Mike Packwood

Once a week all over the land, the head of circulation at a newspaper will receive an email. The often dreaded sales figures email. On this your career rests. You are either saved for another week and the children can eat, or you’ve just added another nail to your circulation career coffin. Because, be in no doubt, if the figures are poor, It’s all your fault . The email will have come from your stats team, or perhaps from the wholesaler who handles your logistics for you. It will have been shared at precisely the same time you received it with many stakeholders throughout the business, such as editors, the MD, sales directors and the like, as well as your own team. There is nowhere to hide. You can hear the silence around the building as everyone opens the email and digests the contents, line by line and minus figure by minus figure. Then, depending on the size of your building there may be about 10 minutes respite before you hear the MD’s or (even worse) the editors feet