Forum
DIGGING BELOW THE SURFACE WITH INDUSTRY MOLE A grave consideration
Comments please to
industrymole@imagereportsmag.co.uk
Every year at around this time, I am reminded of that great question by the American humorist Will Rogers: “If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can’t it get us out of it?” Every January at Mole Graphics we - well, mostly I - take stock of the year just gone. As January is miserable enough anyway, it seems an opportune time to reflect on our notable failures. The first thing we need to acknowledge is that we all fail. We fail at something everyday. Luckily, most of our errors are invisible. As far as anyone else knows, Mole Graphics is still running like a well-oiled machine - which indeed it is part of the time. The worst failure you can make as a business owner is to recruit the wrong person. We’ve all done it. I once hired a former gravedigger from the Orkneys. God knows why - well, I do really, he struck me as quirky, and intelligent, which he was. Unfortunately,
his wasn’t the kind of intelligence that worked in a commercial environment and he couldn’t think laterally. I suppose that isn’t exactly called for when you’re digging graves. To be fair, he took my ‘this isn’t working out’ speech in a good spirit. I gave him a reference - brief, slightly economical with the truth - and off he went. Sometimes you make the opposite
mistake. You know someone is good but let the opportunity slip because you can’t quite envisage how and where they’ll fit in. That is a real consideration in a relatively small business like ours but a couple of candidates I’ve interviewed have prospered elsewhere, making me think that one of the things that makes good people good is that they find a way of making themselves useful.
Luckily Mole Graphics has made more good hires than bad ones and, with most of our staff preferring to hang around, I’ve not needed to enter the so-called ‘war for a talent’ for a while. But when I do - possibly this autumn if the economy doesn’t play up - I am extremely unlikely to hire another gravedigger.
SDUK / PRINTWEAR AND P&P LIVE 2024!
When? 25-27 February, 2024
Where? NEC, Birmingham
Cost? Free
FESPA GLOBAL When?
19-22 March, 2024 Where?
RAI Exhibition Centre, Amsterdam
Cost? TBA
DRUPA When?
28 May-7June, 2024 Where?
Messe Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf
Cost? TBA
WRAPFEST When?
3-4 October, 2024 Where?
Silverstone Race Circuit
Cost? Various- see event website
Who will be there? At SDUK expect the usual cross- section of suppliers to the sign and digital print markets, but given the show will run in tandem with Printwear and Promotion Live! for the first time there may be even more cross fertilisation - especially in terms of visitors.
Should you go?
Probably worth it just to see if there’s much change under the new owner Datateam.
Who will be there? This continues to be ‘the’ show for the large-format print sector and will no doubt host all the key suppliers as well as myriad interesting less well-known ones.
Who will be there? It’s worth checking the exhibitor list to see if the companies you’re homing in on will be there, but it’s fair to say that you can expect most of the major players from all parts of the print industry to get involved.
Who will be there?
Expect a wide range of suppliers of vinyls and other relevant media, print and finishing kit, software etc. on the show floor - and of course see the wrappers in action.
Should you go? Yes
Should you go?
Definitely worth the trip, even if it’s just to keep abreast of what’s out there in the industry as a whole.
Should you go? Yes, if you are interested in vehicle wrapping.
24 | February/March 2024
EVENTS
Rating 6/10
Rating 9/10
Rating 8/10
Rating 9/10
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28
