Growing up, every Monday was wash day, which meant Mom had to fill the old double-tub Maytag washer with the wringer in the middle. She obtained the water from the pump in the basement and hung the wash on the clothesline to dry. Adding this chore to raising eight kids meant there was no time to prepare a normal meal. She would take what was left over from the previous week that was too good to discard but not enough to make a meal. She would add water, spices and put it all in a pot to make soup. It was never the same from week to week, but it was always nutritious, and often the ingredients — especially the beans — tasted better when mixed with the other items than they did individually.

It appears that our industry and the world of politics in Washington, D.C., in the series "House of Cards" have some similarities. The two main characters, Francis and Claire Underwood, met when one had the money and the other had the ambition to succeed. Initially, they were codependent on the skills, calculations and the direction toward a common goal. Eventually, Francis thought he was in charge and everyone else had no importance other than to serve his needs. Francis wanted to be president, and nothing would stand in his way. He treated his staff so poorly that they ultimately deserted him and, in certain cases, sabotaged his efforts by working for his competitors.

Ever have one of those days? Who am I kidding? If you are in the printing business, of course you have! It may have even been a week, a month or perhaps a year.

We are in an industry where 99 percent right is 100 percent wrong. You might have done a spectacular job of design, production, storage and distribution, and then discover that you missed a word and the entire job is wrong. You could service an account flawlessly for years, correcting their problems, improving design and process while lowering costs, and then lose the account over a few dollars when a new individual joins the clients' firm.