09 September 2010

Have you seen any OPE industry headlines recently?  I have and I’m beginning to think that I should start feeling really good about the prospects for our industry and for the future of the businesses you and I run.  Of course, I can always look at the local newspaper’s morning headlines to bring me back down to reality and make me depressed.  

But why do that?  I’m only going to look at the OPE industry headlines because I want to feel good!  Here are some positive OPE headlines I’m seeing right out of the Outdoor Power Equipment and Engine Service Association’s (OPEESA) OPE-in-the-Know e-mail newsletter and other recent business news sources:

• “Echo Expands in Lake Zurich.” Well, Echo did buy Shindaiwa, and we thought it was only a matter of time before they had to expand. 129,000 square feet! Wow, that’s pretty big!

• “Briggs Invests $35.5 Million in Murray, KY Plant.” That’s a lot of money. What do they know that we don’t?

• “MTD to Add 107 Jobs with $9.3-Million Expansion in Mississippi.”  MTD is expanding into a 525,000-square-foot building with 10 plastic injection molding machines to be followed by two more assembly lines and a paint applicator system.  That’s a terrific investment in jobs and a tremendous belief in the strength of future business.

• “Blount International Acquires Speeco.” Blount will gain entry into products and markets that will complement its existing business with Speeco’s log splitters, post-hole diggers, tractor three-point linkage parts and equipment, and farm accessories. We could call this “growing smartly.”

• “Toro Profit Rises 70% as Demand Rebounds.” This Aug. 19 headline was the result of renewed demand from the professional segment of Toro’s business, which accounts for 70 percent of its total sales.

Our industry’s OEMs obviously have confidence in the future.  You and I should too.

In a recent edition of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute’s (OPEI) SmartBrief e-mail newsletter, the following headline caught my eye: “OPEI Stresses Importance of Understanding Your Equipment.”  Does this mean if my lawnmower and I don’t get along, we have to go to counseling together?

Comedian Stephen Wright once said, “If we’re not allowed to have midnight snacks, why is there a light in the refrigerator?”   Well?

Harvey Mackay, my favorite business blogger, tells a story about the Wright brothers of airplane fame and the arrogance of the French government.\

“Early in the development of flight, the Wright brothers (Orville and Wilbur) were largely dismissed at home in America, and had to go abroad to get proper recognition for their aeronautical achievements.

“The French government gave the brothers an opportunity to demonstrate what they had done. But the French were obviously jealous of the two modest Americans.

“At a banquet in Paris to honor the accomplishments of the two Wright brothers, the chief speaker at the dinner devoted most of his remarks to claiming that France had led the world in aviation exploration and would do so in the future. However, he said very little in praise of the two American guests.

“When Wilbur Wright was called upon to speak, he said: ‘I am no hand at public speaking, and so I must on this occasion content myself with a few words. As I sat here listening to the speaker who preceded me, I heard his comparisons made to the eagle, to the swallow, and to the hawk as typifying skill and speed in mastery of the air. But somehow or other, I could not keep from thinking of the parrot, which, of all the ornithological kingdom is the poorest flier and the best talker.’”

Clearly, arrogance didn’t fly with Wilbur Wright.

Harvey Mackay suggested this moral for the story: “Arrogance is an odd affliction.  It makes everyone else sick.”

No. 4 April 2010

As I write this column on Friday, March 19, the sun is out and the temperature is expected to reach 70 degrees.  The beautiful weather is forecast to continue right through this early spring weekend.  The nice weather really makes it hard to stay focused on work.  I keep looking out the window wishing I was outside.  Anybody in a business related to the outdoor power equipment industry knows the feeling you get when the weather begins turning away from winter and closer to spring.  It makes your pulse race a little quicker!  It makes you smile!  You know “our time” is coming.  Spring has just about “sprung!”

Dealers and service centers have already purchased more parts and accessories for the 2010 spring season than they did last year by this time.  Most appear to have had a successful 2009, even as consumers continued not to have much to feel good about.  Our good year in 2009 reflected the generally good year our dealers and service centers had.  And we’re optimistic about 2010.  I hope you are too!

Speaking of “hope,” in Greek mythology there is a story about Pandora, who opened her fabled box and let out all evils except for hope.  The Greeks considered hope to be an evil like any other.  But soon humanity discovered that without hope to offset their troubles, the world was filled with despair. So Pandora let out hope as well. In the myth, hope was more potent than any of the other major evils.

In modern times, we consider hope to be anything but evil. It's what gets many of us through our worst days.  Lingering unemployment, foreclosure, dwindling retirement funds, businesses folding — any of these could make a person lose hope.

Fortunately, Pandora recognized the relevance of hope — an element that is critical to our very existence. In the current business climate, hope is what keeps us from throwing in the towel. I'm a realist, but I'm also an optimist. And while hope and optimism are not exactly the same, they are intrinsically linked.

I recently read that:  “All of life’s problems can be solved with two things—duct tape and WD40. If it doesn’t move and it should, you need WD40.  If it moves and it shouldn’t, you need duct tape.”  Give it try some time when nothing else seems to work.

The Outdoor Power Equipment and Engine Service Association (OPEESA) recently held their annual members meeting out in “toasty” Arizona on February 28 to March 3.  I suspect a lot of your suppliers -  whether OEM’s or distributors - attended the meeting.

Todd Teske, the CEO of Briggs & Stratton talked about the state of the OPE industry.” The returning and very popular economist Brian Beaulieu provided solid information about the current economy and what’s coming next.  Steve McClatchy discussed the “Business of You” and how to gain balance between your business and personal lives.  Industry speakers like Todd Teske and business and economic speakers like Brian Beaulieu made the meeting very worthwhile and fulfilling to attend..

I know when we get our dealers and service centers together for various types of meetings, they discover that they get their best ideas and take-aways from other attendees. Likewise, when we attend an association meeting like OPEESA’s, we take away just as many ideas and learnings from other attendees as we do from the speakers.  So the next time you don’t “feel like” attending a meeting, remember there is always a lot of value in being with and learning from people who face the same opportunities and problems you do.

You don’t need a dictionary to understand a title Robert Schuller’s inspirational book, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do.

Caterina Fake is the co-founder of the photo-sharing Web site Flickr.  And she hates meetings.  When she use to have to hold a meeting, this is how she structured it:  “There would be an agenda distributed before the meeting.  Everybody would stand.  At the beginning of the meeting, everybody would drink 16 ounces of water.  We would discuss everything on the agenda, make all the decisions that needed to be made, and the meeting would be over when the first person had to go to the bathroom.”   Following her meeting rules, I believe we would have a lot of short meetings in my company or we would hold them in a bathroom!