Great first step: WhatTheyThink and Cal Poly Collaborate on Innovative Industry Educational Program

Collaborations have been around for a while. Nice, but, this is the first series that is not about the end of the world or selling stuff. It's about making stuff.

July 15, 2009: Lean Management and Manufacturing— A Formula for Success in a Changing World of Print

August 26, 2009: Cultural Imperatives in Becoming Lean— A Motivated Workforce Leads to High Productivity and Profits

September 30, 2009: Sustainability, Lean and Knowledge Management — The Green Train: The 5Ws to Catching and Sustaining it, a Combination for Profitability

Each participant will have the opportunity to receive a copy of the book coauthored by professor Kevin Cooper and professor Ken Macro, “Lean Printing: Pathway to Success,” from PIA at half price, and will be entitled to one free consultation via email.

My two cents concerns this sentence:

For participants who purchase all of the sessions at the same time, a discounted rate of $89 per session is available

It would be alot more helpful to everyone if some global picked up the tab. We all know that the marginal cost of a webinar is zero. HP could buy a bulk for all their users. Xerox could buy in bulk for Premier Partners. I'm sure Kodak and Oce also have user group formations. Maybe Canon wants to get back in the game and offer this for everyone for free?

Then, maybe a $25 subscription fee two weeks after the webinars? Or some Global pays the $25 subscription fee for their PSP's instead of investing in advertising that produces no actionable information. Or some global buys the right to keep the webinar live at some site. Or the contents of the webinar, including questions is available on line for free and printernet published in paperback form for whatever it costs and a reasonable margin for the experts.

the link and snippet

WhatTheyThink and Cal Poly Collaborate on Innovative Industry Educational Program - Printing Industry News from WhatTheyThink:

Monday, June 15, 2009

Lexington, Kentucky USA – WhatTheyThink, a leading media, market intelligence and research company for the printing and publishing industries, today announced that it is partnering with the Graphic Communication Institute (GrCI) at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, to bring an innovative education webinar series to printing and publishing executives. This affordable program will be delivered by Cal Poly professors who are recognized industry experts in their respective subject areas. Participants may register for individual or all sessions by visiting WhatTheyThink.com and selecting the Webinars tab."