Friday Filosophy v2013-38

Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek.

Dalai Lama

Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success.

Dale Carnegie

A man is a success is he gets up in the mornings and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to.

Bob Dylan

The time is now…..

Friday Filosophy v2013-37

Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant. There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.

Johann Gottfried Von Herder

Make yourself necessary to somebody.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Without initiative, leaders are simply workers in leadership positions.

Bo Bennett

The time is now…..

WH Filosophy v-1.17

It is wise to direct your anger towards problems – not people; to focus your energies on answers – not excuses.

William Arthur Ward

Expect more than others think possible.

Howard Schultz

If people aren’t calling you crazy, you aren’t thinking big enough.

Richard Branson

Thanks Bill

 

The time is now.

 

Management Musing v2.6

The summer is over and it is time to get down to business again. We will return to submitting blogs on this site regarding parts, service, sales, training, education, and the like on a regular basis. Those of you that follow this blog are more than welcome to make suggestions as to which subjects you would like me to focus on this Fall.

This Fall marks the end of five years since the economic disruptions became so dramatic. Equipment sales levels still linger at roughly half the peak they realized in 2007/2008. We should not expect machine sales activity to return to that level in the United States, excluding resource-based equipment sales until well after business and the general population, get healthy again.

Employment numbers are like grasping at straws. The number of unemployed got lowered to 7.3% for August with the overall unemployment rate being 13.7 if you exclude those that have given up. The labor participation rate has not been this low for over three decades. The lingering overhang of the arrival of the affordable care act is having an effect on hiring. More jobs are becoming part time to avoid the cost to employers of providing healthcare to full-time employees. Healthcare offerings from employers are asking for more contributions from the employee. Wage increases are almost nonexistent. And we should never forget that the American consumer drives the American economy. Without people having disposable income the American economy will continue to struggle.

It is against this background that those of us in the equipment business are working. Parts and service has to become more the focus of these equipment dealers if they are going to succeed in this reduced equipment market. At some point you have to start growing your business, as opposed to saving your way to health. Employee productivity can only be driven so far before it reaches the breaking point, both for your employees and for your customers who don’t receive the level of customer service that they deserve and expect.

The opportunities in front of us are huge. But opportunity is an interesting word much like the word potential. If somebody tells you that you have a lot of potential at the age of 16 that is quite a compliment. If they tell you the same thing at the age of 66 I wonder what you’ve been doing for the last 50 years. Opportunity is what we make of it. So for those of you that are prepared to go get it – these pages are for you.

The time is now

Friday Filosophy v2013-36

The only real training for leadership is leadership.

Anthony Jay

Believe in yourself and there will come a day when others will have no choice but to believe in you.

Cynthia Kersey

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.

C.S. Lewis

The time is now…..

Friday Filosophy v2013-35

Nothing endures but personal qualities.

Walt Whitman

To lead people, walk behind them.

Lao Tzu

Be gentle and you can be bold; be frugal and you can be liberal; avoid putting yourself before others and you can become a leader among men.

Lao Tzu

The time is now…..

Friday Filosophy v2013-34

Be self-reliant and your success is assured.

Unknown

The surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed.

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

Mohandas Gandhi

The time is now…..

WH Filosophy v-1.16

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold.

Helen Keller (1880–1968) American humanitarian advocate for the deaf and blind

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.

Booker T. Washington, American educator, author and political leader

Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil.

J. Paul Getty, American industrialist

I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn’t know.

Mark Twain

Destruction before creation

Joseph Campbell

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. 

Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist

Getting rid of a delusion makes us wiser than getting hold of a truth.

Ludwig Borne

Thanks Bill

 

The time is now.

 

Friday Filosophy v2013-33

Happiness is where we find it, but rarely where we seek it.

J. Petit Senn

Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal.

Arthur Schopenhauer

The only peace, the only security, is in fulfillment.

Henry Miller

The time is now…..

Friday Filosophy v2013-32

In the hopes of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers that blossom at their feet.

Albert Schweitzer

Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.

Aristotle

Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.

Hannah Arendt

The time is now…..