I think Doug Goethe got it right in this month’s story about his personal transition to waterborne basecoat when he said, “It’s all about attitude. Everything’s about attitude.”
It is all about attitude. Specifically, having a positive and open-minded attitude.
When you were down 5-0 after the first inning in your league softball game, there were those players who moped around and said, “Well, the game’s over now.” Then there were those who looked at the deficit as a challenge to overcome and chose to believe that there were enough innings left to eventually take the lead and win. I was one of the latter folks.
I take the same approach today when my golf ball lands in a bunker. I think, “This is a great challenge, and if I knock it out of here and onto the green, how much greater am I going to feel than the guy who hits his ball onto the green from the middle of the fairway?” It’s all about attitude.
This waterborne thing is yet another change in our industry, and it does have its challenges. But we will succeed with it. After all, it’s not the first change this industry has been forced to make, and it won’t be the last. C’mon, are you kidding? It’s all about attitude.
Take what’s going on today with what appears to be a burgeoning world economic crisis. What kind of attitude do you have? I can tell you this crisis doesn’t have me down. I know people who are constantly checking the Dow Jones Industrial Average and fretting over their 401(k)s. Not me. The way I figure it, I’ve got a good 30-plus working years ahead of me to make up for anything I lose. The fact of the matter is I may never be able to fully retire. The cleaning lady will probably find me here one day slumped over my keyboard. So what? I’m just glad to have a great job and a good education and that I live in the best country on the planet.
World economic crisis aside, the state of the collision repair industry gives someone an equally good reason to be down in the dumps – that is, if you have the wrong attitude. There is opportunity all over the place in this industry – in tidying up your shop, in becoming more environmentally friendly, in treating your customers better, in doing better repairs, in giving back to your communities, and in seeking unfound profit centers. The standards could all stand to be raised.
And don’t let insurance companies get you down. As if we didn’t know this before, they’re not going anywhere, even if they get in financial trouble. We saw this recently when AIG was bailed out by the government, with the reasoning that it was a company vital to our economy. If we didn’t think they were untouchable before, we do now. My point is that I think sometimes we’re better served focusing on improving our businesses than fighting with insurers. Sometimes, the fight is justified, but in other cases it’s a waste of time. I think you’ll stay much more positive if you focus on the heights your business can reach rather than the futile battle with Goliath.
So, with a positive attitude, I’m blazing a trail to NACE. I don’t know about you, but I’m a Vegas kind of guy. I like everything about the city and I’m completely stoked about seeing my friends and having some fun. Here are some things I vow not to do while there:
• I vow not to check the Dow Jones once. I will, however, check to see if I need another drink.
• I vow not to ante up any futile complaints about the state of the collision repair industry. I will, however, ante up at the poker table.
• I vow not to get any shameful tattoos. I will, however, let you tattoo future story ideas on my brain.
• I vow not to gawk at any celebrities. I can’t promise I won’t gawk at the cool new equipment on the show floor, though.
Please stop by our booth (N2756) and let me know what kind of job we’re doing. It’s you who drive our magazine and it’s you we serve, so we’ll be all ears.
Jason Stahl, Editor
E-mail comments to [email protected]
