Clarke American Highlighted as Superior Organization by Author Richard Chang.

Business Editors

SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 23, 2001

Leader on Personal and Organizational Excellence

Recognizes Clarke American

Clarke American, the fastest growing provider of checks and related products and services, has been highlighted as a superior organization by leading author on personal and organizational excellence, Richard Chang, in his recently published book, The Passion Plan At Work: Building a Passion-Driven Organization (Jossey-Bass, February 2001).

In the book, Chang shows how companies can drive "Total Quality Management" and other performance improvement initiatives to new levels of excellence by building passion into the workplace, a principle Clarke American embraces.

Throughout the book, Chang defines the "Passion Plan" by giving examples from his original research of twelve superior organizations including Clarke American Checks, Disney Institute, Earthlink, Gateway Computers, Mindspring, Southwest Airlines and others. Using his own seven-step model, Chang illustrates that the organizational definition of profit is changing and success is not solely determined by the ability to generate profit and loss statements. According to Chang, "Passion in the workplace equals profit with a capital `P'. By proudly proclaiming their passions and pursuing them with gusto, organizations can easily accomplish things their competitors struggle to attain."

Leading readers through a "practical-tools" process, Chang provides guidelines and specific examples to help companies integrate passion into their day-to-day operations. "Companies, like Clarke American, have been able to use change as an opportunity for growth," Chang said. "They not only adapt to change but also thrive on it. By building passion into their plan for success, the company discovered ways to improve its business and also created ways to fuel its growth into its second century of excellence."

Vice President and General Manager of Clarke American's Credit Union Division Don Dolan said, "Credit unions have a passion for their members and strive to provide an increasing variety of products and services. We have a passion for our credit union partners and strive to provide them with the products and services to help them achieve success in today's ever-changing market."

"Clarke American was founded more than 125 years ago and became a leader in its industry as a result of a passion for quality and customer service," Chang continued. "It has remained a leader because of its flexibility in pursuing these passions. After focusing on one area for so many years, Clarke American understands its business and its customers better than anyone. This is why the organization has committed itself to producing a superior product - its checks - and providing superior service to the customers who order them."

Today, Clarke American continues to offer programs and services to ensure partner and member satisfaction. E-Commerce initiatives allow partners and members to order checks and check-related products via the Internet, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week with complete call center support.

Chang added, "This addition to the business was not a random attempt to compete, but a concerted move to increase the company's potential for growth and to provide value to its customers. Though many organizations spread into areas that do not reflect core passions, Clarke American's move to offer phone support was a natural extension of its passion for customer service based on its core competencies."

Clarke American's President and CEO Charles Korbell said, "The key to our success, now and in the future, is our associates. Competitors can duplicate our technology, our products and our processes, but they cannot clone our associates or our culture. At Clarke American, we achieve our goals through the best and the brightest."

Chang benchmarked companies like Clarke American to present his performance improvement message in a real world format. He offers specific guidelines to inspire other organizations to build passion into their core strategies. He also gives examples of how to introduce passion into the organization, clarify the company's core purpose, spread the passion to employees and customers, and preserve the passion in the face of adversity.

Commenting on the book, P. George Benson, dean of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, said, "Richard Chang is the first to both identify passion as the root force behind performance excellence while providing a clear roadmap on how to achieve it. His recommendations for developing a passion-driven organizational purpose and strategic plan make this a value-added read for leaders of startups and Fortune 500s alike."

About Clarke American

Clarke American Checks, Inc., headquartered in San Antonio, is one of the largest specialty printers of financial institution checks in the United States. Since 1975, Clarke American has been helping credit unions increase member satisfaction, reduce operating costs and gain primary financial institution status. Producing more than 11 billion checks per year, Clarke American has an unmatched 99.92 percent printing accuracy rate in the industry.

Clarke American's unique services include InTouch(R) Messaging and ServiceLine Plus(SM). InTouch digital printing technology can be used to send a general introduction message about new products and services, announce branch openings or make a targeted offer to a specific member. ServiceLine Plus is a service offered to partnering credit unions, and was developed as part of Clarke American's service innovations to facilitate the check reorder and inquiry process.

For additional information about Clarke American's Credit Union products and services, contact Donald Dolan at [e-mail] or 210.690.6485. Visit its Internet site at http://creditunion.clarkeamerican.com or www.clarkeamerican.com.

Editor's note:

Richard Chang, an authority on personal and organizational excellence, is a sought after speaker and consultant for organizations around the world. He is CEO of Richard Chang Associates, Inc., a diversified performance improvement firm headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and counts Toshiba, Marriott, Citibank, McDonald's, Universal Studios, Dupont, Fidelity Investments and Nabisco among his clients. He has served as chairman of the board for the American Society for Training Development (ASTD) and as a judge for the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Chang is the author or co-author of more than twenty books on business and personal development. He received an M.A. in counseling psychology from Chapman University and a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from United States International University. The Passion Plan at Work is available in bookstores nationwide, from major on-line booksellers, or at www.thepassionplan.com and www.richardchangassociates.com.