Perhaps an unfortunate saying given the recent tragedy at Reagan National in Washington, DC, but still true: you can't learn to fly with one foot on the ground.

This column is always directed at the executives in this industry, and they continue to amaze me with their views of what goes on in their mills.

If you have a mill manager who is trying to fly with one foot on the ground, either train them or help them find employment elsewhere.

Mill managers come from a difficult place. They likely, through schooling, experience, or both, have spent their career to date learning the details of making your grades of paper. If they haven't, heaven help us all.

This does not mean they understand the big picture. When things go bump in the night, they will likely revert to what they know best, what makes them comfortable.

Yes, one must fix the details, but one must fix the culture so that the details are nearly permanently fixed.

This happens when one keeps the facility lean, orderly, and clean and at the same time conduct business, internal and external, in a legal, moral, and ethical manner.

All the while keeping in mind that the ultimate job is to spin the invoice printer, faster and faster.

There, I have put all the platitudes one needs to be successful in one column. Easy to say, tough to do.

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Jim Thompson is CEO of Paperitalo Publications.