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It is the responsibility of everyone in a leadership position, all the way through the board of directors, to make sure investments are well thought out.  Many day-to-day decisions can be corrected.  Facility location, design, and specifications are permanent.  They can cripple a site from day one and lead to an early demise.  These mistakes are fiduciary crimes...

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Several weigh in on the subject of ad hoc teams and relate their experiences....

Travis asks, "What is this symbol?"

I am not talking about teams with assigned rolls, such as baseball, football, or, papermachine production teams.  I am talking about ad hoc teams put together to accomplish a specific task...

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How can you make five 3's equal 37?

We must communicate clearly and effectively, good news or bad, to our subordinates and superiors.  We must listen clearly and with focus to matters told to us.  And we must practice this all the time...

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Travis asks, "Can you cut it square?"

If you have not been following closely, it is apparent upon examination that the current US administration is solidly focused on shutting down coal-powered boilers used for any purpose.  Your mill likely does not have a coal-fired boiler, but if it does, it is in the cross-hairs of the EPA.  Yet, even if your mill does not have a coal-fired boiler, it is likely your mill’s electrical supply has at least some portion supplied by coal-fired generating capabilities...

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Travis asks, "How many are in the top half?"

An even split...

What a week – politics, football and kids.  Three subjects we can really get hyped up about...

Here are the responses....

The majority of respondents work at a facility that does not have a coal-fired boiler...

The area which I have often thought would make the most sense to contract, yet is done only rarely, is maintenance stores.  There are several companies which do at least a partial job of providing these services, but I am not aware of any company that provides a full-service maintenance stores solution...

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Travis asks, "What's on this list each month?"

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a major report on the issue in September, along with a “Summary for Policymakers.” Contrary to the impressions that many people have gained from the media over the past few months, these two reports are far from the last word on the climate change issue...

Some have been on for a while, some have not...

There are many things that are a surprise, the seasonal change is not one of them.  It happens every three months and the September and March ones bring the most changes...

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Travis asks, "How many states are in the United States?"