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John M. Williams
Date: October 24, 2001
Pitney Bowes’ Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Michael
Critelli is known as a tough, no-holds-barred taskmaster among his peers. For
him, the bottom line is the financial success of the company. “Without success
there can’t be a business,” Critelli told me in an exclusive interview.
Critelli has his admiring critics too. One told me, “Critelli is as tough as
General Electric’s former CEO Jack Welsh, but with a kinder, gentler
appreciation of workers.”
I think Critelli is charming but decisive; a leader who possesses a ready,
steely smile; a businessman who looks to the future; and an employer who has a
genuine interest in seeing his company grow with a diversified workforce that
includes employees with disabilities. He is one CEO who is sensitive to the
language surrounding people with disabilities. In my conversation with him, he
always said, “people with disabilities” or “workers with disabilities.” He
never said “disabled” or “the disabled”. He never said “the blind”, “the
stutterer”, or “wheelchair-bound”.
Critelli recognizes that the workforce is changing, and that people with
disabilities are part of that changing workforce. He sees constructive value in
the use of assistive technology, and takes pride in the role he played in
Pitney Bowes’ development of its Universal Access Copier System (UACS). (See
John Williams’
<http://www.nod.org/cont/dsp_cont_item_view.cfm?viewType=itemView&contentId=
530&locationId=4&contentTypeId=17&fromLocHmePg=F&LineNbr=1&StartRow=1&timeSt
amp=23-Oct-0101:11:37>October 3 column about this product.)
“I gave the order to develop a simpler, multi-purpose copier, easy for both
people with and without disabilities to use. As it was being developed, we
added more features for universal usage by workers with disabilities,” a proud
Critelli said.
Critelli is grateful of the recognition that the UACS has received and the
attention it has brought to making products accessible for workers with
disabilities. (The American Foundation of the Blind on October 10 presented
Pitney Bowes with its Lifetime Achievement Award in the technology field.)
He tells CEOs that developing UACS was a positive experience, which taught
Pitney Bowes that for success in this field, “you need the unifying experiences
of the assistive technology engineers and business people…[Universal product
design] needs a champion in addition to the support provided by the CEO.”
While Pitney Bowes has had some success selling UACS, for it to be a
mass-market opportunity, Critelli believes there needs to be an agreement
between the federal government and private industry on the standards for
universal access. “The UACS is really a customized product and we want to take
those components of it that are workable for a larger market with the overlay
of government and industry standards,” Critelli said.
He believes that Section 508 of the 1998 Rehabilitation Act will definitely
impact the future development of assistive technology products for people with
disabilities. “I think Section 508 is an extremely important first step in
going from an overall standard to very specific industry-by-industry
requirements…[ultimately] meeting specific needs of people with disabilities so
they can be hired,” said Critelli.
Critelli’s only regret about UACS is that he wishes Pitney Bowes sold more of
them. Still, he sees other opportunities for future generations of Pitney Bowes
products to adapt assistive technology features.
Critelli’s leadership in developing UACS is envied by his competitors. A vice
president at a competing copier company told me, “It took nerve for Critelli to
do what he did, and we saw the benefits.” Other copier companies are
considering emulating Pitney Bowes.
Critelli says he is proud of Pitney Bowes’ efforts to employ people with
disabilities. Being a realist, he admits there is a long climb for the millions
of unemployed people with disabilities. Still, he does not fault the private
sector for not rushing out to employ people with disabilities. He holds that in
hiring a worker with a disability, transportation access, a barrier-free
environment, access to assistive technology and workplace disability awareness
are critical to the successful employment of incoming workers with disabilities
or the rehabilitation of injured workers.
Critelli sees the workplace environment changing for employees with
disabilities. He believes that the experience of disability in the workplace
can be a valuable lesson to teach us how to improve accessibility for all. For
example, when a person has a temporary disability because of a broken leg or
eye surgery, they start seeing the world in a different light.
Temporarily-injured employees can teach employers about the short- and
long-term needs of workers with disabilities. According to Critelli, “People
with temporary disabilities educate us on the challenges people with permanent
disabilities have getting transportation to work, opening doors, and obtaining
assistive technology products.” Critelli believes assistive technology is one
piece of the solution in employing people with disabilities.
Critelli recognizes that the high unemployment among people with disabilities
is a negative drain on the economy and the country’s soul. He is proud of
Pitney Bowes’ record in hiring people with disabilities, and encourages other
companies to employ qualified people with disabilities. He says, “People with
disabilities come to us because they know our history shows we are committed to
hiring the right people for the right job.” He adds, “Employing workers with
disabilities inspires other workers, adds to and strengthens a diversified
workforce, and strengthens the overall economic health, fiber and welfare of
local communities.”
Critelli is a rare CEO.
----------
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and not
necessarily those of the National Organization on Disability.
<http://www.nod.org/cont/dsp_cont_cont_type.cfm?locationId=4&contentTypeId=
17&fromLocHmePg=F>View other N.O.D. articles by John Williams
Point of Contact 1: John Williams, an award-winning columnist, has been writing
about disability issues for 22 years. He has written a weekly column for
Business Week Online magazine and is knowledgeable about assistive technology
products. If you have any comments or questions, or would like more information
on this week's article, please contact John Williams at
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