It seems as though we’re being bombarded by media stories that make you want to scream: “What were they thinking?” It doesn’t matter if they’re talking about politics, sports, business, entertainment, or any other aspect of daily news. Some of these stories are simply hard to believe.
We’re going to share a few of those with you from time to time if for no other reason than to provide you with a coping mechanism, let you know that others share your bewilderment and frustration, and maybe even point out a lesson or two which we may learn from the poor decisions of others.
Let’s start with a recent headline from the political world which really shouldn’t have surprised us.
Talk about irony. I saw a cartoon in the newspaper yesterday that really proves the old adage of “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Picture this. A mailman, heavy bag slung over his shoulder, is on a sidewalk approaching a house after passing through an open gate into the yard. There is a sign in the yard which reads “BEWARE OF DOGS.” On his face is a look of sheer terror. The reason is quite obvious. Directly in front of him stand four very large, obviously vicious dogs baring their sharp fangs, poised to attack.
The artist has labeled each of the dogs … EMail, Texting, Twitter, and Recession. We suddenly understand why the postman must beware of each. These four dogs obviously threaten his existence.
Now, the irony.
In today’s paper, I read that the post office will once again raise the price of a first-class stamp! The price will increase to 44 cents on May 11.
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) suffered a net loss of $2.8 billion last year.
The bulk of its processing and sorting operations is performed at some 400 large, special-purpose mail processing plants … separate and distinct from its network of local, retail post offices.
It also operates 58 airport mail centers, 220,000 motor vehicles and 37,000 facilities.
Volume is expected to plunge by some 12 billion pieces during the coming year.
So, with all of these responsibilities, a tremendous projected loss in volume, and growing competition from electronic communications such as E-mail, Twitter and Texting, the USPS is facing what may well be the greatest challenge it ever had to deal with.
When you consider that fewer and fewer people are buying stamps because of the constant increase in prices and the many emerging options which cost nothing, I can’t help but wonder who made the decision that a good strategy to address these challenges would be to once again raise prices!
What were they thinking?
The Postmaster General receives a salary of $263,575. Add his many other sources of compensation for this job, and he receives a total of $857,459 annually. Was he the one who made this decision, or did he simply approve someone else’s recommendation?
I know hearing about another price increase makes me want to run right out and buy even more over-priced stamps.
What were they thinking?
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.