WHO’S DRIVING?
READYORNOT In life—and business—change is the only constant.
By Jay Perry
M
y wife and I were watching PVR’d T V the other night, and while skipping through the commericals, amid the blur of images I could make out one of the recent election campaign ads. As you know, we turfed a well-entrenched government for a new one, led by someone the previous government labelled as “Just Not Ready.” Well, ready or not, he’s our Prime Minister now. But this column is not as much about politics as it is about that old adage the advertisement itself brought to mind.
of warmth to our hearts. So we have achieved a great deal, but even still, here comes the future, ready or not! Technologically, there will be changes that we will adapt to, such as the digitization of everything, and it will increase our productivity. There are new materials as well as new systems that we have embraced over the past couple of decades. New communications now demand an “always connected” mindset. Social media has brought a new level of transparency we never dreamed of just 10 years ago. Education, undoubtably, is the answer to staying
THERE ARE MANY DISRUPTIVE INFLUENCES SET TO POUNCE UPON ALL BUSINESSES. That sing-songy turn of phrase, “ready or not, here I come” is especially fitting when it comes to business—where things can, and quite often do change in a mere instant. There are many disruptive influences set to pounce upon all businesses. And, in my humble opinion, there are very few people in the field truly ready for them. However, there are a number of things that each of us can do to properly prepare for the inevitable. But first, let’s revisit a fundamental basis about business—why you are in business, and what you want to do about these fundamentals. Chances are, you chose to be in the career you are in now for some very good reasons. Most of us have figured out that what we do is a way to express ourselves artistically and provide financially for family, recreation, and retirement. If we are lucky, and most in business are, we also love what we do. It is more about the thanks we receive from satisfied customers than about the paperwork we must process. It is about the job-well-done feeling we get when we see growth in our staff. It is about the contribution to our local, and sometimes larger, community that brings a sense 40 COLLISION REPAIR COLLISIONREPAIRMAG.COM
on top of things and keeping current. But I also believe that if you stay true to the course you once so idealistically set out upon based on your passion, there is no reason why you will not succeed. Getting back to these roots will assist in your busineses’ survival in the face of overwhelming, if not scary, changes coming down the line. If you are passionate about high-quality service levels and product, then the challenge is to engage the employees executing those tasks at such a level that your customer base sees the results and becomes a “raving fan” (to borrow a phrase from Ken Blanchard). You must work on developing leaders within your company that get it too. You must aim to “infect” everyone with what the big picture looks like as to what you are building as a professional reputation. This is critical as we brace for the next big shift, and the only way to stay the one who’s driving. CRM Jay Perry is the founder and owner of Automotive Business Consultants (ABC), a performance coaching company specializing in the automotive service industry. He can be reached via e-mail at jayperry@a-b-c-inc.com.