Moving... Again?

If you've been wondering where I've been... again, it's OK! At least, I'm OK.

It's just that I've been building a new place, just got it finished and figured now was as good a time as any to move in!

Well, move in enough to unpack, hang a few pictures and just generally see how the new place feels.

The good news is it feels great! More important, it's something that has been on my "To Do" list for some time and finally being able to cross it off the list feels even better...

It's a new place in a new neighborhood that will afford me the luxury of writing about things I'm passionate about - Everything and anything I'm passionate about, actually! There will be a number of different categories depending upon your personal interests. For instance, if you are a "Distribution Guy," there will be posts specifically meant for you, focused on issues that impact both the your segment and mine.

If you're a "Manufacturing Guy," I'll have things to share with you from time-to-time as well. But, most of all, if you're a card-carrying, dues-paying member of the service segment: the repair community, there will be an unending menu of things for us to explore - the same things I've been speaking and writing about for more than a generation.

It's a new place in a new neighborhood and I'm hoping you like the place as much as I'm starting to.
So, be sure and stop by. You're always welcome... Here's the address...  Mitch Schneider's World
I'll keep the door open and the light on.

Till then, stay well, take care, make money, have fun and don't do business with anyone you don't like! There's probably a pretty good reason you don't like 'em and you don't need to find out what that reason is!

Weapons and Warriors

Weapons and Warriors...

There are few things more compelling than having a telephone ringtone splash ice water in your face in the middle of the night or the sound you’ve associated with your IM: Instant Messaging, shatter your reverie, rest or concentration. Both alert you to the possibility of something urgent going on somewhere in the universe: something you should probably be aware of. 

This time it was the IM ringtone that dragged me away from Meet The Press this morning and the political railing swirling around the latest campaign gaff (Doesn't really matter who stepped on the landline or even which landline they stepped on does it?). It was our son and daughter-in-law letting us know that Ryan had just finished the race they had flown cross-country to compete in and that for the first time he had finished first in his age group: certainly, worth the interruption.

You see, Ryan is a Triathlete... A three-time IronMan, actually. And, after watching him and the the hundreds (In some cases, thousands!) of other athletes who challenge their psyche and punish their bodies every time they compete, the simple act of finding the Finish Line is nothing less than spectacular! 

It is especially gratifying in Ryan's case because he is not a 'natural athlete.' Sure, he played soccer and tennis and a host of other organized sports while he was growing up. But, he was one of those kids who had to really work hard to make the team and then earn time on the field at the level he relentlessly pursued. In other words, through sheer force of will. Whatever he may have lacked in genetics, skill or natural ability he made up for in courage, heart and determination.

Because the desire to compete... and, then succeed - please note: I purposely substituted  'succeed' for 'win!' - was so strong, he has always managed to persevere and that kind of Warrior's Spirit has served him well over the years and made him an important part of every organization he has ever been a part of.

There are a lot of parallels between what you and I do everyday and Ryan's success this morning, perhaps more then even I am aware of. 

Champions - Warriors - will succeed when others fail not solely because they have the skill or the ability to win: but, because as, Harvey Mackay, so aptly put it, “they have too much pride to lose.” Warriors will find a way because they don't stop looking when everyone else has. They will find a way because they never lose sight of what they are fighting for. They will find a way when unforeseen obstacles block the way or their tools or weapons fail them. They will find a way... Or, create a new way, because for them personal failure is not an option. 

This morning's event was as "Olympic" distance triathlon: that's a one mile, open water, ocean swim followed by 24.9 miles on the bike and ending with a 10-K run (6.2 miles). Ryan competed without the quality tools he has invested in, the tools he is used to and comfortable with. He swam without a wetsuit and competed on a rented bike, not one of the three competition bikes he owns. And, yet, he somehow managed a personal best and a trip to the top of the podium.

There are technicians out there who owe themselves body and soul to one or all of the tool truck driver's that visit your shop once a week, every week. There are tech's who must have: can't live without, the "latest/greatest," just released, whatever it is that just came out. I know, I was one of them... And, there are others who always seem to get the job done; at times, with far less then 'the latest' or 'the greatest' whatever it is, because they are constantly investing in themselves - in their training and education: their experience, ingenuity and imagination. 

Ideally, you are surrounded by warriors - by, champions - who share their desire and their commitment with you for the benefit of your clients - our clients - the motoring public. They willingly sacrifice their time, energy, effort and resources to maintain a level of personal excellence few who are unwilling to compete at that level will ever understand and in too many cases there is no reasonable, rational reason to drive that kind of performance. 

It isn’t for the honor or the accolades. It certainly isn’t for the money. It isn’t even about the competition if you believe that competition has anything to do with anyone other than yourself. 

It is all about knowing that you have brought and left everything you’ve got, everything you are capable of in the arena. It’s about satisfaction and personal best. 

The best bike, the most aerodynamic helmet, the newest tool or the sharpest blade aren’t the weapons that make the warrior formidable enemy or a force to be reckoned with... Courage, heart and spirit are a true warriors weapons of choice!

Find them in yourself. Perfect them in any and every way you can. Learn to use the wisely and often. Find your way to the top of the podium.

Death By Drowning...

WATER TORTURE…

The Repair Order started off with:

            Drivability

                        Customer Concern: Vehicle will crank, but will not start…

Note: Customer installed a new battery because the vehicle would not start, would not crank. Also, customer informed us the electric cooling fan runs after the vehicle is shut down and the key removed and that he has to disconnect the battery in order to power down the fan…

Another day in paradise filled with anomalies, paradox and mysteries starting with what appeared to be a pristine, yet inanimate, 2006 Audi A4 sadly waiting for attention. Bob drew the short straw – Bob always seems to draw the short straw when it comes to anything that might even remotely be considered an anomaly, paradox or mystery – and headed out to the Audi, scan tool in hand.

He connected the scanner and was able to retrieve multiple Diagnostic Trouble Codes for a number of systems other than Engine Management, but was unable to communicate with the vehicle’s Engine Control Module. Bob’s roots go deep into the deep, rich soil of a South Dakota farm just off the Interstate about a hundred miles west of East Elbow, Nowhere. It was far enough away from anything to ensure that everyone who lived there had better know how to fix just about anything. Survival, especially survival during the long, cold winters, demanded nothing less.

Those survival skills coupled with his ‘farmer’s’ intuition and common sense have earned him the nickname of MacGiver.

Something told Bob to go to the ECM first, even before checking for missing or blown fuses. I’m not sure about anyone else here, but one thing I’ve learned over the more than twenty years Bob and I have been “hanging out” is that attempting to distract him from his chosen path is futile. You have about as much chance of getting Bob to do or stopping doing what he feels he must do in order to figure out what is wrong with a vehicle as you would have of changing the weather or influencing the rotation of the Earth.

The only problem was inspecting the ECM would mean removing the rubber strip that seals the plenum cover, the cover itself, removing the windshield wiper arms and then removing the screws that retain the ECM housing cover and then the cover itself. The first thing Bob noticed after he accessed the ECM cover was that the most inaccessible portion of the housing: the part that lives in the deepest recesses under the cowl was damaged, broken away and missing both the boss and bolt that goes through the top of the cover and the boss and retaining nut that fastens the top of the cover to the bottom.

You could almost close your eyes and ‘see’ someone trying to remove the cover without removing the cowl and wiper arms by unscrewing the retaining screws you could see and then trying to either snake or muscle the cover off, not knowing there was another hidden screw. You could almost feel the plastic stretch and bend and then almost hear that sickening ‘snap’ as it finally gave up and gave out. There was only one problem with that cover being broken and that was the loss of integrity that occurred as its result: the housing was no longer watertight. In fact, the housing made a pretty good reservoir!

A place to store water can be a good thing, especially if you’re traveling through the desert. However, it isn’t such a good thing if the receptacle is designed to house an electronic component such as the Electronic Control Module and its accompanying relays. As you can see for yourself, the result can be ugly!

Bob cleaned out the housing, removed one of the relays – the one pictured here – and substituted a ‘known good’ relay in its place.

After recharging the battery and installing that ‘known good’ relay, the electric cooling fan no longer ran after the vehicle was powered down, but the vehicle still refused to start.

Bob checked the fuses to find all the fuses good with the exception of the fuse for the cigarette lighter and replaced the two, twenty-amp fuses. Then he started looking for empty spaces: someplace that had the electrical contacts for a fuse, but no fuse in place. He found a slot for a fuse at the number forty-three position and I’ll bet you’ll never guess what that number forty-three fuse is for – Actually, I’m willing to bet that you have already guessed what it’s for: Engine Management!  He installed the correct fuse and the vehicle started immediately: first try and every time thereafter.

Bob reinstalled all the parts that had to be removed to access the ECM, cleared the Codes, rechecked the vehicle two or three more times and then took a deep sigh of relief…

Done! Another vehicle saved from an otherwise ignominious, albeit watery death.

I wonder if that makes Bob a Lifeguard as well as a farmer, Master Tech, L1 and Mac Gyver?

In It... On It... Through It...

There is an entire universe of things I should be doing right now not the least of which is sleeping…

Yes, Sleeping!

You see I didn’t get quite enough sleep last week. It seemed like I moved directly from my chair at the service counter to my chair in my home office with just a few minutes spent eating and in quiet conversation with my wife at my chair at the dining room table. That’s a lot of sitting. But, more that that, it was a lot of working: especially, when there is a lot more Have To than Want To involved.

It was busy the week before and for that I am truly grateful. It’s the summer and ‘busy’ in a weak economy is a blessing. However, ‘busy’ is always better when it is manageable. Unfortunately, the problem with ‘busy’ is that it isn’t always manageable and it was anything but manageable last week.

When the dominoes begin to fall and things feel like they spiraling out of control it’s hard to do much more than default to what you know will work. I say that like it’s a conscious decision. It’s not… It may as well be an autonomic nervous system response: something you don’t think about, something that occurs without conscious thought or control.

Your days are filled with crisis management and damage control and your evenings with all the paperwork that didn’t get processed while you were busy doing everything else it takes to keep three technicians engaged, involved and productive.

Running a quality shop with a real commitment to “High Touch:” intimate communication with your clients throughout the process, is a contact sport. Anyone who has done this successfully knows that: anyone who doesn’t know or realize it, hasn’t done it or hasn’t done it successfully. Trying to achieve that level of performance when you are short-staffed and while you are breaking in a new office support person is self-destructive if not just plain suicidal, and that was my week last week.

When you are fully engaged working in your business it’s all but impossible to work on it. When you aren’t working on it the only thing you can be sure of is that no one else is working on it either. Long range planning grinds to a halt and the “Crisis Du Jour” is all there is.

Where are the parts you ordered for Infiniti? They should have been here thirty minutes ago!

What do you mean you can’t get a new dual mass flywheel for that ’01 Lincoln LS? How can that be possible? And, where in the world are we going to get it resurfaced if we can’t replace it?

Oh, my God! The automotive literacy clinic you’ve been planning, promoting and talking about for the past six months is this Saturday! How can that be? Are we ready?

  

The tapestry we weave every day is incredibly intricate. The pattern more complex than any of us realizes because we stand too close to recognize the detail.  I see it only because I’ve trained myself to see it. As a writer, it’s a big part of what I do. And, as a writer it’s my job to reflect on what I see. The problem is, we – any or all of us – can only process so much information at any given moment. That means we either disengage and back away or let the chaos wash over us hoping somehow we won’t drown in it.

I’ve learned to back away in order to at least try and gain perspective, attempt to recognize any discernable patterns and then formulate what seems like an appropriate response. The problem is when I do that, I detach almost completely: from just about everyone and everything. That’s one of the reasons that with the exception of the deadlines for my July columns for Motor Age and Aftermarket Business, I’ve been off the grid for the past couple of weeks.

That’s the bad news… The good news is that as a result of all that contemplation and reflection, I’m back and there lots to write about: lots to share, not the least of which is what has to feel like a dysfunctional process (Any process that allows the weight of all the responsibility to fall on the shoulders of just one person in a business that employs many people is dysfunctional in my opinion!).

Any process that leaves you drowning In It: wrestling with ten or twelve or thirteen hours of To Do’s and Have To’s in a ten hour day, instead of working On It, which as the Chief Executive Office of Chaos, Inc., is your job, is a problem.

And, anything that leaves you hoping for little more than getting Through It is certainly a lot less than any of us should find ourselves looking forward to.

Adopt-a-Shop: Paying it Forward

I recently had the opportunity to present at the 2012 ASCCA Summer Meeting, June 22, in Orange County, where I brought up a concept I’ve talked and written about in the past. That concept is: Adopt-a-Shop.

Gene Morrill, Owner of Certified Automotive Specialties in Glendora and a member of ASCCA Chapter 5 came up to me after the presentation and asked if I would put something together explaining this idea in a little more detail, either for the members of his Chapter of for the Board of ASCCA.

In thinking about what to do and how to do it, I decided create a short video first so I could see what I had to say about this idea of Adopting-a-Shop, before attempting to write it all down. The video is available here and on my YouTube Channel:           http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJVMR9qAua4&feature=plcp

If you have a moment, actually about sixteen moments, take a look and let me know what you think. I think it’s an idea worth sharing.

The first thing you need to know is that this is not a new idea… And, second, it isn’t really just mine. I was first exposed to the concept of reaching out to another shop owner in a very intimate and personal way by Ben Caswell, owner of Ben’s Transmission, in Santa Barbara, California, more years ago than either Ben or I would like to remember.

It started shortly after Ben attended a Terry Greenhut seminar and was exposed to Terry’s concepts of automotive shop management: his philosophy of successfully running an automotive service business, and it had a profound impact on both his life and his business…

Ben took those concepts to heart and made them work and in so doing turned his business around. In what was perhaps one of the first demonstrations of “Paying it Forward” I’d ever heard of, he chose to share what he’d learned with other shop owners in order to ensure they had the same opportunities he’d been given. In other words, he became an evangelist. But, unlike a lot of other evangelists, Ben chose to put his money where his mouth was!

The way he chose to practice his special brand of ‘paying it forward” was by personally choosing a shop owner he believed could or would benefit from being exposed to Terry’s message, and then paying for that shop owner to attend a subsequent seminar with a “You can pay me back from the additional profits you generate after you’ve implemented what you’ve learned and you can do it whenever you can….”

In many ways, this was the ultimate “Unconditional, No Risk, Money-Back Guarantee!” All the other shop owner had to do was show up with an open mind, which in many cases was asking a lot more than that statement might imply, and then just execute.

I know… It sounds a lot easier than it is, but difficult doesn’t necessarily mean impossible either!

The ultimate goal here is to elevate the repair community and build a stronger, more resilient, more profitable and successful service industry for us all. The goal is to increase association involvement and, perhaps, more important, commitment.

Having shop owners – especially, successful shop owners who are also active members of our associations- adopt another shop: a shop whose owner might be struggling, just might be the shortest and most direct way to accomplish those goals.

It certainly seems like the easiest way to accomplish them simultaneously.

And, that’s pretty much it… There are really very few among us who have not struggled: who have not left a lot of their own skin in the game while working their way toward success. There are few among who have not paid a significant price for those lessons in dollars, time and effort. And, there are few among us who would not or could not benefit if that experience was shared openly and willingly.

There are shops in our industry desperately in need of help. Shops and shop owners, struggling to survive every day. There are shops within our association that have an incredible amount of experience, wisdom and knowledge to share. Our job is to connect the dots

It sounds simple enough, but let’s not kid ourselves. This will not be a simple or easy fix. We have to overcome a number of issues, not the least of which are: our own insecurities, the insecurities of those we hope to help, our natural resistance to change – any kind of change: positive or negative, issues of trust on both sides of this inter-personal equation, the false notion of somehow losing your “competitive edge” – whatever that means, and a stubborn unwillingness to accept help from anyone – least of all someone who might be perceived as a competitor. But, nothing will ever change for any of us unless or until we overcome any and all of these obstacles and muster the courage to do something different, something bold, something decisive.

We have the knowledge base. We have members within our associations, within our industry, who have the knowledge and ability to change the lives of those marginal shop owners out there who are interested and willing to accept help. If successful, we can effectively double the size of our associations if we can get past the natural reluctance to share what we’ve learned.

We can double the size of our institutions if we can just get past the kind of ‘Scarcity Mentality’ that suggests there is only one pie with a finite number of pieces and it’s getting smaller all the time.

I believe there is a technology for everything… Adopting-a-Shop included. But, this isn’t the time or place to discuss the details of how best to accomplish this strategy or these goals. It is, however, the time and place to decide whether or not we are satisfied with the way things are and what we are willing to do about it if we’re not…

Albert Gray, in a speech entitled “The Common Denominator of Success” delivered before the National Association of Life Insurance Underwriters in 1940, suggested that successful people are successful because they form the habit of doing those things people who are unsuccessful are unwilling to do… I might add that not all those who struggle for success are unsuccessful because they choose to remain that way. Some may be incapable due to a lack of understanding, education or experience.

Those of us who are affiliated have already done at least one of the things the majority of unsuccessful people in our industry are either unwilling or unable to do, and that is JOIN something… We can double the size of our organizations by doing one more thing many people are reluctant to do and that’s reach out to another shop owner to help them reach the next level of their success.

Don’t get too excited, at least not yet. While it might double the size of our organizations, it would still leave us with the vast majority – more than seventy percent - of the shops out there, unaffiliated, isolated and struggling!

Whether you are an association member or you are unaffiliated, I’d like to know what you have to say about this concept: How it could work… Why you think it won’t.

I’m available to discuss this idea further if there is an interest… You can reach me here, at: mitchs@schneidersauto.net or through http://mitchschneidersworld.com.

Until then, stay well, take care, make money, have fun and don’t do business with anyone you don’t like…

There is probably a very good reason you don’t like them and you don’t really need to find out what that reason is…

It's Not... But, It Could Be

I did something last night I rarely do. I watched television: specifically, the premier of the new HBO television series, Newsroom.

It may not sound like a big deal to those of you who watch television, but television and especially serialized dramas are a luxury I refuse to allow myself. Evenings are when I read or write or research or plan or develop or sometimes just sit and think, and lately there hasn't been a lot of 'thought provoking' or even entertaining television to watch.

I'm not sure the majority of so-called reality shows would or could qualify as 'thought provoking.' So far, none of the ones I've forced myself to watch have. I certainly don't have to watch the glut of reality shows currently filling the airwaves to immerse myself in drama if that's what I choose to do with my time. All I have to do is show up at the shop and I have my own 'reality show: a show I get to produce, direct, star in, and, yes, even watch!

Aside from that, I don't want to get hooked on something I know I won't have the time to watch because I've dedicated that time to something else. It's too frustrating and I'm at a point in my life where frustration almost always degenerates into anger or resentment.

Consequently, I aggressively avoid watching television of any kind.

I've been marginally successful. That is, up until last night. Last night the fates conspired against me. I tried to write, but couldn't find the melody or the rhythm I was looking for. I tried to read, but couldn't quiet the noise in my head sufficiently to concentrate. So, I took my shower and got ready for bed just in time to watch the last twenty minutes of Newsroom. It was riveting. It was intelligently written. It was timely. It was provocative. It was, in fact, just about everything television could be. Or, more appropriately, could have been and isn't.

I had a long list of things I wanted to do after dinner this evening... Important things, like finishing a column, scripting a new webcast, developing an idea for a colleague and the association we both belong to. Instead, I pulled Newsroom up on the DVR to catch what I had missed and instead watched it from beginning to end.

There are lots of things I could say about it, but I think I'll stick with the two that impacted me the hardest: the two that have the most to say to us as a people, a country and a culture. The first spins off what I think may have been the first episode's title: "We just decided to..." And, the second, has to do with a message the female lead had for Jeff Daniels, the male lead: "It's Not... But, It Could Be."

You're going to have to watch the pilot on HBO or search for it on YouTube or someplace else to see how Aaron Sorkin, the writer, managed to weave those two ideas into the story line. I'll just tell you that it's worth the effort. Then, I'll let you know what they had to say to me.

"It's Not... But, It Could Be!" spoke to a realistic assessment of where we are as a nation: as a people. You and I could just as easily use that phrase to assess where we are as an industry. It's not the best industry or the most satisfying. It's not the most profitable or the most rewarding. At least, not for the majority of those who struggle just to get by day-to-day. But, it could be...

It could be if we put aside our differences and instead focused on the things that  we have in common: that we can all agree on. It could if we found a way to celebrate our shared values instead of focusing on the issues that divide us.

How do you do that? I think it's probably clear that we have the knowledge: the understanding. We just need to decide to do something with that knowledge. The fact of the matter is, we just need to DO SOMETHING!

The same can be said of or for our Nation. We aren't what we once were... One nation indivisible.

We may be better than most, but we seem to have lost sight of what we could be. The fact of the matter is, we could be better: in many ways, for many of our people. But, to regain that greatness we need huge, virtually unattainable goals: goals so big our differences become inconsequential in their shadow.

Then, all we would have to do is decide: decide to move forward... as individuals, as an industry, as a Nation, as a People.

It's risky to suggest we aren't what we could be, that we have not realized our potential: that we've somehow become lost along the way. I'm sure there are many who would disagree. But, as a diagnostician: a pragmatist, I look at the possibilities each set of beliefs drags along with it before making a decision.

Continually striving to achieve: to reach unattainable heights, achieve impossible goals, provide unparalleled freedoms has brought us to this moment. The kind of arrogance that suggests there are no more mountains to climb, no more challenges to confront: that all is left is desperately clinging to what once was leaves us all with only one direction in which move.

Watch Newsroom, then tell me what you think 'isn't,' but could be. Tell me what we should  decide to do: as an industry or for our Nation.

Till then... Stay well. Take Care. Make money. Have fun. And, don't do business with anyone you don't like... There's probably a good reason you don't like 'em and you don't really need to find out what that reason is!

It's Not Fair

When our daughter was little and she didn't like something I said, the restrictions I imposed or the limits I placed on her, she would do what affectionately became known as the "It's Not Fair! Dance."

It was a site to behold...

This beautiful child with an angelic smile and the cutest pigtails you've ever seen, would turn red, contort that beautiful face, plant one foot firmly on the ground and then ratchet herself around in a circle, stamping one foot on the ground, pumping her fists up and down and screaming at the top of her lungs, "It's Not Fair!"

The more frustrated and angry she became the harder it was to take her admonitions seriously. There were times I actually had to look away rather than break out in what would have been a very inappropriate outburst under the circumstances. And, that sensitivity, the realization that as comical as daughter's behavior might have been it was the result of some very serious frustration, anger and anxiety - all of which were very real to her.

Well, I feel like it's my turn to do the "It's Not Fair! Dance"today. I know it won't accomplish anything. I know it's not going to change what happened. Nor, is it likely any good could come of it. But, realistically, I'll bet the exhaustion that followed such an outburst and the release of all that frustration and anger, anxiety and angst, would have to leave you in better shape than just bottling it all up and keeping it inside.

Besides, it's not like we're at a loss of things likely to torment us... There are days Dante's Inferno would probably seem like a pretty good choice for a vacation spot!

The reason I want to plant my foot and bounce around in a circle screaming "It's Not Fair!" today is the one accident our business has experienced in just about twenty years and what it just did to our Worker's Comp Insurance. One accident in twenty years, with an otherwise spotless record - Admittedly, a mildly serious laceration to one finger, something no technician wants to comtemplate - and, our rates are about to go up 47%.

I know... That isn't very fair, is it? And, that's the rub. The prison is being run by the inmates with more crooks and charlatans in positions of responsibility, authority and power than there are honest, thoughtful, reasonable people to fight the lunacy.

One accident: twenty years: 47% increase in premium... Well, it doesn't seem fair to me and I'm not sure what to do short of 'the Dance.'

I understand the need to protect our employees: all employees, for that matter. It's the right thing to do. I understand there are those who would brutalize the system through abuse. But, I'm not one of them. I just want to fix cars, take care of our customers, take care of the people who have cast their fate with mine and live a relatively simple yet productive life. It's hard to do that in our business when your overhead is about to increase by $700 a month!

It's hard to do that when Comp is based on Payroll and the only reasonable way to control the cost is to reduce the overhead and that means laying people off! Not exactly the way to end a Recession, is it?

So, here I am at sixty-five feeling like a five-year-old: jaw locked, teeth clenched, fingers curled into a ball and the vein in my forehead about to burst, begging to plant that left foot in the ground, ready to start singing and dancing.

I want to be five and my daughter and scream, "It's Not Fair!" But, I know it won't do any good. There is only one of me and one of me isn't enough to tilt against that Windmill. It would take all of us... All of us in every State... To stand up and say, "It's Not Fair! You can't get rich on our backs any more! You can charge a fair premium for the service you provide, but it will have to reflect your record and not just a random mischance of fate. And, you certainly are NOT entitled to make back your loses no matter how large or small in a period of time so small it constitutes and unfair burden on your insureds!"

I don't know about you, but I've had enough!

OK, ok... I know... Calm down! But, you know something... It's hard to remain calm when the insurance companies are making more money than they have ever made in the past and the people they insure are working harder, making less and struggling more than at any time in history.

So, are you ready? Are you ready to stomp and shout and raise a little hell? If you are, all you have to do is plant that left foot, scrunch your face up a little, clench your fists and then slowly, yet methodically, take your right foot, raise it up and then set it down hard just a few inches in front of where it was when you started, and howl at the top of your lungs, "It's Not Fair!"

It may not change anything, but I'll bet you feel better when you're done!

On Purchasing a Profit...

I just finished reading an online article on our industry. It made no sense to me so I read it again. It didn’t help. I was still left with a strangely familiar, yet somehow very uncomfortable feeling I’ve come to expect when I’m confronted with two conflicting realities fighting for the same small piece of real estate in my head.

Psychiatrists, psychologists and social scientists generally refer to this phenomenon as “Cognitive Dissonance.” If you wanted to translate that into English, conflicting ideas used to describe or explain the same concept or event would be a good start.

We could steal a few lines from an old George Carlin routine to help explain Cognitive Dissonance, like: Jumbo Shrimp or Military Intelligence, but I’m not sure we have to. There are plenty of examples in our industry to draw from that are equally as provocative, but far less amusing.

For instance, using Good and Cheap to describe automotive service comes to mind almost immediately. But, it is just as applicable when you try to apply Good and Cheap to Aftermarket parts or any other parts for that matter. 

Fast and Good is another example of Cognitive Dissonance.

What kind of experience have you had with Fast and Good when talking about the same event? They are almost mutually exclusive, aren’t they?

When it comes to Fast, Good and Cheap, it almost seems as if you can have any two you choose… You just can’t have all three!

You can have Fast and Good – we do it every day. But, it won’t be Cheap. You can have Fast and Cheap, but it isn’t likely to be Good. You can even have Fast and Cheap… But, what are the chances of Fast and Cheap turning out to be Good?

What about Fast and Good? Sure… we’ll put two of our best Techs on it: but, Cheap? I don’t think so.

See what I mean…

And, that was the problem with what I’d just read. It suggested that while today’s Do-It-For-Me consumers are still searching for a relationship: for familiarity, trust and convenience, when it comes to their automotive service needs, they are still looking for a “great deal” to take that transaction way beyond it being just a good value.

The statistics were compelling as were the quotes. Consumers want the best of both worlds. “They want to know they are investing in quality service and feel like they got a bargain at the same time.”*

Who doesn’t?

The problem is the reality of the marketplace. The problem is an industry that never got the memo and as a result missed the lecture on Business Management and Best Practices: an industry in which a room full of independent repair shop owners is more likely to produce an Average Net Operating Profit of between -2.5% to +2.5% than not!

It makes perfect sense and yet it makes no sense at all: Cognitive Dissonance, all over again!

More consumers want bigger discounts or better deals – up to 35% of the DIY or DIFM purchases of automotive services or products were purchased at a below retail price according to the article I , so if you want more consumers it just stands to reason that you would have to offer more of whatever it is you are willing or able to offer. The problem is, at 2.5% NOP, anything you give away is too much!

The problem is a repair community that has been subsidizing automotive service for the better part of a hundred years with unrealistically low pricing for both parts and labor because most shop owners haven’t got a clue what it costs them to open their doors every morning. And, because Charlie, across the street, is giving away his family’s future by discounting and unrealistic pricing, you may find yourself drawn into that vortex of high volume, low profit repair orders.

The problem is you can’t purchase a profit… You can’t read an article like this and decide the only way to succeed in a future that demands bigger discounts and lower prices is to get along by going along: to either purchase cheaper, lower quality parts and/or put extraordinary pressure on your suppliers to emasculate their margins on quality parts so you can pass those savings along to an ever more insatiable motoring public.

When those savings are passed along everyone loses! The only one with any chance of winning is the vehicle owner and only then, when he or she is purchasing a quality part at bargain prices.

You can’t purchase a profit any more than you can put Good, Fast and Cheap in the same basket. It just won’t work. So, my best advice is don’t try!

Continue to search for clients that are still interested in quality work, done right the first time, finished on time and at a fair price. Continue to move your business toward Best Practices and the profits that will almost certainly follow. And, if you still want to give some of your hard earned money away, make sure it’s some of the money that’s left over after you’ve become profitable and achieved a 25% NOP, not the money you need to survive when that NOP is just 2.5%. 

*David Portalatin, NPD Group, CSPnet.com,  June 6, 2012

Day One...

I've been doing so much for so long doing too much seems almost like not enough...

If that makes sense to you, you're in too deep and in as much trouble as I generally am, trouble that probably stems from being 'Recognition Dependent' and never really being able to say, No!

If you think I'm kidding ask your analyst... No, really, I'm not going to force you schedule an appointment. Instead, I'll offer my own definition.

In its simplest form, "Recognition Dependent" just means caring too much about being recognized - how you are thought of or esteemed by others - particularly, those whose opinions are meaningful to you. Because you want people to think highly of you, because you want people to like you... You are likely to do whatever they ask you to do, whatever you think they want, need or expect from you.

My experience has taught me most 'good' shop owners are "Recognition Dependent." They care and act accordingly as the result of that caring. They bend over backwards to satisfy their clients, at least in part because they want their clients to 'like' them.

Most of us are "Recognition Dependent" to one degree or another if you think about it and that's OK. The wheels start to come off, however, when you're trying to please too many different people or groups of people, especially when there are conflicting agendas.

I'm no stranger when it comes to being over committed. I've been working at the shop, writing to the Automotive Aftermarket, presenting seminars and delivering speeches for more than twenty five years. That's a long time and a lot of balls in the air. It's a lot of conversations that end with, "Sure, I'll do it!"
If you don't believe me you can ask Lesley, my wife! Our conversations generally either start or end with Lesley asking, "When were you going to tell me you were going out of town? The night before..." And, me responding with, "I'm almost sure we talked about this when it came up a few months ago..."

The biggest problem with being over committed, at least for me is fighting fires: putting out the hottest and most pressing fires before they singe the door and burn everything in your front yard to the ground. You do that a lot when you have lots of fires and lots of deadlines and you're trying to juggle them all without searing your toes. Oddly enough, I've gotten pretty good at managing the chaos and frankly, I must like it because I'm stilling doing it!

The bad news is, I fall apart when the fire is out and I have to figure out where I was and what's left to do on all the other projects that were abandoned when the alarm bells began to ring and I went diving for that shiny brass pole in the center of that big hole in the middle of the floor.

I mean, where do you start?

The answer came from a blog I read yesterday morning, a blog by Chris Brogan, a web marketing expert, auther, speaker and all around good guy...

The blog was titled, What Does Day One Look Like, and it really struck a nerve. Strange how something like that can turn your world upside down...

What I got out of the blog was elegantly simple... when things fall apart and it's time to clean up and get started again, instead of looking at whatever it was you were involved in from the beginning, pick it up from where you left off as if where you left off was the beginning. In other words, as if it was Day One...

Hurt your back and quit going to the gym, but you're feeling better now: Day One...

Got distracted by a wedding and watched the Marketing Plan you were working on grind to a halt, but the wedding is over now and the kids are back from their honeymoon, so there is no reason not to start working on it all over again... No problem: Day One...

Way behind on writing assignments or the presentation looming up in your rear view mirror because you were working on everything else... Fugheddaboudit! Day One...

The coolest part about it is I have great hope it just might work! OK... So, it's early and I've only tried it twice and it is only the first day! But... so far it's two for two. In fact, I'm convinced it's going to work.

Of course, it wouldn't hurt anything if I could just learn to say, No! a little more forcefully and a little more often!

Qi Thieves...

I am not a Roshi or a Tao Master. Nor, am I an Obi-Wan Kenobi “wanna be.” But, it would be hard to deny there isn't some kind of a unifying force at work in the world. 

It’s role may not always be altogether clear, but most of us have sensed its presence or felt it at work. It may not always be referred to as Qi, Ch’i or even, the “Force.” However, what it’s called isn’t nearly as important as what it is, how it works or the impact it can and does have on your everyday existence.

When everything in your world is ‘aligned,’ this energy flows through you as well as all around you. When things are out of alignment - something many of us know an awful lot about - things begin to fall apart rather quickly. In fact, depending upon the severity of the mis-alignment, it can feel like the wheels are just about ready to come off your life.

In the human body, the nexus for this energy is the Tan T’ien, located an inch or two below the navel. For all intent and purpose, it’s the body’s warehouse for Qi. Everyone has a spiritual center. Although, it’s certain not everyone is in touch with theirs. It is equally as certain the majority of people are just plain unaware it exists at all.

The more aware of this energy center you become the more you begin to realize just how important it is to remain centered and an integral part of the world surrounding you: a kind of “at one with.” You do this through situational awareness and a sensitivity to the energy of everything in your world. If you have ever folded your body onto the floor board between the front seat of the vehicle you are working on and the firewall, reached up into the wiring harness and instrument cluster between the brake and accelerator pedals like a surgeon searching for a leaky blood vessel, closed your eyes and then seen something you could not see or done something you knew you could not do, because for that fleeting moment you and the vehicle were one, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

You know with equal certainty that it’s impossible to do that unless you have achieved a minimal level of harmony, both internal and external. You know just as clearly how little it takes to destroy that moment and how quickly you can find yourself struggling with the machine, contending against self-imposed physical and mental constraints. 

Much of this we bring on ourselves - our minds and our lives are filled with a symphony of noise and clutter.  The chaos that surrounds all of us and fills our lives with a constant and unrealistic demand for attention loves nothing more then to draw you in: texts, cell phone calls, blog posts, tweets, four thousand friends clamoring for attention and the never ending requests to “send this to your ten  closest friends” is more than enough to disturb the calm we secretly yearn for and our minds and bodies so desperately need.

But, as frustrating and distracting as the world around us is or can be, it is not the devil I fear most. The devil I fear most is the Qi Thief! He is the insidious bastard who delights in destroying the harmony you seek. He is the monster lulling you into a false sense of peace and security and then sharttering the harmony you yearn to be a part of by crashing and banging through your world like a Dragon in the middle of a Chinese New Year’s parade!

He is the master of the unkind word, the center of his own selfish world. He doesn’t care about anyone or anything else. Because of the demons that torment him, he can never be at peace, and because he will never be at peace, he will do whatever he can to ensure you will never find the peace you seek. 

Where you try to tread lightly, he is likely to stomp. Where you try desperately to find that quiet place within, he works just as hard to marshal a roiling storm of chaos and contention pointing it all straight at you.

If you’ve been in this industry as long as I have, you’ve already associated a name with the portrait I’ve just painted. You know this person... Or, you knew him (Or, her...). They are energy thieves and they rob you of your center. Sadly, the worst part is they aren’t trying to steal the life out of you because they want it for themselves... All they really want is to ensure that if they can’t find peace, you will never have it either. 

There is no rehabilitating a Qi Thief, at least nothing I know of that will work. You can try, but experience has taught me that it is rarely more than a game: a game created by the Qi Thief to frustrate and disappoint you. The only way to win is not to play. The only way to win is to become strong enough to ignore their efforts to disturb you and the world around you or to eliminate them from your world altogether.

The best way to ensure harmony and a constant flow of energy to you and through you is to create an environment that is as peaceful and calm as you can make it: as peaceful and calm as it needs to be. 

The best way to ensure that constant flow of energy is to deny the Qi Thief his prize or to steal it back from him when he isn't paying attention.

More Time...

Everyone is always asking for more time...

"If I only had more time..." "Gee, I wish I had more time..." "There aren't enough hours in the day..."

What in the world is that all about?

I don't want more time... I want more discipline! I want the courage to say No! more often! I want to be able to power on my computer and just start writing without feeling the irresistable pull of facebook or gmail tugging at my sleeve!

No! I don't want more time... Not until I'm sure I'm making the best use of the time I've got now!

Sure, I'd love to be more productive... Who wouldn't? Wouldn't you?

OK, so there are a few individuals we all know who laugh at the rest of us as we scurry around with that permanent look of constipated intensity etched into our collective portrait, people who don't give a damn about productivity: yours or their own. And, while they are laughing at us we're probably racing around feeling sorry for them, bathing in a false sense of moral superiority.

The question is: Who is right and who is wrong...

I don't want more time... I want to be happy with the time I've got! No... That isn't entirely correct. It's not happy with the time I've got that I want: it's "satisfied!" I want to be satisfied that I used the time I've got wisely, and wisely means for something other than work: something more than work!

I want the willpower to ignore Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Yahoo and the four thousand, eight hundred and thirty two other browsers that are clawing for my attention every second of every minute of every day. I want to silence the constant noise!

I don't want to connect with someone half-way around the world on the Internet: not, when I can connect with another human being in the same room!

I don't want to watch someone else exercise either! I want to get up from my desk and move around a little myself!

I don't want to watch someone on television. I don't want to watch the story unfold on the the screen. I don't want someone to tell it for me or to me. I want to experience it for myself. I want to experience it myself!

I don't want more time until I know I can and will make the best use of the time I have and quite frankly, I'm pretty sure I'm not there yet! 

Do you know how I know that? If you don't I'll tell you. I know I'm not there yet because every time I make a list of the "To Do's" I need to get done there is always one thing conspicuously absent from the list and that is the "To Do's" I need to do for me.

I'm not whining... I'm not crying the blues... I'm not bemoaning the fact I've dealt myself out of this equation. And, no, I'm not afraid of being considered selfish. I'd just like to get better at the art of living: living a full and satisfying life that recognizes that it's alright to find yourself penciled in on your own "To Do" list. That being selfish doesn't have anything to do with being on that list: Being selfish has everything to do with being the only thing thing on the list!

No... More time isn't the answer. Everyone's got the same amount of time: the same number of seconds, hours and days they are allotted. More living and more life in the time we all have is the answer!

So, until we have the wisdom to ask better questions and make more intelligent decisions, I think I'll just have to satisfy myself with the time I have... the time we all have. I'll just have to muddle through and make the best of it. 

And, if someone stops me to ask if I have the time, I'll smile and rejoice in the hidden knowledge that there is a lot more to that question than a wristwatch, cell phone or a clock will ever tell you.

Kickin' The Can Down The Road...

I don't know about you, but it seems like we're approaching some kind of a record for the use of lame expressions during a campaign year. The one that annoys me the most this year is, "Kickin' the can down the road..."

It isn't the metaphor itself that bothers me. Politicians have been "Kickin'" that can down the road for generations: long enough for it to finally come back and haunt them. What bothers me about this particular phrase is the way the OEM's - the Original Equipment Manufacturers: the people who build the cars and trucks you purchase and I work on, have started to kick the maintenance can down the road.

In an earlier blog post, I wrote about what the OEM's consider "acceptable" oil consumption rates and the disastrous impact extended service intervals can have when it's "normal" to use a quart of oil every 800 or 900 miles and appropriate to change oil every 10,000. You don't have to be a Math scholar to realize that unless you have a twelve or thirteen quart crankcase capacity you will run out of oil before you run out of miles.

Well, the same thing is happening with other service requirements and recommendations. But, that isn't the "can" I'm talking about. The "can" I'm talking about are the normally scheduled maintenance operations that are no longer even listed in your owner's manual: services that are no less important and yet no longer there. For all intent and purpose, they've disappeared or the interval is so long the service feels unnecessary, even irrelevant.

One manufacturer recommends a transmission service: a fluid exchange, every fifteen years! The average Californian drives more than 12,000 miles a year. That's a fluid exchange every 180,000 miles! How many transmissions are you aware of that will last that long without some kind of maintenance?

It seems attractive until you stop and think about it for a moment, something we ask our clients to do just about every day when someone kicks the can into the office and onto the service counter!

Think about what? How about just one simple, but realistic question: Who gets to pay if "it," whatever "it" is, fails and the vehicle is out of warranty? The answer is just as simple: You! And, the cost can be in the thousands!

You see, these services are being deferred in many cases to create an illusion of false economy. The fewer services required or the longer the interval between service, the less the overall cost of operation. Or, at least that's the way it looks on paper. And, while there is no argument that just about everything on your vehicle is being made better and to last longer, we still haven't managed to create a perpetual motion machine or even a machine that is maintenance free!

That's something you need to think about when you kick that maintenance can down the road... The fact that sooner or later the road will end and that can and lot more just like it will be there just waiting for you to show up!

2:45 A.M.

Standing at the kitchen counter at 2:45 in the morning, staring out the window at the rain with a glass of water in your hand isn't exactly the kind of place you would think a flood of positive emotions about our industry would wash over you. I certainly didn't think it would happen to me, at least not there and not then. 

But, it did and for whatever its worth, there wasn't much I could do about it...

Now, at 2:45 A.M., most people would let those positive and powerful emotions wash right over them and then go back to bed. In fact, I'll bet most people might even have lied to their significant other about why they were up, what they were doing and what they were thinking, but I didn't...

Lesley asked why I was up and I told her. I told her I was thinking about "the industry:" our code for what you and I do, and how it had been very good to me... very good to us. 

Fortunately, she was so tired she just grunted and went back to sleep, but not before she mumbled, "That's good, because you've been very good to the industry."

I wasn't that lucky. I had to analyze why there was an instant replay of a lifetime committed to the motoring public, our customers and this industry running in my head and why I was convinced I'd gotten so much more from the commitment I'd made to my craft all those years ago, than I'd given. After all, it hasn't all been fun and games!

You can come up with some strange explanations for all kinds of "stuff" at 3:00 A.M. while you're watching the numbers on your digital clock change minute by minute. "Stuff" you might never have even considered during the day... Like all the incredible relationships you were privileged to experience: the wonderful people who enriched your life in more ways than you could ever articulate or explain.

 

You think about all you've learned: invaluable life-lessons that may not have fully registered when "class" was in session because you were too deeply involved in them to recognize everything you were absorbing.

If you were me staring out the window at 3:15, you were thinking about how your future father-in-law was so concerned about your ability to support his daughter: your wife of what has now been forty-two years, he felt compelled to warn her not to hang out with you because all you did was "pump gas and work on cars..." And, the fact that "pumping gas" and "fixing cars" has paid for a pretty good life so far: a house, more than a couple of nice cars over the years - cars that always ran and ran well, two great kids, two four-year college degrees, some really incredible vacations, a big chunk of one wedding ten months ago... and, just about a week ago, a bigger chunk of another.

 

You think about the fact that after more than forty-six years, it isn't over yet. And, perhaps, more important, the fact that you're still excited about getting up every morning and going to work every day! 

Maybe, not in two-and-a-half hours… But, most days, anyway!

How many people do you know who can say they feel the same way about what they do... And, mean it?

I guess it's true, you do think about a lot of strange "stuff" in the middle of the night and not all of it is likely to make you smile or feel good about yourself. I was lucky this time: lucky to find myself thinking about why I decided to keep working with my father when I had more than a couple of chances to leave, lucky to understand how and why I was drawn to the same challenges and satisfaction that motivated him and lucky to realize just how privileged I am to be able to share it all with you.

Perhaps, more important, I was lucky enough to fall back to sleep before the sun finally did come up. And, even though I only slept for a couple of hours, I was lucky enough to sleep soundly and to sleep well: lucky enough to realize that when it comes to this industry, it would be safe to say that we just might have been good for each other.

An Act of Not So Random Kindness...

It's odd when doing something almost entirely for someone else: someone you don't know and most likely will never meet, feels uncomfortable. But, there are times the discomfort is more than acceptable. This is one of them. One of those acts of random kindness that is as compelling as it is noble or majestic.


I'm just sorry I didn't think of doing it sooner...

Because I didn't think of posting it sooner and since this is as good a time as any, I just posted this on my Motor Age site. 

Normally, I would never do something like this, but this is for kids: kids with serious illnesses who could really use the distraction a game consol like the ones Ryan will be donating can provide. If you get a minute take a look and follow the link to the crowdraiser site. You'll feel better if you do. I know I did ;-{)}


Here is what I posted there...


...

As many of you may... Or, may not know, my son Ryan is an "Endurance Athlete:" an Ironman, which is kind of a Triathlete on steroids.

 Normally, I would never share this, bore or burden you with tales of either of our kid's accomplishments, but this is a little different. I'm not sharing this because he will swim two-and-a-half miles, bike about 113 miles and then finish the day off with a full 26.2 mile marathon or because he has really covered more than 1,000 miles in training for Ironman, St. George - Although, you have to admit, that's worthy of at least a smile and a little fatherly pride.

I'm sharing it because his heart is as big as it is strong. I'm sharing it because I hope you just might be moved enough to follow the link to Ryan's fundraising page and contribute a buck or two to help brighten the lives at least a couple of kids coping with more than any kid should ever have to.

Just think of how good you'll feel if you can. And, if you can't, no worries... I'll still love you!

Just find something equally as noble, equally as important, and contribute what you can there. My guess is if we all do a little something for someone else, our industry we'll be a lot closer to making the world a better place: a lot closer to finishing the work of creation... 

Here's the link... I'm afraid you will have to cut and paste it, but I'm thinking the feeling you get from giving will be more than worth the effort! 


http://www.crowdrise.com/starlightchallenge/fundraiser/Ironmadman/1/return/success/success

Mitch

...


Hi everyone,

As some of you may know, this Saturday I’m tackling arguably the hardest Ironman course in North America, Ironman St. George.  It’s going to be a tough day, but I’m elated because with every mile I’ve trained since March 5, I’ve donated $1 to Starlight Children’s Foundation.  I’ve swam, biked and ran more than 1,000 miles in two months.  For those of you who haven’t heard of Starlight, the organization helps seriously ill children.

Specifically, I’m raising funds to place Nintendo Fun Centers in children’s hospitals.  They feature Nintendo Wii game consoles, DVD players and a mounted TV that can be wheeled into patients’ rooms.  This links my passion for the video games industry with my passion for Ironman and especially with helping the most innocent folks of all, kids. 

Oftentimes, children’s hospitals have little to no entertainment for kids as they undergo treatment.  With today’s array of budget cuts it’s understandable but unfortunate.  Still, tell that to the kids who endure mind-numbing boredom while undergoing sometimes painful treatments.  I’d like to help change that.  There’s a hospital wait list 1,000-long for these units.  I’m hoping that I can donate at least two by the time I cross the finish line this Saturday evening.  Three would be even more amazing!

We’re on our way to getting there.  As you can see with my fundraising page, we’ve made a pretty sizable dent.  What’s not included is that my employer, Insomniac Games, has matched and doubled my donation, and a few other very generous souls have matched me mile for mile.  With that in mind, we have already raised enough to donate one Nintendo Fun Center ($5,000) and are about halfway to the $10,000 mark to donate two.

Would you be so kind as to consider helping me reach this milestone?  I’ve never asked for anyone to donate anything in the past.  I’ve kept my charitable acts private.  But this is a cause I strongly believe in, and have personally seen the looks on kids’ faces when they get to play with a Nintendo Fun Center. It changes their entire outlook about a stay in the hospital.  This is worth sharing.

I hope you agree my Ironman Starlight Challenge is a worthy cause. I hope you’ll join me.

If you have any other questions, please let me know.  And please consider donating if you can.  If not, you can help by simply linking my fundraising page to your Facebook wall!  I’d greatly appreciate that.

Sincerely,

Ryan