A Lesson from Vegas

I just got back from 4 days in Las Vegas with my wife attending a wedding photographer's conference. I met my wife, a wedding photographer, 8 years ago. When you meet a gorgeous woman who happens to like a camera it wasn't long before I bought one for myself and discovered I loved photography too!

This conference saw 16,000 photographers from around the world gather to learn, share, laugh, cry, scream and party. After 4 days of intense workshops and meeting people from 8 am until 11 pm each day, Donna and I came away with the same strong take away for our businesses:

Just fall in love with who we are and communicate that very well to others and life/business/success will take care of itself.

We had a choice at the conference as we do in our local marketplace every day:

Do we look at other photographers and consider them competitors and hold back from sharing, learning, teaching and getting to know each other?

or

Do we just embrace these facts:

1) We all use similar cameras or can buy them.
2) We all use similar lighting or can buy it.

3) The only major differentiation aside from varying experience levels was our personalities and perspectives that we bring to our clients each opportunity we have to shoot a wedding.

Lets face it:

Our "competitors" can mirror our equipment.
Our "competitors" can mirror the features of our "offer"
But they can never mirror US.
There is only one David & Donna Benjatschek in this world.

The conference was also a great reminder for us to stop stressing about trying to be our competitors. There are a ton of them out there and many that do fantastic work that we can learn from. Celebrating other's great works however should never diminish your own self esteem. This perspective allowed us to just dive in and get to know other photographers, build relationships and support each other instead of trying to tear each other down. We left Vegas having built key relationships that will help us for years to come as we will help them.

Coming out of Vegas, we've both made the choice to challenge ourselves to better define and communicate who we are to our marketplace. Because when you are free to be yourself, life is just better, less stressful & fun.

The parallel extends to all of us. For example, there are 2,000,000 speakers out there all with great books, ideas which I'll call the "Equipment" of our trade. With desire and motivation anyone can buy it, learn it, obtain it. As I constantly look for the best "equipment' for my workshops I can just concentrate on celebrating the uniqueness I bring which is ME. Customers usually buy a Speaker not a Speech.

Who is David Benjatschek? You'll see the words Passionate. Practical! on most of my materials because it is how my audiences continually describe their experience with me after a workshop. Energy, Sincere, Fun, Colloborative, Real are others. If the ads about who I am are effective then they will attract the right client. A client that will love me and that I'll love working with because we share the same values.

The question I have now is: "Who are YOU?"

My challenge to you is to spend time reflecting and seeking feedback from others on that question. Perception is reality.

You all work in competitive marketplaces.
You all work in competitive corporations.
The only thing your "competitors" can't duplicate is YOU.

Figure YOU out. Communicate YOU. Celebrate YOU..
Last thought: This YOU thing is not selfish. Ironically a great benefit of knowing who you are and feeling good about it is that others become less threatening to you and it allows you to become a much better team player. A team player who embraces others for their strengths instead of being wary of them.

Do you want more tips on Successful Teams? Join me this Thursday at 11 am MST for a free 45 teleconference entitled: "3 Secrets to Getting Employees to Play on the same Team." See RSVP info/links below.

RSVP for 3 Secrets to Geting Employees to Play on the Same Team Here

David Benjatschek is a professional speaker and "Your Man with the Plan for Better Teams and Better Results"

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Having been in the Transportation business for over 30 years, I have seen many companies come and go! I have seen many things, in our industry that never cease to amaze me.

One of them is moving a SHIPMENT IN BOND. What is surprising is 3) parts
1) The load broker who is responsible for giving the carrier all of the information at the time of shipping, does not followup or is not available after hours for any issues.
2) Some carriers will just absorb the automatic charge of $100.00 IN BOND FEE as a cost of doing business.
3) The refusal by shippers consignees and load brokers to understand, assist in getting the goods cleared, and setup properly in the first place.

The Middle Man (LOAD BROKER), when you book the shipemnt tell the carrier who the Cusotms Broker is. NOt show on your booking sheet WILL ADVISE If not why would the carrier pay the BOND FEE. Oh you do not want to pay a BOND FEE, no problem, next time there is a shipment, the driver will wait at the border then you pay the layover charge, and the goods do not get delivered until paid in advance. SImple math says 5 shipments a week at $100.00 per shipment minimum the BOND SHED charges, at 52 weeks just cost the carrier $ 26,000.00, yet the CARRIER DID THEIR JOB correctly. They picked up the goods on time and got to the border on time. SOme 3 P.L.'s and 4P.L.'s tell carriers all the time show us what the Bond Shed charges and we will pay that.

Carriers are finally waking up and relaizing just recovering the IN BOND FEES. Is not enough, Break even and you go broke. Funnily enough, the invoice we as carriers provide is the BOND FEES. This includes, paying money to the Bond Shed on your behalf as shippers and consignees, Moving the goods in bond, Paying the price of posting a bond with Canada Customs so they can move goods In Bond in the first place, of course there is also the dropping the trailer at the Bond shed, picking up the trailer at the bond shed, when the goods are cleared.

It all could have been avodied if paperwork was complete, and completed in full at the time of shipping not after the fact, or not supplying the information before its too late.

NEXT WEEK DAMAGE TO A CARRIER'S EQUIPMENT WHEN DROPED AT A SHIPPERS OR CONSIGNEES PREMISES>

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In a little over a week Hino Motors will be unveiling its diesel-electric hybrid system in a newly designed Class 4 and 5 cabover engine (COE) truck line-up during the 2011 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis.

I was fortunate enough to be among the handful of North American journalists to be invited to Tokyo, Japan to drive the new truck, speak to Hino’s management team and engineers, and tour several Hino manufacturing facilities (including one so secret that the media bus was fitted with all-around curtains we were not allowed to open during the drive to the facility). The invitation required a promise (a signed contract, actually) that we would not reveal any important specs prior to the launch and so I’ve had to keep quiet the last few weeks.

But the launch is just a little over a week away and the publication ban does not prevent me from saying that if my own first impressions of the new truck reflect how the Canadian market is likely to view it, I think Hino is likely to make quite the splash come March 8.

Why? Four reasons:

1. The completely new design makes a lot of sense for urban customers, particularly in central and eastern Canada where Hino has traditionally been very strong in the Class 4 & 5 markets. Returning to a cabover design, which the company had abandoned in 2004, I believe will prove a very positive move in this part of the country. And, unlike the previous COE design which used a domestic Japanese cab and chassis, the new design is North-Americanized with a standard 33-inch straight frame chassis and “extensive” model variation available with flexibility to accommodate a large range of users, according to Masahiro Kumasaka, chief engineer, product planning division, for Hino. Inside, the new cab is roomier, seats three, can fit a driver up to 6 ft 6 in. and has some well-thought out storage options. There will also be a crew cab version.

2. The Hino brand has traditionally been higher priced than its competitors. But, according to company executives, Hino plans to price this new truck “competitively.”

3. Having driven the truck, whether as a diesel or as a hybrid, I can tell you I was impressed with its power, its smoothness, the incredible visibility it provided with its narrow pillars, angled windshield and rounded radius. I was equally impressed with the clean aerodynamic lines of its “cat’s eyes-inspired” rounded radius design and some of the durability testing Hino’s engineers shared with us. For example, its doors are 10x more durable than the typical passenger car door, designed to handle more than 600,000 openings and closings over their life span.

4. With diesel pricing continuing to raise concerns, how could any truck buyer not consider an engine design that promises more than a 30% improvement in fuel economy over straight diesel with the same running performance? Urban applications have a lot of stop and go, and way too much fuel is wasted idling the engine, particularly when waiting at traffic lights. The new hybrid design includes an electric motor/generator between the engine and transmission, and relies on a hybrid adaptive control system capable of mixing diesel and electric power to keep the engine operating in its sweet spot. The hybrid design also reduces unnecessary idling with its automatic idle stop. It automatically shuts down the diesel at a full stop, restarting it when the brake is released. You don’t have to worry about that automatic shutdown and restart in extremely cold weather, however. Hino is testing at which low temperature threshold that function should be overridden to ensure a truck is not left unable to restart at a traffic light. Hino’s engineers said the hybrid improves fuel efficiency by 36% at 20 kmh and 37% at 31 kmh over the diesel version.

Hino’s 210-hp J05 5L series engine will power both the diesel and the hybrid versions. The 4-cylinder engine uses selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and a diesel particulate filter (DPF) to meet emissions requirements. The truck can also be spec’d with a 6-speed Aisin automatic transmission.

The new hybrid model has been in Winnipeg recently undergoing cold weather testing, but Hino has a long history with hybrids dating back to 1991 when it launched its first commercially viable hybrid vehicle. The new truck is in fact Hino’s third generation of hybrid technology. By the end of 2010, Hino had placed 10,962 hybrids in the market, which its officials claimed to be the most of any hybrid truck manufacturer. Hino also produces hybrid trucks. It has enjoyed 37 years as the top and medium duty and heavy duty truck manufacturer in the Japanese market. (Hino’s large stake in the Japanese heavy duty market may be one of the better kept secrets in the industry.)

This launch is considerably more ambitious than previous launches, however, because it marks the first time Hino will be launching a truck model outside the Japanese market first and it plans to sell the new truck in over 100 countries. This is also the first hybrid for Hino in the US and Canadian markets and the company understands that success in these markets is key to its future growth plans.

“There is tremendous importance attached to the North American market,” confirmed Yoshio Shirai, president of Hino Motors, adding that only when Hino succeeds in the tough North American market can the company truly be considered a global brand.

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I recently visited with L. Ritchie Cartage, a 40-odd-truck fleet out of Scarborough that initially caught my eye because they run a well-kept fleet of city and highway tractors that I encounter pretty much every day on my commute. I love the red and black paint scheme and the classic styling of the fleet, which is comprised mostly of Western Stars.

It’s always interesting to visit trucking companies on their own turf to see what makes them unique. For a relatively small operation, L. Ritchie Cartage is surprisingly sophisticated when it comes to spec’ing equipment. The carrier has taken a strong interest in spec’ing ergonomic equipment that’s user friendly for drivers.

Sylvia Rhodes, president of L. Ritchie, told me her interest in ergonomics was piqued when the company was invited to participate in a study on the subject with WSIB and the Centre of Research Expertise for Musculoskeletal Disorders (try saying that one five times fast). The study eventually helped shape current requirements for ergonomic workplaces.

Some of the things that factor into equipment spec’ing decisions include: alignment of the steering wheel in relation to the driver’s seat; placement of grab handles; force required to crank up trailer legs; force required to secure trailer doors; location of cup holders; and dash layout.

Watch as Sylvia describes ergonomic requirements in her own words:

As you may have noticed in the video, L. Ritchie is also spec’ing automated transmissions, which is a curious spec’ on a classic-styled long-nose like the Western Star, yet no doubt a driver-friendly option. Think of the force that’s required to work the clutch on any given day, especially on the company’s city trucks. While the cup holders may seem to be a good reach from the driver’s seat, another consideration is what happens in the event of a spill? In this instance, at least the driver is unlikely to be burnt shall his cup floweth over.

As Sylvia mentions in the video, ergonomics, in L. Ritchie’s case, are enough to sway a purchasing decision from one brand of equipment to another. The emphasis on ergonomics seems to have translated to a very low turnover rate, at least among the carrier’s longest serving drivers, some of whom measure their years with the company in decades – not years.

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I've spent a lot of time over the past few years helping clients build better teams for better results. You are invited to RSVP your attendance to a powerful 45 minute Team Building teleseminar on Thursday March 3 at 1 pm EST.

I'll be sharing 3 Secrets to get Employees to play on the same team. The teleseminar is 45 minutes followed by a Q&A of up to 15 minutes.

Join Us! RSVP by Clicking Here.

David Benjatschek is "Your Man with the Plan for Better Teams & Better Results"
email: david@marketbeamer.com

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I'm no wuss when it come to guns. My dad introduced me to target and skeet shooting when I was just a lad so I've always been respectful around firearms. My neighbours at Riverrun are all hunters and that's cool with me...I just don't go up during deer season and I don't mind if Charles at the end of the road picks off the odd grouse for the barbeque, or that Ron and his boys across the river go after ducks and geese in the autumn.

But for myself, I don't play with anything more lethal than an archery set and lawn darts, did I mention lawn darts? Picked up a set at a garage sale in Thornhill, and banned everywhere in North America, but still enjoyed in the free state of Riverrun hard by the Salmon River--we are risk takers!

But when it comes to handguns, like most Canadians, I don't see the need for them. I mean you're not gonna take down a grouse with a Glock. The stratus of truckers with handguns gets murky and legally bizarre south of the border. I ask you, what Canadian trucking company would allow their employees to carry sidearms? But this is not unusual in the good ol' US of A. If you've got a licence for a concealed carry, chances are good your employer will allow you to bring your weapon to work. There are probably a few places where you might not be welcome to bring in a gun, i.e., the US Post Office, and Columbine High School.

Gun ownership is a constitutional issue that's deeply ingrained in the collective American psyche--a serious fixation with some Americans (and some Canadians for that matter). Who can forget the photograph of gun proponents who showed up with holstered automatic weapons at town hall meetings during the last US election. Where was that Arkansas, Arizona? Very strange.

To generalize, many pro-gun people believe owning handgun keeps them safe and free; it's a heavily ideological stance, to say the least, and the more extreme view holds that one does not only have the right to bear arms, but it is almost one's duty to carry a firearm (or at least a sharpened set of lawn darts).

Canada has its own microcosm of this story with the governing Harper conservatives spoiling to get the long gun registry abolished, despite the apparent distaste for this strategy among Canuck urbanites, and the fact that law enforcement officials are staunch supporters, and Canada's police services consult the registry every day. But the governing party now has a champion in the shape of former OPP commissioner Fantino, newly elected in Vaughan, Ont., who can carry the no long gun registry banner high for Harper. (Canadians, with few exceptions, really aren't big into handguns and it's really not an issue here. We do, however, have our own horrendous psychotic killer in the figure of Marc Lepine, who put sexism in random mass murder by killing only women engineering students at Ecole Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989 in Montreal ).

The States are schizoid when it comes to handgun legislation: some jurisdictions like New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts have very harsh proscriptions against carrying heaters, while others seemingly format legislation to make pro-gun people feel comfortable, i.e. Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, etc.

Via Internet, I got talking to Lee who runs the Drivers Alike website along with his wife Danielle. They live in rural Kentucky and also have significant following on Facebook. Danielle, 27, takes along her pearl-handled Colt 38 when she takes her two german shepherds for a walk. This is again slightly shocking image to an urban Canadian, but it's legal in Kentucky (home of Daniel Boone right?), as long as the weapon is holstered. “The cops drive by and wave,” she tells me on Facebook.

Lee, 31 years old, drives flatdeck across the continental US and goes with an “American-made” Highpoint 380. As you can imagine, it must be challenging traveling to stay legal running cross-country through the US packing a revolver, but as a long distance trucker and proud gun owner, Lee's up on all the regulations in the different states he travels through. He carries a lock box where he can secure the 380 while he's traveling through states with stricter prohibitions.

All along, I figured Lee must be an owner operator. I had an image of a White Line Fever kind of guy making a stand who won't let himself or his rig or his family get messed with. 'Load up the Blue Mule for Houston. My name's Carrol Joe Hummer and I've come to work!' But he's not and O/O, he's a company driver. Lee tells me on the phone, if he gets certified for running Canada, he'll have to either leave his gun at home or put it in a locker in Buffalo or somewhere like that.

And just to set this straight. Lee and Danielle and their passel of kids strike me as good, moral people. I wrote down the ages of kids somewhere, there are about five of them, but two of them are 3 and 2 years old and they've both shot a handgun, probably one of the couple's 22 pistols. “How else are you going to teach them about gun safety?” Danielle comments. How indeed, but two and three years old firing off rounds? Just a tad early, I tut tut, up here in Canuckistan.

These are the kind of folks you'd like to have turkey dinner with and share a drink or two. Like many of my colleagues in the trucking world, they're often highly-principled, straight-ahead people who would do anything to help you if you asked. And it's not that I couldn't love them, but I've always been happy not to have firearms around the house. Isn't there some statistic that most homicides are between people who know each other, and are often related? So it's not that I don't like guns, it's just that I'm a whole lot more comfortable when they're not around.

So what percentage of American truckers carry firearms? Back in 2009 I asked Don Kirk of “InterState Sportsman”, who had been featured on Dave Nemo's satellite radio show. Kirk email back:

“That's a pretty broad question, but I'm happy to put my two-cents worth in. Because felony and certain misdemeanor convictions are not uncommon, and especially so, among professional drivers, a sizeable percentage of the total number of drivers cannot legal have any sort of firearm in their possession.

Another factor is that some companies prohibit firearms on trucks, and in that same vein, laws in New York and Texas are quite different. The more restrictive a state's law is, the lower the percentage of drivers with firearms.

Now, among those drivers who are no legally or job curtailed from having a firearm somewhere in their truck, I think is is better than 50%. Among independent drivers who work almost exclusively in states that recognize other state's "carry permits" I think it may be as high as 80 to 90 percent. Conversely in Massachusetts it probably very low.

Now, when it comes to individual in individual states, the numbers differ. Alabama has liberal concealed weapon laws. I have been told that one in four adult drivers are armed. I suspect it is not so different in Florida, Texas or Arkansas. I hope this is helpful.”

It sure is Don. Wait here while I sharpen my lawn darts.

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Past summer, Tim Horton’s introduced a new procedure where the person taking your order got a little more personal, “Hello my name is Debbie” were the words you heard as you drove up to the area where you initiated your first cup of java for the day. I waited for the new procedure to fall off but after several months the location I frequent has kept up the pace of being as warm and comforting as the products they serve.

Shift to small town New Brunswick. I had to visit recently on a family matter and stopped by the busy little Tim’s that has graced the community of less than 1000 for about 10 years now. Even the old boys that used to hang out at the barber shop and local gas station have migrated up the hill to their new spot and are quite comfortable calling Tim’s home.

For the most part, East Coasters have a reputation for being pretty friendly but when I took a spin through to get my morning coffee I didn’t hear the “Hello my name is...” greeting. Inquisitive person that I am, I mentioned my story to the lady serving me at the window. Her response was something like “Yes, we got some CD down from Ontario but I can’t see us doing that.” She proceeded to get my order and left me with these final and sincere words,”You have a good day now honey pie!”Friendly enough wouldn’t you say?

For all of us that have tried to initiate new processes and procedures is there a lesson to be learned? I think so. We tend to create all encompassing policies because we are either afraid to or are not able to single out individuals causing us grief in some way. Do most hourly employees punch time cards because at some point everyone was fudging their hours or because a few were? Are trucking companies religious about measuring on time performance because they were always late or because they messed up less than 5% of the time? Has anyone created a long list of rules and regulations for everyone because a small percentage of people are doing the equivalent of “peeing in the pool”...and does that sign on the wall actually stop those individuals from doing so in the future?”

I remember a blackout happening in Fredericton, NB where I went to university. At first it was “yahoo” with speeding cars everywhere but within a few hours there was self managed order without a street light or policeman in sight. In “Good to Great”, the author promotes self managed order as the key to business sustainability. It’s a leap of faith that requires a huge amount of trust. For the time being it seems the rotten apple continues to set the environment for the basket.

Lee’s quote for the day

“For the most part, the only thing tougher than initiating change is being on the receiving end of it.” :)

For those of you celebrating, Happy Valentine's Day!

Lee Palmer is the President and Creative Director at Palmer Marketing, a company that specializes in creative marketing and advertising solutions for the transportation industry.

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It’s been more than a year since the government of Ontario installed its ban on the use of handheld devices while driving – and driver apathy is finally starting to show. When the legislation went live in October of 2009, I really didn’t think drivers would pay much attention, continuing with their usual “let’s send a text while changing lanes” hybrid that I have come to know and dread.
But surprisingly, within those first few months of the launch, I actually noticed a difference. Drivers’ eyes were on the road instead of down towards their furiously texting fingers. Cars were braking slowly and thoughtfully – and in unison! – instead of the usual “every man for himself/two feet on the brake” mentality caused by drivers distracted by their smartphones. In general, I noticed the mass of traffic was acting the way it’s supposed to. Frankly, I was a little freaked out by it.
But now, with a number of months gone by since the ban’s genesis, drivers are slowly reverting back to their old ways. I’m seeing more and more drivers using handheld devices with zero regard to the fact that a) it’s illegal, but even more important that b) it’s dangerous, especially in the wintertime.
Just last week, I was out walking my dogs in my neighbourhood, when this twit decides he’s going to take a corner onto a residential street at about 50 km/hr with one hand on the wheel and the other holding his cell up to his ear – with about three inches of ice, slush and snow covering the roads. One reckless slide into the adjacent curb later and does he bother to put down the phone? Nope. He decides to gun the engine instead and tear up about 10 ft of someone’s snow-covered lawn.
And while it’s been mostly four-wheelers I’ve spotted playing chicken with the handheld ban, truck drivers are by no means innocent. On Superbowl Sunday, my wife and I were in the midst of passing a transport truck – one from a major carrier, at that – when the truck’s wheels drifted about three feet into our lane for several seconds before the driver lazily corrected himself. My wife peered into the driver-side window, and wouldn’t you know it? There he is, texting away.
If three TTC drivers can get canned for texting while on duty, shouldn’t truck drivers also be held accountable?
What Ontario’s highways need is a good old-fashioned blitz to scare drivers straight. If the sight of multiple accidents littered about the shoulders of the 401 all winter long – with more than a few of those caused by distracted driving, I’m sure – aren’t enough to get drivers to put down their handhelds and pick up a Blutooth, maybe the $155 fine will. If drivers woke up one Monday morning to find 100 drivers had been fined across the GTA over the weekend for ignoring the ban, I think we might see a return to the early days of the legislation when the focus of motorists saw a marked returned to their primary purpose – concentrating on the road and the road alone.

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