Friday Filosophy v.04.08.2022

Friday Filosophy v.04.08.2022

Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. Sagan argued the hypothesis, accepted since, that the high surface temperatures of Venus can be attributed to, and calculated using, the greenhouse effect. He testified to the US Congress in 1985 that the greenhouse effect will change the earth’s climate system. Initially an assistant professor at Harvard, Sagan later moved to Cornell where he would spend the majority of his career as the David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences. Sagan published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books. 

He wrote many popular science books, such as The Dragons of Eden, Broca’s Brain, Pale Blue Dot and narrated and co-wrote the award-winning 1980 television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. The most widely watched series in the history of American public television, Cosmos, has been seen by at least 500 million people in 60 countries. The book Cosmos was published to accompany the series. He also wrote the 1985 science fiction novel Contact, the basis for a 1997 film of the same name. His papers, containing 595,000 items, are archived at The Library of Congress. 

Sagan advocated scientific skeptical inquiry and the scientific method, pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). He spent most of his career as a professor of astronomy at Cornell University, where he directed the Laboratory for Planetary Studies. Sagan and his works received numerous awards and honors, including the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal, the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book The Dragons of Eden, and, regarding Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, two Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award, and the Hugo Award. He married three times and had five children. After suffering from myelodysplasia, Sagan died of pneumonia at the age of 62, on December 20, 1996.

  • We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.
  • For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love
  • Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.
  • In our obscurity – in all this vastness – there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. It is up to us.
  • Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.
  • The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use, we feel very good. Understanding is joyous.
  • The dangers of not thinking clearly are much greater now than ever before. It’s not that there’s something new in our way of thinking – it’s that credulous and confused thinking can be much more lethal in ways it was never before.
  • Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works.
  • When you make the finding yourself – even if you’re the last person on Earth to see the light – you’ll never forget it.
  • I am often amazed at how much more capability and enthusiasm for science there is among elementary school youngsters than among college students.
  • A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism.
  • We’ve arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology.
  • The professed function of the nuclear weapons on each side is to prevent the other side from using their nuclear weapons. If that’s all it is, then we’ve gotta ask: how many nuclear weapons do you need to do that?
  • Today, we’re still loaded down – and, to some extent, embarrassed – by ancient myths, but we respect them as part of the same impulse that has led to the modern, scientific kind of myth. But we now have the opportunity to discover, for the first time, the way the universe is in fact constructed as opposed to how we would wish it to be constructed.
  • Personally, I would be delighted if there were a life after death, especially if it permitted me to continue to learn about this world and others, if it gave me a chance to discover how history turns out.

The Time is Now

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AgilitiONE

AgilitiONE

Alex Weaver’s career in the industry spans several decades. His initial job in the industry was with an independent used equipment – used parts company, White Tractor Parts in Blue Springs, MO. After several years of ground floor, learning the business, including how to chain a tractor to a trailer, he went to work as Assistant Used Equipment Manager for The Whayne Supply Company, Caterpillar dealer for Kentucky, in Louisville, KY.  Later, promoted to Eastern Region Sales Manager. In 1979 he went to work for Crane and Tractor of Dallas, another independent used equipment, used parts dealer. 

In 1988 He relocated to Charlotte, NC to work for the Caterpillar Dealer, Carolina Tractor.  Initially holding the position of Product Support Sales Manager, later serving as General Parts Manager and VP of Heavy Equipment Sales. In 2002 Alex began work with Caterpillar, Inc, and relocated to Peoria, IL. Here he served as Sales Manager for the Eastern Region of Caterpillar’s Redistribution Company, CRSI, Inc, moving to the Reman Group, and later to the Caterpillar Used Equipment Sales, Inc before retiring in 2014. 

With over 40 years of experience in the industry. As a retirement project, Alex and a partner created the concept for agilitiONE, including manually researching every company listed in our search engine/database. The great influencer working with all these companies, in various positions and segments, were the customers. The customers shared what they did, how they did it and how as a supplier you could help them do it. A great education in market wants and needs.

Imagine all Your Information Needs at Your Fingertips

Have you ever wondered why?  Why there is no single source that lists all suppliers to the construction equipment industry?  There will be soon.  A fast, easy to use industry- specific search engine, or directory.  Search for providers of new / used / and rental equipment.  Search for providers of parts and attachments.  Plus, service – providers, such as insurance, heavy hauling, software, business services, marketing, and consulting.  Filter searches by brand, New, Used, condition, distribution source by brand, and zip code location.  Search all industry parts providers in North America. Would you believe there are over 13,000 such suppliers / providers in our database?

agilitiONE was created by a team of construction equipment businessmen.  Their background in the industry includes senior level management / leadership roles at both manufacturer and dealer organizations.  Through extensive work in the field with construction equipment customers, they’ve gained a strong appreciation for the contractors’ challenges and needs.  It is with this background that agilitiONE addresses those needs.

The agilitiONE website is the first true, industry-wide, product – wide, online platform / marketplace built solely for contractors to easily locate and purchase all job-related requirements.  At attractive prices.  All using a single IOS or Android app.   Machines, rentals, parts, and services.  Users of agilitiONE will find many new sources and viable options for all of their many needs.

agilitiONE is an online platform / marketplace where contractors and equipment owners will find multiple, new sources for the products, parts, and services they routinely buy, rent, and utilize.  At the same time, industry suppliers can expand their sales reach by attracting an ever-growing larger clientele.  And, manufacturers can further promote their brands, support their distribution, and collectively increase sales.  agilitiONE is unique; there’s nothing like it in the industry!

Why is an industry specific search engine important?  What is the benefit?  Easy.  You get your specific result faster and easier.  Have you noticed that with the existing search engines, your answer may be down in a search results page or pages down?  For instance, search for a turbocharger for a Volvo MTC85C skid steer loader.  If you search by zip code, or within 100 miles of your zip code, you may get results for turbochargers for Volvo automobiles or Volvo Trucks.  The search is interesting because Volvo is out of the skid steer business.  The MTC85C was built for Volvo by JCB.  The engine is Perkins, now owned by Caterpillar.  But all you want is an exchange, rebuilt turbo.  In agilitiONE a search for “turbocharger” returned 23 providers.  Only 23 results, not thousands of non-search related results, that don’t apply to your search.  A search on Google, also using “turbocharger”, turned up 64,000,000 results.  Because our search engine is industry specific, our database only contains providers for construction equipment or related rebuilders.

How do you find all of the providers of Safety Equipment, that focus on the Construction Industry?  A search of agilitiONE returned 109 providers that can be filtered by zip code.

Again, Google returned millions of providers.  Our goal is “fast and easy” access to information.

In today’s work world, small contractors are accepting work further from their home base.  Home base is comfortable.  Providers are known.  But contractors are also bidding more work further from home base.  If there is a minor breakdown, how do you find the nearest hydraulic repair shop?  Or if a contractor needs to rent a small excavator to finish a job.  What provider is close to the work?

We know and understand the challenges of daily operations.  agilitiONE will provide quick and easy information search related solutions for all contractors.

About Industry Services:  Categories – Aerial Information/Data – Asset Appraisal – Asset Inspection – Associations/Trade/Industry – Auction – Builders/Commercial – Business Services – Certification Agencies – Construction – Consultancies’ – Contractor – Engineering – Financial Services – Financing – Freight/Trucking/Delivery – Governmental Agency – Individual Consultants – Insurance – Land Survey – Logistics – Manufacturers’ Representative Firm – Marketing – Oil Analysis – Opinion Survey – Project Management – Publishers/Publications – Safety – Software – Training/Education – Warranty – Drone Services – 3-D Printing

Our search engine is currently under construction. But it is coming soon.  A lot of information in one portal. We hope you are curious. Will keep you posted on Start Up date.  Questions?  Email tr******@*******i1.com.

Alex Weaver

Co-Founder / AgilitiONE

Alex Weaver’s career in the industry spans several decades.  Experience with Used Equipment / Used Parts Dealers, 2 – Caterpillar Dealers and Caterpillar.

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Adaptability

Adaptability

Guest writer Alex Kraft tackles the importance of adaptability for all of us in our businesses, and our lives.

In order to Succeed you have to be Adaptable.

What do Nick Saban, Domino’s Pizza, and Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers have in common?  Adaptability.

Every equipment dealer everywhere has uttered the words, ‘because that’s the way we’ve always done it’. I’ve heard it a million times and I may have said it once or twice.  Adaptability is becoming a larger separator between the dominant players in an industry and the middle/lower tier companies.  I’ve always been impressed by market leaders that continually work to improve and adapt to changing market conditions even when they don’t have much incentive to.

As a huge sports fan, I’ve always enjoyed the parallels between sports and business.  Nick Saban is undoubtedly the most successful college football coach ever, having won seven national championships.  For those who don’t follow college football closely, they may view him as a hard ass, but to me his success stems from a willingness to adapt.  Saban’s early teams were the conservative type, focusing on suffocating defense and a run-first offensive approach that limited mistakes.  No one could argue with the approach as SEC titles and national titles piled up.  If there ever was a person who could rest on his laurels and point to the “this is the way we’ve always done it”, it was Nick Saban.  But what makes Coach Saban a legend is that he’s never satisfied and he’s constantly seeking improvement.  Even with his extraordinary success, he looked at the teams that beat Alabama and noticed similarities with their offensive schemes.  The rules had changed in the early 2010’s to lean more towards the offense, specifically the spread passing scheme.  Instead of being stubborn, Saban leaned into the new age offensive schemes and Alabama has become the most dangerous passing program in the country over the past 4-5 years (averaging almost 48 points per game!) with 11 1st round picks on offense since 2019.  Football fans have all seen the examples of the legendary coach in his last few years struggling to adjust to rule changes, differences in athletes from prior decades, and the overall style of the sport.  It creates this sad state where we all think to ourselves ‘the game has passed him by’.  I don’t ever see anyone suggesting that about Nick Saban because of his incredible ability to be open minded and adaptable.

Domino’s Pizza was near bankruptcy in 2008 as its share price dropped below $3 per share (today it’s >$400 per share!) and they were losing franchise locations.  This led to a few changes including the launch of some new products and a completely new pizza recipe.  Next, they launched a campaign with a promise to deliver pizzas in “30 minutes or less”.  When the competition just copied the program, Domino’s was searching for an edge.  The true catalyst that changed the entire company’s future was their ability to adjust to the smartphone revolution and embrace digital ordering. In 2011, then-CEO Patrick Doyle challenged the internal team to create tools to allow customers to order a pizza while waiting at a stoplight.  The average stoplight takes 17 seconds to turn green and Domino’s has 34 million different possible pizza combinations.  Impossible?  Quite the opposite.  Anyone who’s ordered a Domino’s pizza in the past 5 years can attest to the ease at the entire process from order to receipt.  It isn’t just about launching an ‘app’.  Domino’s was at the forefront of the “pizza tracker”, along with experimenting with autonomous delivery vehicles and electric bike deliveries in certain markets.  The Domino’s AnyWare program allows customers to order directly from consumer 3rd party ‘apps’, such as Slack, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, a text message, a Smart TV, or even a tweet!  Today, over 60% of their orders come from digital channels.  With such an intense focus on customer experience, Domino’s launched an ‘Innovation Garage’ to continually test and implement new ideas.  This culture has changed the entire perception of the company, to where they are more often characterized as a tech company than their standing as the world’s largest pizza company.

Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers is a great construction industry example of adaptability.  I just attended the big February sale in Orlando as I have every year since 2008.  The RB Auction has become a destination, a networking event for so many in the industry over the years.  One would think that a pandemic such as Covid-19, which brought ‘social distancing’ and outright travel restrictions would absolutely crush a company that holds in-person auctions, right?  Wrong.  Long before Covid-19 struck, Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers laid the foundation for online bidding at their in-person auctions. Ritchie introduced online bidding back in 2003, but it was their IronPlanet acquisition in 2017 that cemented their leadership position in selling equipment online.  I was surprised to learn that prior to Covid, Ritchie’s online sales exceeded their in-person sales.  Having been in this industry since 2004, I can’t imagine how much resistance RB must have had internally when the idea of selling used equipment online was posed.  Especially for a company that started in 1958 auctioning furniture at a rented hall.  It seems like a stroke of genius today with our current conditions, but those seeds were planted long before it was popular.

The 3 examples above are success stories.  Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples of the opposite, of rigid companies like Blockbuster movie rentals.  At its peak in the late 1990’s, Blockbuster had over 9,000 video-rental stores, employed over 84,000 people, and had 65 million customers.  The story is well known now that Netflix basically begged Blockbuster to buy their fledgling operation in early 2000 for only $50 million.  Blockbuster turned them down and today Netflix is worth $195 Billion, and Blockbuster is out of business.  This is the ironic part to me:  if I’m chasing a competitor, I’d want them to keep everything the same. Please don’t change.  Yet that seems to be the trap that most in the equipment industry have fallen into.  If you’re 3rd/4th/5th in market position and you’re not pursuing new ways to do business, what do you think happens next?  No one just falls into a better market position by staying the same.  Learn to adapt or you may just be holding a position for someone else to come and grab on their way up.

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Embracing Automation

Embracing Automation

Tonight, guest writer Jennifer Albright shares with readers the ways in which our “new normal” can bring about some positive change with embracing automation.

Embracing Automation in a Post-Pandemic Dealer World: Creating a Smoother Tech Implementation Experience.

As much as I think we are all tired of hearing phrases like “unprecedented times”, “pivot”, and worst of all, the dreaded “new normal”, the past 2 years have put a spotlight on how critical technology and adaptability are in the dealer world. Equipment dealers are as much about relationships as they are about selling and servicing equipment, so the idea of introducing a lot of technology may at first seem counterintuitive. But regardless of whether it’s the result of folks working from home during the pandemic or customers becoming more tech-savvy in general, we’ve reached the point where it isn’t as much of a choice as it is an inevitability. When done right, software streamlines back-end processes which can free up capital and reduce or refocus headcount, reduce opportunities for fraud, and can improve the customer experience making it easier to do business with you, thereby strengthening your relationships with your customers. A real win-win.

In my experience, dealers have often avoided implementing new technology…it’s time consuming, it’s disruptive, it can be expensive, and for many, change can be scary. However, the cost of not embracing technology at this point is exponentially more than the cost of the software itself. Yes, of course it’s time consuming and disruptive even under the best of circumstances, but there are many steps that can be taken in order to make it a better experience for all involved.

The Problem is a simple question…. Where to begin?

First, define what you’re trying to accomplish. You can opt to start small and automate a stand-alone process, or you can go all out and introduce or replace an ERP system. Regardless, you’re going to want to choose the right tech and the right partner for the job which starts with a formal RFP process. Use your selection criteria to create an RFP that can be sent to all participating suppliers, and create a scorecard by which your selection team will use to rate the responses.

The next step is one that is often overlooked, but is absolutely critical. Map your current processes and define where you want to be through the use of the new technology. By skipping this step, many dealers wind up simply forcing bad processes into the new system which is a recipe for failure. This exercise provides the GPS coordinates for where you are and where you want to be.

Involve your key stakeholders – don’t let system selection happen in a vacuum, seek input from the folks who are actually doing the tasks in question to shape your selection criteria. Far too often I see dealers excited by a slick sales pitch or demo and make decisions without comparing apples to apples, involving the right people or asking the right questions, which can of course cause issues when it comes to actually living with the new tech that they’ve bought. Technology shouldn’t be an impulse buy, but rather a business decision that has been reached through a thorough and structured approach. The preparation takes longer but it is well worth the time spent.

Once you’ve gathered the right people and created your RFP and decision criteria, reach out to the suppliers you wish to include in the bid process with your RFP documentation. Establish a single point of contact internally so that all suppliers are receiving the same information. Allow each supplier the same access to your team in the form of a demo and Q&A, and review their product using the scorecard that you’ve created. Taking this type of structured approach allows you to come to a decision based on facts and data as opposed to emotion.

Pro tip – be sure to also review the suppliers’ contracts prior to making a final decision. This way you don’t award the business to someone only to find that their terms and conditions won’t work for you.

Once you’ve decided on a tool and signed all of the paperwork, the hard work begins – or the fun, depending on how you look at it. Having an internal project manager is critical, as this person will herd all of the cats, ensure that everything is handled on time, and keep the project within budget. I’m often asked why the dealer needs a project manager when the software provider assigns one to the implementation. The thing is, those folks typically know their product but they can’t know your business like you do. This is where the input from your stakeholders is especially important, as they’ll be able to ask the right questions to ensure that the software is configured to meet your needs as a dealership.

Another critical aspect of the project that can’t be ignored is testing. Test every common scenario that your folks would face when using the software that you can think of. Don’t assume that everything will work the first time – the purpose of testing software is to try to break it. The more you can do to ensure that everything works prior to go-live, the less frustration your people will feel when trying to adapt to using it.

Last, but certainly not least, overcommunicate. Communicate early and often. Talk with your people about the purpose of the new tech and listen to their concerns. Reinforce what efficiencies they’ll gain, learn what frustrations they might feel, and listen. Given the long tenure of so many dealer employees, change can be challenging. While everyone can’t always have a say, most people just want to be heard. When people feel heard, they tend to be more accepting of change even if it isn’t what they wanted. Train, and provide ongoing training opportunities to ensure that folks are using the new technology correctly – and that new employees are learning to use it correctly versus falling victim to the telephone game.

New technology can open up a whole new world of efficiency and opportunity for dealers. There are so many tools created specifically for our industry, it’s pretty exciting to see how many companies are dedicated to our success. While it may not be a quick process, taking the time to define your needs and processes, assemble the right team, assign the right resources, test, and communicate will make your next implementation a smoother one.

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Friday Filosophy v.04.01.2022

Friday Filosophy v.04.01.2022

Alan Alexander Milne (18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English author, best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and for various poems. Milne was a noted writer, primarily as a playwright, before the huge success of Pooh overshadowed all his previous work. Milne served in both World Wars, joining the British Army in World War I, and as a captain of the British Home Guard in World War II.[1]

He was the father of bookseller Christopher Robin Milne, upon whom the character Christopher Robin is based.

I thought he would be an appropriate choice for April 1st.

  • Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?
  • One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.
  • The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.
  • What I say is that, if a fellow really likes potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of fellow.
  • If one is to be called a liar, one may as well make an effort to deserve the name.
  • Bores can be divided into two classes; those who have their own particular subject, and those who do not need a subject.
  • I suppose that every one of us hopes secretly for immortality; to leave, I mean, a name behind him which will live forever in this world, whatever he may be doing, himself, in the next.
  • Golf is so popular simply because it is the best game in the world at which to be bad.
  • It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words, like ‘What about lunch?’
  • If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you.
  • Some people care too much. I think it’s called love.
  • You will be better advised to watch what we do instead of what we say.
  • Never forget me, because if I thought you would, I’d never leave.

The Time is Now

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