I stopped by the USPS office in Mt. Washington, MD on Friday. The employees inside were nice enough and I was in and out in under 10 minutes. What caught my attention was the banner they had hanging outside on the rail promoting "Rent a PO Box Today". It was in tatters. Perhaps someone took a knife moments before I got there and sliced it up. I can't believe the USPS would let a banner representing their brand image (the way the consumer sees a company) stay up for more than a few minutes in that condition. It represented what the USPS is going through; it's in tatters as a money-making business.

According to The Blaze, the U.S. Postal Service says it lost $5.1 billion last year as a weak economy and increased Internet use drove down mail volume. Back in 2010, the USPS did a study costing $4.8 million conducted by three big-name consulting firms: Accenture, the Boston Consulting Group, and McKinsey & Co. The study identified 50 moves that the USPS could take to improve its bottom line. The answer seems pretty simple to me, clean up your image and take pride in your brick and mortar storefronts. Too often our energies are spent on the BIG issues when the REAL issues are right in front of our eyes.