By Joe Marconi of Elite
I remember my boss complaining that electronic ignition was going to
destroy our business back in the mid-’70s. “They are taking away our
tune up business,” he would say. In some ways, he was right.
Technology and change are things we can’t control. In fact, “change” is
perhaps the one thing we can count on. And, as in life, it’s how we
deal with change that matters.
I guess the blacksmiths of late 1880′s viewed their future with
apprehension. Those that aligned themselves with the horse and carriage
faded into oblivion, those that viewed themselves as people who could
adjust to the change, became our first mechanics.
We are at a critical crossroads again. Hybrids, electric cars, hydrogen
cars and other new technologies will bring great changes to the
automotive world. How will we cope with these changes?
In the mid 1980′s, Smith Corona, a 100-year-old type writer company,
vowed to never abandon what made them so successful; the typewriter. In
1995, Smith Corona filed for bankruptcy. Smith Corona looked to the
past, when it should have been looking to the future: The Personal
Computer Age.
To secure your future, look to the future. There you will find
opportunity. Oh, it will be different, but there will be opportunity
for those who adapt.
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.
— Charles Darwin
This article was contributed by Joe Marconi. Joe is one of the 1-on-1 business coaches who helps shop owners through the Elite Coaching Program, and is the co-founder of autoshopowner.com.
