Focus on What You Can Control: A Leadership Wake-Up Call

If you’ve spent time in leadership meetings at your print shop, you’ve probably heard things like “paper prices are killing us,” “customers are dragging their feet,” and “the competition’s dropping prices again.”

Sound familiar? These aren’t just complaints—they’re real challenges. But here’s the problem: you can’t control any of them. And if your leadership team is stuck reacting to what’s happening out there, you’ll never gain real traction in here.

Spinning your wheels doesn’t move the business forward so let’s just call it like it is. Face it, the print industry has been through a lot. It has faced supply chain headaches, wild pricing swings, economic uncertainty, and of course, the nonstop pressure to do more with less.

But strong leadership doesn’t come from playing defense. It comes from focusing your energy where it actually makes a difference—inside your walls. Think offense. When leadership teams dwell on the uncontrollable, your teams feel stuck, progress slows, accountability drops off and meetings turn into vent sessions, not decision-making sessions

None of that gets more jobs through your presses. And it certainly doesn’t help your customers, nor will it grow your business. What can you actually control? More than you think.

Great leadership teams stay focused on the levers they can pull to drive success. Here’s where your time and energy will actually pay off:

• Communication: Are your departments on the same page—or working in silos?
• Processes: Can you tighten up quoting, scheduling, or production handoffs?

• People: Are you actively coaching your team—or just hoping they figure it out?

• Sales Activity: You can’t force a “yes,” but you can increase outreach and follow-up.

• Customer Experience: Are you fast, responsive, and easy to work with?

• Innovation: Are you bringing new ideas to clients—or just waiting for them to ask?

These aren’t buzzwords. They’re everyday leadership choices—and they’re all under your control.

Here’s a simple filter for every leadership meeting. To help keep your meetings productive, I encourage you to begin asking this one question every time a topic comes up:

“Can we take action on this today?”

If the answer is no—because it’s something external—acknowledge it and then shift back to something you can move the needle on.

For example:

You can’t control paper mills. 

But you can communicate early with customers about availability and options.

You can’t control slow buyers. 

But you can improve your quoting, follow-up, and sales cadence.

Those small shifts in focus? They add up fast. Leadership is a choice, is a privilege – not a reaction. Running a print business means there’s always noise. But the noise doesn’t have to run your leadership team.

So next time you meet with your team, ask “are we focused on what we control—or just reacting to what we can’t?” Make a list. Assign ownership. Drive real action. Because leadership isn’t just about handling what happens to your business. It’s about deciding what your business does next.

Mike Philie can help validate what’s working and what may need to change in your business. Changing the trajectory of a business is difficult to do while simultaneously operating the core competencies. Mike provides strategy and insight to ambitious owners and CEOs in the Graphic Communications Industry by providing direct and realistic insight, not being afraid to voice the unpopular opinion and helping leaders navigate change through a common sense and practical approach. Learn more at www.philiegroup.com, LinkedIn or email at mphilie@philiegroup.com.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions.