have time to be probed..." If I had a dime for every time some hottie told me that, I would have a dime...

Matt Jones, MpS'r and partaker of the DOTC way, posted this little ditty over on LinkedIn - he made it.

Check his stuff out.

One of the greatest sales managers I have ever known, from IKON no less, once told me, "...sometimes we simply over complicate all this...we're selling copiers here, not the SpaceShuttle..."

Sometimes, you gotta just quote the box.






Click to email me. 

D- Day...Does Anyone Remember?

June 6.

If not for this, who would we be selling MpS/MOS to?

If not for Them, who would we be?

You think we're an Empire?

The only foreign land we conquer and keep is the land we use to bury our dead.

This makes Us unique in history.

We are Rugged. We are Individuals.

We Are Exceptional.

Remember...

Another Consultant in The Making: Edward McLaughlin To Step Down As President Of Sharp Electronics Corporation

Sharp Electronics Corporation (SEC) Chairman and CEO Kozo Takahashi and Edward McLaughlin today said that they have reached an agreement concerning Mr. McLaughlin’s decision to step down as President of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) and as a Director of SEC. Mr. McLaughlin will assist in the search for his successor, which is now underway.

Once SIICA’s new President has been appointed, Mr. McLaughlin will remain with SEC where he will serve as a senior advisor to SEC and to SIICA. This advisory role will include, among other projects, working to ensure a seamless transition to SIICA’s new leadership.

Mr. McLaughlin also expects to begin to pursue new business opportunities as an independent consultant to companies in the field of office automation, focusing on designing, developing and managing projects that would employ his deep expertise and more than 35 years of industry experience. He and Sharp have agreed that, during this period, he will not enter into consulting or other engagements that would conflict with Sharp’s business objectives.

CISCO and Xerox, Sitting in a Cloud, K. I. S. S. I. N. G. - And YOU are Comfortable in Stage 1 and 2?

On May 9, 2011, Xerox and CISCO announced forming a strategic alliance delivering cloud-based IT services, and technology that combine network and print services.

This is more then cloud printing.  This is more then mobile print.  This is about ITO, this is about Borderless Networks.

And its about opening up "new revenue opportunities in managed print " for Cisco partners.

Its about Xerox partners having opportunities to drive network services promoting Cisco Smart Services, supporting their customers' Cisco network solutions.

Do you see?

Can you see the handwriting on the wall or should we dig up an interpreter?

No?  Yeah, that's right, you need stick figures, don't you?

This Friday is Leap of Faith Friday...

MpS, copier sales, toner sales, leasing, business reviews, sales forecast meetings, reviews, marketing meetings, cold calls, asking her to dance, asking her on a date, for her hand, sending your little one off to first day of kindergarten, giving her away at her wedding - there is a point, it could be a nano-second or a month, when you peer over the Edge, stare into the Darkness and leap.

Leap of Faith

We've all had that feeling. We've all been to an Edge. And we all will be there again.

Sing it, Bruce...




All over the world the rain was pourin'
I was scratchin' where it itched
Oh heartbreak and despair got nothing but boring
So I grabbed you baby like a wild pitch


It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust


Now your legs were heaven your breasts were the altar
Your body was the holy land
You shouted "jump" but my heart faltered
You laughed and said "Baby don't you understand?"


It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
In your heart you must trust