I was therefore pleased to find his second book "Thinking Inside the LiteBlue Box" fixed several of these issues, giving me a much better picture of what it is like inside a mail processing and distribution center. Now that he’s gotten his original gripes out of the way, Williams offers “olive branches and verbal spears� that are easier to follow and take seriously.

Williams addresses many of the same issues from his first book – the lack of supervisor-employee connection, the inefficiency of the evaluation process – but offers more constructive solutions on how to fix them. For example, with some simple equations he proves that a Robot Containerization System for processing trays of mail is operating at well behind a third of its potential capacity, and then goes on to offer a list of reasons why.

Williams also strengthens the personal connection of the book by sharing more of his anecdotes from the floor. He offers a translation for the euphemisms used by mail workers, and shows off the diversity of the mail room with his estimations on age and race distribution. We also see some specifics, such as the story of a spill of white powder from a box that was left out for half an hour as supervisors simply walked past it - a story that should raise an alarm in this post-9/11 world.

One area the book is still lacking though is a connection to Williams’ co-workers – I felt most of the issues he raised could be applied to others in the mail center, but he never links it to them. With the diversity of employees he mentions, it would be good to see what he thinks of their viewpoints. Additionally, a chapter of comments heard on the floor is somewhat random and would benefit by linking these comments up with the workers who said them.