I attended the July virtual Collision Industry Conference (CIC) and heard something interesting from one of the presenters.
One of the new CIC committees, the Future Disruptions Committee, gave a presentation on – you guessed it – disruption in the collision industry. And as we know, there is a lot of disruption going on pertaining to: the industry in general; claims; OE manufacturers; electric vehicles; connected cars; iOT/big data; artificial intelligence (AI); and augmented reality.
One of the committee members had some sage advice for collision technicians: “Focus on the things you’re not good at,” he said. “Get out of your comfort zone.”
Wow, what a concept: focus on the things you’re not good at. First, you have to be humble enough and honest enough to have a frank conversation with yourself about things you may not do well or know enough about. I guess that would be the first step: admitting you need help in a certain skill area. There’s the famous quote: “Don’t be shy about asking for help. It doesn’t mean you’re weak, it only means you’re wise.”
This focus on things you’re not good at and getting out of your comfort zone is critical to adapting to the future. With these computers on wheels, there is much to learn, and things are changing almost daily. Techs owe it to themselves, their careers, their profession and the driving public to keep learning. The future is here, and it looks exciting.
