The Post Office May be on to Something

Maybe they finally got it right.

But They May have it Backwards

I have been seeing from all the media world that the post office will no longer be delivering mail on Saturdays coming this August. I have seen posts on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In,heard it on the radio, and now just a minute ago on 3 differentTV news reports. We all know the post office has been a completely mismanaged institution since it’s inception in 1775 with Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general. The institution has changed over the years, but much like the LIRR it has been a money pit since that first day. In it’s latest move theUSPS is shutting down postal delivery on Saturdays beginning in August of this year. While this move is designed to save money, I think we as a culture have an opportunity to really change our culture as Americans, and put the post office in a positive place.

Hear Me Out

So the post office is shutting down letter delivery for Saturdays, package delivery will remain the same. Before we go too far, let me ask a simple question. When you go to your local post office to pick up your daily dose of mail, or maybe you get your dose delivered straight to your home, free of charge. When you open those gems of information, (bills) do you pay them immediately? I would presume that like myself, many place those bills in a basket or some other caldron to be dealt with later, usually at least a week later or more. After all, most of the important communication that comes your way these days comes via electronic delivery,email, text etc. I cannot tell you the last time that I received a letter, or important business document via “snail mail”.

Does Your Business Operate via the USPO

So how much “business” does your business do via the traditional post office model. Is the post office even necessary anymore. The only thing that really comes through that pipeline in my business is bills, in fact there are two varieties of mail that dominate delivery these days. Advertisements, (junk mail) and bills. As explained in a previous paragraph we all pretty much handle the bills portion the same, but what about the adverts? I am willing to go out on a limb and bet we petty much all deposit those in the same file, the round file next to our desks. Like most my pile is separated right there, advert (trash) or bill (deal with later).  So there you have it, either put aside to be dealt with all at once at a later date, and tossed into the burn pile. Neither very necessary.

How About we Reinvent the Wheel

So lets do something crazy, lets rethink the whole operation. I think we are missing a great opportunity to not only make the USPO a profitable operation, relieving the American tax payer of at least one Government program that doesn’t work, but more importantly…a chance to affect our culture in a very positive manner.  These days we all talk about finding that balance, balance between the consistent work, work, work, mode that is a requirement for business success in this on demand technology induced society, and the all important family, or me time. There is so much talk in todays business circles about the need to de-stress from the business environment this technology driven world places us.  The need is there, and we have an opportunity right in front of us, lets take it….

Stay With Me

Here is the proposal seen through the mind of this social media astronaut and digital junkie. How about we turn the whole thing around. How about the USPO delivers mail ONLY onSaturday, you heard right. Deliver packages Monday thru Friday, but only the mail on Saturdays. Personally, I would love to get my bills delivered all at once as opposed to trickling in little by little all week. The majority of us are doing the same thing with those bills anyway, placing them in a pile to go through and pay on Saturday, the only day we have time to correctly deal with them. Think of the increase in business productivity that can occur when we are focused on making money all week, instead of being constantly reminded that we owe money. Think of the positive mental effective this would have on your personal life as well. Instead of coming home to a pile of daily bills, and a loving family, (that order is very often mis-prioritized). Yes instead, you come home to only a loving family to think about. Think of the positive impact that would have on your productivity as a human being. We are always talking about working smart these days, being productive as opposed to being busy. I know for me, this would increase my productivity in a business sense without a doubt, but more importantly, I know it would increase the quality of my life, what about you?

Crazy, Really What do you Think

So what do you think, think it could work, are you willing to step completely out of the box? We could make this happen, we the people have a lot more influence than you might think. I invite all comments either pro or con, because without the con, we can’t fine tune it and make it happen.