More from off-the-grid: what a printing company in Montana can tell us about leadership

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Christian Long was one of the people who came on the tour of Printing for Less. He wrote up his thoughts (with a slant about it teaching him a lot about school design — Christian runs a company that explores that topic, so you can understand his filter there). I too came away with the same impression. This is — by far — the most impressive business I’ve been in. Not because it makes a ton of money (it only has $24 million in sales) but because of the approach it takes. I’ve spoken to executives at many of the world’s best or most respected companies like Target, Boeing, Nestle, Google, Amazon, Sun Microsystems, and fell in love with this little company. I hope to help make Podtech even 1/100th as fun a place. Also because it is being built in the absolute middle of nowhere without ANY geek infrastructure around it.

Andrew Field is my business hero.

Awesome post Christian. Thanks for putting to words thoughts that have been rattling around in my head ever since that tour.

Oh, and I love their dog policy. At the end it simply says “no cats.”

Published by Robert Scoble

I help entrepreneurs build their technology business' story, help with getting ready for investors, with other launch plans, and many other strategic things that can help your new startup. Call to talk: +1-425-205-1921 (text first).

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18 thoughts on “More from off-the-grid: what a printing company in Montana can tell us about leadership”

  1. Pingback: STUFFLEUFAGUS » Wouldn’t you love to work at a place like this…
  4. Pingback: Lee Hopkins: Better Communication Results

  5. Montana is an HUGE epicenter for all those wacky communal apocalyptic religious fruitcakes, I guess it rubs off and filters it’s way into the business-climate water supply. Only one step away from Heaven’s Gate, eh? All that’s missing is some totalitarian-group manipulative demagoguery from a charismatic leader…

    Yoga, Family, Learning Centers, Communal Hippieisms, “Design as God”….yadda, yadda. And it’s Bozeman, so kick up the Hemp Pants, tie-dyes and Dreadlocks.

    Ohmigawd, so they light incense and have nap times and random meets around the corporate drum circle? New Age gone wacky. I bet they hug and bake their own bread too.

    Strip away the Geeks, the Segways roaming the hallways, the Xbox centers, the foosball tables, the random parking lot field hockey games, and you are left with the same ole Dot.Com 1998 fantasy biz philosophy.

    All workers are humans? Geee, those guys at the Heat Treat factory must be aliens then. Would having kids on site work at say a Foundry or a Firehouse?

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  6. Montana is an HUGE epicenter for all those wacky communal apocalyptic religious fruitcakes, I guess it rubs off and filters it’s way into the business-climate water supply. Only one step away from Heaven’s Gate, eh? All that’s missing is some totalitarian-group manipulative demagoguery from a charismatic leader…

    Yoga, Family, Learning Centers, Communal Hippieisms, “Design as God”….yadda, yadda. And it’s Bozeman, so kick up the Hemp Pants, tie-dyes and Dreadlocks.

    Ohmigawd, so they light incense and have nap times and random meets around the corporate drum circle? New Age gone wacky. I bet they hug and bake their own bread too.

    Strip away the Geeks, the Segways roaming the hallways, the Xbox centers, the foosball tables, the random parking lot field hockey games, and you are left with the same ole Dot.Com 1998 fantasy biz philosophy.

    All workers are humans? Geee, those guys at the Heat Treat factory must be aliens then. Would having kids on site work at say a Foundry or a Firehouse?

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  7. Christopher: I didn’t see anything like that at Printing for Less. But we’ll save the rest for when I get my video done.

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  8. Christopher: I didn’t see anything like that at Printing for Less. But we’ll save the rest for when I get my video done.

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  9. I’ve been using Printing for Less for about 4 years now, and every interaction that I’ve had has been amazingly positive and wonderful. I literally can’t speak highly enough of them (and I swear I don’t have any affliation with them). It’s refreshing to know that I’m supporting such an awesome company!

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  10. I’ve been using Printing for Less for about 4 years now, and every interaction that I’ve had has been amazingly positive and wonderful. I literally can’t speak highly enough of them (and I swear I don’t have any affliation with them). It’s refreshing to know that I’m supporting such an awesome company!

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  11. I hope you guys are right about these guys and gals. I just made my first order with them. My first venture, and my first business card. Woohoo!!!!

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  12. I hope you guys are right about these guys and gals. I just made my first order with them. My first venture, and my first business card. Woohoo!!!!

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  13. My brother in law (a great guy) started working there a few months back – I’m even more excited for him now.

    BTW – his dog had to go through the interview with him!

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  14. My brother in law (a great guy) started working there a few months back – I’m even more excited for him now.

    BTW – his dog had to go through the interview with him!

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  17. I can say now that their customer support is great. I have gotten 3 calls from them since I put my order in. Don’t get me wrong, they were calls because of my mistakes in submitting my file.

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  18. I can say now that their customer support is great. I have gotten 3 calls from them since I put my order in. Don’t get me wrong, they were calls because of my mistakes in submitting my file.

    Like

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