No. 10 October 2010

It was recently announced that two prominent commercial mower brands will disappear at the end of 2011. Ariens Company decided to phase out the EverRide and Great Dane brands and focus its com­mercial brand resources on Gravely, as its core professional brand.

In a press release issued by the Ariens Company, the most interesting comment was made by Dan Ariens, President and CEO of the Ariens Company, when he said, “This move will also create a bit more clarity in a market­place that frankly has too many brands of commercial mowers.” Finally, an industry leader made the statement that we have all known to be true for many years. Every time a new commercial mower brand was announced — and there were many over the years — I wondered how it would differenti­ate itself from the other existing commercial brands. All of those brands gave new mean­ing to the term, “dime a dozen.” I consider this another smart move by the Ariens family.

An editorial that recently appeared in The Wall Street Journal summed up my feelings about the federal government’s actions taken to try to stimulate our economy. The editorial noted, “(Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner) and President Obama and their economic coterie really believe that govern­ment spending can stimulate growth by triggering private ‘demand,’ that tax rates are irrelevant to investment decisions, that waves of new regulation can be absorbed by business with little impact on costs or hiring, and that politicians can assail capitalists without having any effect on the movement of capital.”

The editorial continued, “If prosperity were a function of government stimulus, our economy should be booming.” And it con­cludes, “Never before has government tried to do so much and achieved so little.” My response: “Amen!”

I have a special fondness for rapidly grow­ing family-owned businesses. I know the giddy feeling of being a part of that type of growth. It’s a wonderful and exciting feeling that I will never forget.

That’s why I’ve enjoyed reading about the growth of Certified Parts Corporation (CPC), the Janesville, Wis.-based company that pur­chased the assets of TecumsehPower Company in 2009, and now provides produc­tion engines and parts for TecumsehPower (Lauson) engines. In 2010, CPC purchased the assets of Hoffco/Comet and restarted produc­tion of units and parts in its Wisconsin facilities. Then, in September 2010, CPC entered into an agreement with Liquid Combustion Technology (LCT) of Travelers Rest, S.C., to jointly manufacture air-cooled engines for the OPE market.

This new agreement with LCT provides CPC with the engineering, manufacturing and sales capabilities to reintroduce the Snow King line of snow thrower engines and other engines formerly manufactured and sold by TecumsehPower. The engines will be represented and sold through LCT under the Snow King, Lauson and LCT brands. CPC will service all these brands through the existing TecumsehPower dealer/distributor network.

I’ve met the LCT principals, heard their business story, and came away impressed with them and their business plans. I still am. I haven’t met the CPC principals, but suspect they are very much like my family was, growing a business and learning or try­ing something new every day while enjoying success. These two companies will both gain from their new relationship. But only time will tell if there is a place in the market for Lauson engines and two-cycle and four-cycle snow thrower engines. With Briggs and Stratton and MTD both making their own snow thrower engines, demand is a lot different today than it was a few years ago. And we all know that snow throwers, like generators, are opportunity sales. Nevertheless, we wish this new partnership good luck in their new venture.

This is an old story, but it never fails to bring me a smile.  Several men are in a golf club locker room when a cell phone rings. A man answers the phone. “Yes, I’m finished with my game so I can talk. You’re out shop­ping? And you want to order those new carpets? Okay…and they’ll include the cur­tains for an extra $5,000? Sure, why not?”

The golf buddies start to laugh.

“You want to book that week-long cruise? They’ll hold the price at $12,000? Sounds good to me. How about two weeks? If that’s what you want, okay by me.”

The buddies start to wonder where he’s been hiding the money.

He continues: “And you want to give the builder the go-ahead for the house addition? $75,000 if we say yes today? Sounds fair — sure, that’s fine.”

Glances of amazement all around.

“Okay, see you later. Yes, love you too,” says the man, ending the call. 

He looks at the other men and says, "Whose Phone is this anyway?"

No. 2 February 2010

Key West, Florida, the southernmost point in the continental United States, hit a 131-year low of 47 degrees on Thursday January 7, 2010.  Many Americans would give almost anything to be able to make that statement about the area they live in, including me.

It has been a frigid winter over most of the country; much colder than most recent winters in recent memory.  Heavy snow in the mid-west and northeast and lots of rain in the southeast (and lately a lot of snow) bodes well for substantial ground moisture to start the spring selling season.  You and I know weather impacts our business as much if not more than the state of the economy.  In 2007 it did not matter how strong or weak the economy was, nobody in the southeastern United States was mowing and lawn mowers were not being bought or repaired.

Evangelist Robert H. Schuller describes four kinds of people in the world today: the cop-outs, the hold-outs, the drop-outs, and the all-outs.

First are the cop-outs. They set no goals and make no decisions.

Second are the hold-outs. They have a beautiful dream, but they're afraid to respond to its challenge because they aren't sure they can make it.

Third are the drop-outs. They start to make their dream come true. They know their role. They set their goals, but when the going gets tough, they quit.

Finally, there are the all-outs. They are the people who know their role. They want and need and are going to be stars — star students, star parents, star waitresses. They want to shine out as an inspiration to others. They set their goals. The all-outs never quit. They're committed.

I hope you see yourself as an all-out.  That means you have goals in your life that you are committed to making.

Certified Parts Corporation purchased assets of Hoffco/Comet in December 2009 and hopes to maintain and continue to supply a complete line of replacement parts and ultimately finished products including clutches and torque converters.  Then Ariens Company announced in January 2010 that it had purchased intellectual assets of the Kee Mower brand of products which were most recently manufactured by Hoffco Power Equipment.  It’s good to see that from the “ashes” of Hoffco/Comet, a company whose people we will dearly miss, arises business opportunities other companies have seen and are willing to nurture and grow.

My favorite Blogger and columnist Harvey Mackay once listed 11 things we can learn from dogs.  (1) When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.  (2) Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.  (3) Take naps.  (4) Run, romp, and play daily.  (5) Let people touch you.  (6) Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.  (7) When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.  (8) Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.  (9) Be loyal.  (10) If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.  (11) When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.  Now that’s wonderful advice.

Getting people to believe in their capabilities and their own intrinsic value is among managers’ most important jobs.  We can blame ourselves because we aren’t generous with our praise when a job is done well.  There’s not feedback.  We all know good feedback should be immediate and often.  Positive feedback is given in public and negative feedback is given in private.  The rules aren’t difficult.  But feedback other than an annual or bi-annual review time is scarce and often forgotten or overlooked.  Want to bring a smile to a key employee?  Thank that person often for a job well done.

No. 1 January 2010

Think 2009 was a bad year for outdoor power equipment sales?  A powersports business magazine recently shared some of their industry’s sales declines in 2009.  It’s not a pretty picture. 

Honda sales for motorcycles, ATV’s and PWC fell nearly 54% for its fiscal second quarter from the previous year.  Suzuki North American powersports unit sales declined 40% in its most recent fiscal quarter.  Arctic Cat sales fell 19%.  Kawasaki North American sales fell 40% for its division that includes powersports.  Yamaha’s North American motorcycle unit sales declined 31% for the first nine months of 2009 and its division that includes ATV’s and UTV’s declined 65% for the same period. 

Servicing older equipment has to be just as important to powersports dealers as it is to OPE dealers.  It’s nice to have service to fall back on during tough economic times when unit sales tank.

Not only is Husqvarna leaving Augusta, GA for Charlotte, but Husqvarna’s former owner Electrolux is also moving their corporate headquarters to Charlotte from Augusta, eventually employing 700 people.  Electrolux will leave their customer service in Augusta for the time being unlike Husqvarna which is moving everything out of Augusta to Charlotte.

Husqvarna announced Jan. 7 that it will receive up to $2.5 million from the state of North Carolina if it can double its current Charlotte workforce of 160 in its consolidation move from Augusta and retain those jobs for nine years.  Coincidentally, on December 24, Husqvarna announced plans to invest more than $2.5 million in a new parts distribution center in Lexington, S.C., which will replace its parts distribution center currently located in its assembly plant in Orangeburg, S.C.

Richard C. Notebaert, former CEO of Ameritech and Qwest International, illustrated how lack of innovation (which I call “thinking outside the box”) has been an issue for thousands of years:

"In a museum at Princeton University, there is a toy from a pre-Columbian civilization. It's a pull-toy complete with wheels.

Now the question is, if the craftsmen of the day were able to conceive of and construct wheels for an amusement—a toy—why didn't they take that technology a step further and design carts and wagons? Why didn't they develop tools that would ease their burdens?  

Believe it or not, many scholars conclude they just never thought of it."

I read recently that stress is created when you are trying to control something that you can't control.  In our business we suggest not worrying about those things you cannot control.  Focus on what you can control.  Improve it.  Make it better.  You’ll feel better and reduce the unnecessary stress in your life.

Certified Parts Corporation (CPC), the Janesville, Wis.-based company that purchased TecumsehPower on Feb. 9, 2009, acquired certain assets of Hoffco/Comet in an auction Dec. 17, according to Outdoor Power Equipment magazine.  CPC purchased Hoffco/Comet’s intellectual property, dies, fixtures and tooling, as well as its entire existing parts inventory.  CPC’s intention is to maintain a complet line of replacement parts and manufacture finished product in the near future.

There is some comfort in knowing CPC will be the company trying to maintain a supply of Comet and Hoffco parts for the marketplace.  But I feel some sadness seeing another once strong and proud OPE company become missing-in-action.  I have good memories of Hoffco/Comet and the Hoff brothers.  The foundations of this industry were strong because of people like them and the company they ran.  The company was a reflection of their innovativeness, their focus on quality before “quality” became a buzz word, their integrity, and a love for life and success in their personal and business lives.  Gone but let’s hope not forgotten.