Ronald Williams, Jr. is an accomplished author who has written several books about the Postal Service and its challenges. His most recent book, “Personality and Distribution Center (P&DC): Surviving the Postal Paradigm,” is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the inner workings of the Postal Service and how it’s coping with a rapidly changing world. We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Ronald to ask him about his book and his insights on the Postal Service.
Collaboration and teamwork are crucial in any organizational setting. How can distribution centers foster a culture of collaboration among their employees, especially in times of change and uncertainty? The number one thing that management can do is to engage the employees through participation programs. The facility I worked in had a program called Quality of Working life (QWL). It was supposed to be a joint union and management commitment to let a functional group of employees meet to share ideas and create plans to improve postal operations. Teams were comprised of Quality Circles represented by employees from different operations, and another group called a Self-Directed Work Team made up of employees in the same operation working together to improve operational performance. Managers were supposed to act as a coach to the employees at the meetings to referee and discuss a project. The program could be a lot more effective if it was fully supported by postal management. This program sanctioned by union and management was often unilaterally sidelined by management for the latest managerial fad (Example: Lean Six Sigma and Lean Mail Processing.) Titles that solely supported management desires and ignored collaboration and teamwork.
What do you hope readers will take away from your book? How can the lessons and perspectives you share in “Personality and Distribution Center (P&DC): Surviving The Postal Paradigm” be applied beyond the postal industry? It’s too bad that the workforce isn’t taught or encouraged to seriously understand the businesses rich history through professional development or deckplate business talks from executive leadership. In my book I offer the reader an extensive list of must-read postal books and references that should be added to a postal employees’ personal library. Most citizens have no idea what goes on inside the United States Postal Service beyond handing a mail piece to a window clerk or letter carrier. USPS is a 24-hour operation must engage tens of thousands of employees behind the scenes. I hope employees, family members and postal customers read the book to get a better understanding of the cultural mantra “If you’re on the outside looking in, you can’t understand it and If you’re on the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.” If you live in the United States of America call your local post office to ask how you can get a tour of a processing or sorting facility to get a better understanding of how your mail is received, processed and delivered across the United States and the world. The lessons and perspectives can most likely be applied to many other industries. BUY NOW ON AMAZON
Personality and Distribution Center – Surviving the Postal Paradigm
It’s hard to explain the job inside a postal processing and distribution center to family and friends. You might have heard there’s is a financial problem at the post office, but it’s not the only drawback. Mr. Williams shares his activism on the job to bring much-needed attention to workplace working conditions. He outlines the ignorance of leadership, disrespect towards employees, and dereliction of duty in a grid-locked culture failing to address the dysfunctional workplace climate. BUY NOW ON AMAZON
Meet the Author
Ronald Williams, Jr. is a military veteran and retired postal employee who loved his job at USPS. He found out over his career that moral courage exhibited by postal leadership was a rare commodity. He clocked-in to work every day on a regular schedule energized to process and deliver America’s mail. Always at the workroom table with more than a fork but often disappointed about what was on the workplace menu. Read his book to find out what he experienced, the challenges at the Postal Service, and some solutions. This is Ronald’s third and final book about life inside the mail giant.
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Finally, where can readers find your book, “Personality and Distribution Center (P&DC): Surviving the Postal Paradigm,” and connect with you to learn more about your work? Readers can find my book on amazon.com in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. If interested readers can connect with me at PDC921@yahoo.com.
