No. 3 March 2012

Did you know that March 20 is the first day of spring?  As Charlie Brown would say, “Good Grief!”  

I missed the notice that came out a few months ago that read “due to lack of interest, winter has been canceled!”  Obviously, it has been cancelled in my area of the U.S. and most likely in your area too.  We received our first snow yesterday (Feb. 27) and most of it has already melted today.  The positive aspects of snow on the ground certainly benefit our industry.  Just like rain, when snow falls or doesn’t fall, we equate the effect on all our businesses in dollars and cents.  Weather and the economy both affect us so much, that we’ve learned or should have learned to hedge our business planning because we don’t really know what business will be like next month or next year. 

In a Feb. 20 article titled “Early Spring for Home Improvement” in The Wall Street Journal, Joan E. Solsman  reported, “government data shows that this past December and January were the warmest such months in the contiguous U.S. since 2006.  January was the fourth warmest going back to 1895.  While sporting goods and apparel stores were affected negatively, Lowe’s Cos. And Home Depot are enjoying an early start to spring selling.  Planalytics (a weather forecasting service for business) estimates weather has driven down demand 2 percent in the snow-removal industry in the current season from a year earlier.”  That’s a painful decrease for our industry.

If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between knowledge and wisdom is, the following answer will bring a smile to your face:  Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit.  Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

The February issue of The Kiplinger Letter features an article that states, “the enthusiastic talk you hear from politicians (about) creating millions of new industrial (manufacturing) jobs is a pipe dream.”  The article also states, “each nation benefits most by concentrating its efforts on what it does best.  For America, that’s creativity and innovation, not stamping out widgets on an assembly line.”  While you may disagree with that statement, keep reading to understand the rationale behind the thinking.

Kiplinger goes on to say, “In the United States, service jobs will dominate.  And that’s not bad news.  Doom-and-gloomers fear a nation of low-paid burger-flippers, producing little of lasting value.  But…the greatest added value no longer comes from the production of goods.  It comes from inventing, designing, marketing and servicing them.”  Those are encouraging words, because you and I are brand servicers and marketers for many of those very “goods!”

Kiplinger’s key conclusion: “In the Information Age, education and innovation are the keys to growth, in generating well-paying jobs and to continued improvement in U.S. living standards.  Keeping the edge in those fields is what will keep the U.S. on top.”   

Meanwhile, politicians keep feeding us “pipe-dreams” instead of stating the truth, providing leadership and offering solutions.  They keep “kicking the can down the road,” instead of addressing the real issues of fundamental tax reform to make our system simpler, fairer and more competitive while generating more revenue.  And they continue to ignore talking about real solutions to mandatory spending programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and interest on debt that by “the year 2022, will “by themselves account for more than 77 percent of all government outlays.” You don’t have to agree with me or Kiplinger, but I hope you will think and talk about our opinions with your family and friends.  Somebody has to, because politicians won’t!

Need some cheering up?  You should read the new quarterly Industry Research Update for the lawn, golf and turf equipment industries recently launched by GE Capital, Americas.  The initial spring 2012 four page report shows that the outlook for our industries is increasingly positive.  Now that’s what I call good news!

You can find this new quarterly report at:  http://www.gelending.com/CDF/DealerExclusiveNewsletter_02-2012/docs/Golf_Turf_Update_1Q12.pdf       It’s free.  It’s a quick read.  And you’ll definitely feel better after you read it. 

No. 3 March 2010

The Outdoor Power Equipment Institure (OPEI) says the industry produced 779,640 snow throwers in 2009.  Don’t you wish you had a few left on your floor to sell today?  On the other hand, I heard that older units are being repaired “like never before.”  The entire OPE industry is wearing one large smile.

Harvey MacKay says that sometimes when a problem is presented, “the best thing you can do is ask each person on your team to suggest the worst possible idea to address the problem.”  He believes that these “bad ideas enable employees to see problems in a different way and can often spur very good solutions.”  I’m very tempted to try this unusual method and see what results we get.

Normally at this time of year we’d be seeing some early flowers popping up.  If the snow would ever go away, maybe we’d be seeing some right now!  Just keep repeating “Spring is just around the corner.”

Forty seven percent of Baby Boomers report maintaining a profile on a social web site in 2009, which was up 15 percent from 2008.  From 2007 to 2008, there was only a 1-percent increase in Baby Boomers maintaining a social Website profile.  Of that 47 percent of Baby Boomers maintaining a social web site in 2009, 73 percent maintain a Facebook profile, while 13 percent have taken a liking to Twitter.  What was surprising was that only 13 percent of Boomers identified themselves as active LinkedIn users.  Given their place in the professional world, one would think that Baby Boomers would have beenmore active on this professional site.

I will admit that I do maintain personal and business Facebook page and a LinkedIn page.  Facebook can be overwhelming if you let it, so don’t let it.  While some users end-up wasting their time and mine, it is a good way to find out what friends you do not see on a regular basis are doing with their lives.  Give it a try, even if just out of curiosity. 

I do recommend LinkedIn as an excellent business resource for any business person.  Go to the site and search on someone you know and admire in our industry.  You’ll be surprised at what you find and can learn on this Web Site.

Marshall Goldsmith, the author of “The Best Coaching Advice You Will Ever Get,” has a friend who had the opportunity to talk with old people who were facing death and ask them what advice they would have had for themselves in their earlier life.  Their answers were filled with wisdom. 

“One recurring theme was to take the time to reflect on life and find happiness and meaning now.  A frequent comment from old people runs along the lines of: ‘I got so wrapped up in looking at what I didn’t have that I missed what I did have.  I had almost everything.  I wish I had taken more time to appreciate it.’”

“A second theme from old folks was friends and family.  You may work for a wonderful company and believe that your contribution is very important.  But when you are 95 and you look around your death bed, very few of your fellow employees will be waving goodbye!  Your friends and family will probably be the only people who care.”

“A third recurring theme was to follow your dreams.  Older people who tried to achieve their dreams were happier with their lives.  None of us will ever achieve all of our dreams.  If we do, we will just make up new ones!  If we go for it, we can at least say at the end, ‘I tried!’ instead of ‘Why didn’t I at least try?’”

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.