AFLA Is Just Around the Corner...

Hello Fleet Professionals!

Can you believe that this week is the unofficial last week of summer? Where has the time gone? Last week, my youngest, Samantha, started high school! If that doesn't point out that summer is ending, it certainly reinforces how old I'm getting!

In the fleet industry, there are a number of milestones that herald the unofficial end of summer. The fall ordering cycle is underway for many fleets (or will be soon), as is one of my favorite conferences of the year: AFLA. Now for those of you that may be unaware, AFLA, otherwise known as the Automotive Fleet and Leasing Association, holds it's annual conference in September. This year the conference will be held in Phoenix, AZ at the Arizona Biltmore and runs September 9th through the 11th.

The AFLA Board works hard every year to put together an educational program that balances the core topics (that would be the "hard core" fleet topics) with the professional development topics. These are mixed in with many opportunities to network with other attendees during breaks, dinners and the Annual Pete Z Memorial Golf Outing. Not being one to brag about my golf skills (or lack thereof) I usually join many other fleet professionals poolside (and even in the pool). You might be surprised how productive and informative these pool networking sessions turn out to be. While many take advantage of a little downtime to enjoy that fine Arizona weather, most turn it into an extremely productive brainstorming session.

I've been a fan of the AFLA conferences since I started attending in 1995. It's a more intimate group of industry professionals, most of whom are industry veterans. While I've always found the education sessions top notch, I like the networking opportunities which are outstanding. Attendees include veteran fleet managers, senior management from the manufacturers fleet departments, remarketing company leaders, fleet minded dealers from all over the country and senior management from the fleet management companies. It's a surprisingly intimate group and you just can't beat the setting! I'll be there and I hope you will too. If you haven't registered yet, you can get all the details at http://www.aflaonline.com/. Drop me a line and let me know you're coming too!

Before I close, I want to mention a loss we all shared in early August. Following a long illness, our friend Pam Pence of First Choice Remarketing passed away. I met Pam at one of my earlier AFLA meetings when she was still with Western Fleet Remarketing. She was well respected and had a grace and elegance that is a rarity today. All of us at Fleets USA will miss her.

Keep your chin up and let me know what you think.

The More Things Change...?

Hello Fleet Professionals!

I have a wonderful job that allows me to visit with many fleet professionals around the country on a regular basis. On a recent trip, and after meetings with many professionals from different types of businesses I realized that there is a common theme in fleet management and it hasn't really changed in the 25 years I've been in this business: experienced fleet managers are afraid that they will soon lose their jobs. Now I know what you're thinking. This Petersen guy has a real talent for stating the obvious, huh? Well sometimes you've got to state the obvious to figure out how to meet the challenge!

Corporations don't hesitate to hire consultants or MBA's who know absolutely nothing about their business and pay them top dollar to improve efficiencies and save time and money in their operations. Yet, when it comes to their subject matter experts, like the fleet manager, who can actually improve efficiency and save money (and does so on a daily basis), the corporation sides with the consultants. This seems even more ridiculous when you consider that fleets today are becoming increasingly regulated and that these corporations need these subject matter experts more than they ever have! And by all indications the current administration in Washington is going to continue to increase regulating our industry. That's all on top of telling the auto manufacturers how to build, sell and finance vehicles.

So what can we do to protect those fleet manager jobs? What can our associations (AFLA and NAFA) do to help? The obvious answer would seem to be to do your job well but that just isn't enough. I know of one fleet manager that lost his job many years ago because his boss decided to bring in a consultant (in this case a leasing company) and he never did consult his subject matter expert about "the efficient program" that would reduce headcount and save all sorts of money for the company. Now this fleet manager reported into human resources, but worked directly with the CFO, the Treasury Department and the heads of all the operating companies sales organizations. This fleet manager's job included analysing and reporting to all these groups regularly (even weekly in some cases) on every aspect of fleet management. Unfortunately for him, even though his boss was included (cc'd) on all these reports, the boss either didn't understand or care about anything other than headcount. So the fleet manager and his assistant were laid off. In less than six months (it was actually four) the company realized that a mistake had been made and at least needed someone in house to manage the management company. They ultimately "recreated" the position they outsourced, awarding the job to a former clerical employee who had no experience in fleet.

So what can you do? Well don't stop trying. From the story I've shared here, you can tell that if your manager, or your senior management decide that they are going to make a change to total outsourcing there's ultimately little you can do to change their mind. The one thing you can do is not make it easy for the consultants to replace you. And that is a very easy thing to do if you are already in a total outsourcing situation. Fleet management has always been defined as a field where you are a "Jack of all trades, and master of none" field. That is completely inaccurate! While it is true that fleet touches on many aspects of management, accounting, mechanical and so forth, to be truly successful you really do become masters of each - at least to some extent.

One last thought on this. Since we ultimately have so little control when management decides that subject matter experts are less important than headcount, you need to treat your professional life with a bit more respect. Keep your resume updated and get it out there. If you haven't already done so, get yourself a LinkedIn profile and work the system. If you aren't already going to NAFA and AFLA meetings you need to start! Your network is one of your greatest assets. Use it, leverage it, and who knows? Your next job just may come from it!

Keep your chin up and let me know what you think!

How Good Are Percentages?

Hello Fleet Professionals.

Articles about remarketing are a hot topic these days and they should be. It's one of the most important aspects of managing your vehicle depreciation and your total fleet costs. Recently there's been more and more discussion about the actual value of what our vehicles are bringing in the aftermarket. That's also a good thing. What's not a good thing however, is that somewhere along the line, our community has forgotten that it's the market that actually sets the value of used vehicles not the guide books or the Internet. The guide books are exactly that: books that report on the sales activities at auctions for a particular period of time. They are useful "guides" for determining value, but they don't set sales prices! Look at it this way, when was the last time the Internet or a guide book wrote you a check?

Today we live in a society where we are inundated with information, and everyone is a used car expert. On the Internet I did a search on "used cars" and got 151 MILLION hits. I did a similar search for "used car price guides" and got 130 MILLION hits! So how do you judge? How do you determine if you are getting the best possible price for your used vehicle in the aftermarket? When I managed a fleet, in the days before the proliferation of the web and all this information, I learned it takes alot of effort to maximize your aftermarket returns. But it's worth it when you measure your success and see the increased value. While others were relying on their lessors and auctions to remarket their vehicles, I focused on wholesalers and brokers around the country. When I measured my results, not only was I settling on my units faster, I was netting and average of $500 more per vehicle than I did when I just "turned them in". That was on 150 vehicles sold, or for a total of $75,000. Now I know what many of you are thinking. You manage a huge fleet and $75K is a drop in the bucket. I've been hearing that for years and I think it's a cop out. If you can reduce your annual depreciation by $75K, or $50K or $100K it's still a significant reduction in your operating costs and your investment of time can be minimal if you choose the correct partner to work with you.

So how can you really tell if you are getting what your vehicles are worth? How do you measure? A lot of that is your experience. If you are running similar vehicles from year to year and following a cycle where your average mileage is similar from year to year, you can accurately benchmark how well you are doing on a year over year basis. Include in your measurement your remaining book value so you can calculate your depreciation and you'll have a real tool that you can use to measure your progress. Now many of you are thinking that your lessor is already doing that for you. Are they really? Here's a few things you need to look at. First of all is the sale price reported the net sales price for your vehicle (after all the fees) or the gross sales price? What measurement are they using to calculate your performance? Is that calculation based on the gross or the net sales price? Are they reporting a percentage of some guide book as proof of their performance and if so, what are the criteria that this percentage is based on?

As you can see there's a lot that goes into measuring your performance in remarketing. But here's the bottom line, and it seems like everyone has forgotten it: You can't judge your performance by percentages. You can only judge your performance by the net checks you get for your remarketing efforts.

Keep your chin up and let me know what you think!

Clean Energy and the USS Intrepid

Hello Fleet Professionals!

Last week my business partner (Don Taylor) and I journeyed to the Big Apple and northern New Jersey to visit some clients and to attend a joint NAFA New Jersey and New York Chapter meeting. Whenever I plan a trip to the region, I always make an effort to attend a meeting of one of these chapters. They each have a long tradition of hosting meetings that offer a terrific educational opportunity and great networking. So when they join forces it's something extra special. Add in a sponsorship by Mercedes-Benz Fleet Operations and you've got a one of a kind meeting in a one of a kind venue!

For those of you not familiar with the USS Intrepid or New York City, let me take a moment to explain. The Intrepid is one of the most successful ships in naval history. It started it's service during World War II and is now a national historic landmark docked on the Hudson River in New York City. Not only does the ship offer incredible views of the New York Skyline but it also serves as the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

The opportunity to see this great ship is more than enough of a draw for most people. The hosting Chapters also provided two outstanding speakers for the assembled group of roughly 150 fleet professionals. The first speaker was Andrew Littlefair, the President and CEO of Clean Energy. If the company sounds familiar it should. T. Boone Pickens has been talking about it for the last year, especially through the election cycle. Mr. Littlefair addressed the group about clean air technologies and covered everything from windmills through hydrogen, nitrogen and other sources of energy. The second speaker was Christine Todd Whitman, former Governor of NJ and former Presidential Cabinet Member. She spoke to us about the government policies surrounding alternative forms of energy and clean air. To say that this was a serious and extremely sobering meeting would be an understatement. To listen to the speakers we are headed towards more government regulation of emissions and how we manage our fleets.

By now you're probably thinking that I'm going to give you a blow by blow of the speeches and the history of the ship. Not true. I bring this meeting and these topics up for a simple reason: they are examples of what's good about NAFA and what we have to look forward to over the coming years in our fleets. Both of these topics I have been writing about for the last several months in these blog entries.

First let's talk a little about the meeting and the people that put it together. These are all hard working fleet professionals who freely volunteer their time to share the wealth of information that we all own individually. They have devoted countless hours of their personal time, time away from their families and their jobs to lead their peers for the betterment of all. They are great examples of what everyone of us can achieve professionally if we set our minds to it.

Secondly, our jobs will continue to get more difficult in the coming years. Clean air, Cafe emissions and the environment are all serious and important issues but is this the time to put further requirements on corporations when the entire economy, and the car industry in particular, are still reeling from the worst economic crisis in recent history? As much as any of us may want to complain about it this is where we are so we must deal with it.

So what can we do about this? Make no mistake we are all in this together. There is strength in numbers so the first place to start is your local NAFA Chapter. If you're a Chapter Leader, start looking at meetings that are "hard-core" fleet topics that allow for the exchange of ideas and thinking outside the box. Topic speakers are great, but how about round table discussions that could be used to generate ideas and ways of dealing with the plant shutdowns, financing issues and the environment, just to name a few. You might be surprised how much take away you'll have from that kind of a meeting if you do it right!

Don't stop there! Take some of those ideas back to your office and try some of them out. Look at unbundling some of those services, the ones that really drive up your costs and those that directly affect your depreciation, like remarketing.

If you are a regular reader of these entries, you have probably picked up on a common theme. We are living and working in a very interesting time. The rate of changes we are experiencing are coming at us more and more quickly. At the same time government involvement in business is also growing. The only tools we have to combat these forces are our experience and our network of contacts, that make our presence even more valuable for our employers. Use every tool at your disposal to make yourself the most indispensable asset your company has - and keep doing it!

Keep your chin up, and let me know what you think!

Cheers!

Any New Ideas?

Hello Fleet Professionals!

It's been over a week since we returned from the NAFA I&E in New Orleans. Can you believe how quickly the time has flown by? So after attending all those terrific sessions, listening to the keynote speakers and participating in many hours of networking what are you doing? Have you taken a moment to evaluate your experiences and discussions? You probably haven't had the time. Like most of us, you returned to hundreds of e-mails and telephone messages each one no doubt of great urgency, and before you know it the conference and those lessons or tips you wanted to implement have become a distant memory. Sound familiar?

One of the sticking points I came away from the conference with was how much we all need to change what we are doing. That came out in almost every conversation I had with people and in some of the sessions as well. But what are we really doing to meet this challenge? Years ago we operated in an unbundled environment. Many of us leased through a leasing company and then used independent vendors for many of the ancillary services we used. Those days seem to be behind us. Why do I say that? Mainly because when I speak with fleet managers around the country I'm told they single source through one lessor for all their services. They tell me they don't have time to use multiple vendors and many have even said it's just easier! So in these days of financial troubles how's that working for you? Have you experienced a slowdown in your fleet operations because your source hasn't been able to secure the funding needed to get the job done? I've been hearing that a lot lately.

After listening to the lessor panel at the NAFA I&E I'm wondering if anyone is thinking about unbundling now? During the panel, the leasing company representatives all did their best to skirt the issue about the financial markets. Oh they touched on it, but seemed to go to great efforts to tell everybody to maximize fuel usage (that's important too) keep up with maintenance and make sure you're using the right kind of vehicles in the right applications. There was lots more, but it was generic "keep it in the box" advise. You could see from the looks on the attendees faces that they were not happy. Luckily for the many in the room, a few brave folks got up to the mike and started asking some of the tough questions. And when the panel wasn't initially forthcoming these fleet managers called them on it. That's when the presentation got interesting. But here's the bottom line: we're in a very tough economy right now. The lessors are financial institutions that are offering their customers the ability to keep their fleets off the balance sheets and it just got a lot more expensive to do that!

So what are you, the experienced fleet professional going to do about that? How are you going to add value to your operation, and your company? How are you going to save your job? Of course I have a few suggestions!

1. Take a good hard look at the services you provide for your fleet. What are they costing you and do they provide the value you expect?

2. If you single source your operation, you should start looking at alternative ways of securing your fleet or you'll end up like many did this year: not ordering a single new vehicle. Talk to your Treasury Department. Even if you don't want to go the purchase route, they may have access to better sources of capital so you can self fund your leases.

3. Keep a close eye on your depreciation. Used vehicles values are changing on a daily basis these days. Make sure the method you are using to dispose of your vehicles has it's focus on your vehicles and not the process the vendor uses to maximize the number of vehicles it sells.

4. Start measuring everything and report your progress to your management.

A few people that I spoke with at NAFA shared the best advice I've heard so far. Whether you are a fleet manager or a service provider, this is the time to show what you are really made of. You can continue to do things the way you have always done them and use the excuse that you're too busy to look at alternatives. That attitude today will lose you customers and if you're a fleet manager, probably your job. However, if you work even harder (I know that's going to be hard) and look at innovative, unbundled solutions to do your jobs, your efforts will be rewarded.

So take some time this week to think about what you learned at the NAFA I&E. Take some time to remember the conversations you had there with other fleet managers and service providers. Then invest some valuable time looking at some alternatives like unbundling services. Not only will it improve your bottom line, it might just save your job!

Keep your chin up! And please let me know what you think. Cheers!

New Orleans is a Great Place for a Conference

Hello Fleet Professionals!

I just returned from the annual NAFA I&E, or as us "old timers" call it The Conference. It never ceases to amaze me, regardless of how involved I may personally be in the conference, that when you get into town the time you are investing seems to be long. Then before you know it the show is over and you're on your way home. That's a testament to the hard work of the committees and staff to organize a program that not only keeps us busy but provides us with choices.

2009 has been a challenging year for the auto business and that was really reflected in this year's I&E. It's obvious to see that the Curriculum Committee made conscious decisions to address much of what is happening in the world today. Attendance was somewhat down and it appears that donations may have been down as well. As a consequence the conference had a smaller feel to it. I don't mean that in a negative way. For many years, it seemed as if the show was getting larger and "glitzier". This year our conference reflected the world and that's a good thing. Call it a reality check.

One of the benefits of a smaller conference is that you have more time to spend with the people that are there. In that respect, this conference rates high. From the moment I got to the hotel on Friday evening until the time I left on Wednesday there was non-stop networking. That's my favorite part! And that was not only with people that I've known for many years but also with many that I met for the first time. In fact there's nothing like watching a first time attendee during a conference. There's a sparkle in their eyes that takes me back to my very first conference in Boston, way back in 1985!

One of my favorite changes this year was the use of the "big rooms" for some of the speakers. Keeping us in the larger meal rooms for several of the panels was an inspired choice. So many times we are crammed into large rooms for the panels (OEM and Lessor) and it's standing room only. This year was much better.

My biggest disappointment was the elimination of the Chapter Recognition Awards this year. I don't know who's decision it was to do away with the awards this year but it is a huge mistake. In this era of cost cutting and diminishing interest in volunteerism, NAFA decided to eliminate the one form of recognition available for the average member and affiliate. What are they thinking? Our chapters are the lifeblood of the association. Without the chapters, there would be no NAFA. The Board of Governors need to reconsider this decision. The members and affiliates that spend endless hours working at the chapter level deserve recognition just as much as those hard working individuals that are honored by education awards, distinguished services awards and the like.

So the bad news this year, in addition to the Chapter Recognition award elimination, was that the conference was smaller and that many didn't attend this year that normally would attend. Some of this was due to budget restraints, but since last year many have retired, moved on or been laid off. But there's good news too. For one thing, the conference was smaller, so we got to spend more time together, the meeting spaces were better, and the sessions (at least the ones that I attended) were consistently good.

NAFA has been a big part of my life for 25 years. It's good to see that the leadership recognizes that adjustments need to be made in the annual conference to keep it relevant.

Until next time, keep your chin up! And let me know what you think.

Where's Your Inspiration?

Greetings Fleet Professionals!

For the past two days we've been "enjoying" a wet Spring snowstorm that is accumulating in increments of feet rather than inches in my driveway right now. Living in Colorado is certainly part of what inspires me - especially when we go from several days of 60 and 70 degree weather to this kind of storm in just a matter of a day!

But living in Colorado is only part of my inspiration. Like many of you, I am inspired by my kids (well, some of the time anyway), my family and friends, church and my work. Of course then there are the books I choose to read. I'm one of those guys that reads a couple at a time, usually one for strictly entertainment and another for the inspirational piece. That one will be something about business, marketing or a self improvement topic. Check out my reading lists on LinkedIn and Facebook if you're curious.

Now April is a huge month for inspiration - or at least it is for me. We started April with Spring Break this year. That meant our first camping trip of the season. We had planned on traveling to Moab,UT, but the mountain weather didn't cooperate so we went to plan B: The Grand Canyon! This is nature at it's best and it just doesn't get more inspiring than this.

But wait - April has much more to offer in the way of inspiration!

There's lots of news on the domestic auto manufacturers this month. Chrysler and Fiat look like a lock, and a new restructured GM looks like it's going to be down to three nameplates with or without a bankruptcy filing. Definitely "not your father's GM". We've got many e-newsletters out there that are doing a great job of keeping us informed, almost on an hourly basis (it seems) on the fast breaking changes. One of these e-newsletters has just been through a radical refacing. Automotive Digest has always done a commendable job of reporting the latest news in a executive brief. Now their video features take front and center and the news is broken into feature areas. If you haven't reviewed it yet you should. And if you aren't subscribing you are missing out on an important source of information. You can find it at http://www.automotivedigest.com/.

Some of your best opportunities for inspiration come at the end of April this year! The largest fleet event in our industry is coming up next weekend - NAFA's annual I&E in New Orleans. I hear from NAFA's staff that they're expecting a good turn out and you can't beat the location! I know from attending many of these events over the years (this will be my 23rd NAFA conference) that there will be many exceptional opportunities to hone your skills. Sure it's not cheap, but when you add up the educational sessions, the networking opportunities and the largest exposition in the industry, how can you avoid not going back to your office with at least one idea that will enhance the way you operate?

Yes, April is an inspiring month. In these tough times we can all use a bit of this kind of inspiration!

Until, next time, keep your chin up and please let me know what you think! Cheers!

Be careful what you ask for!

Hello Fleet Professionals!

We were promised change last year, weren't we? Well it's here and there's more to come - whether we like it or not!

I read with great interest Mike Antich's recent Market Trends blog on dual sourcing. He made some very good points and it really took me back to the days of multiple sources for everything. In the 80's that's one of the reasons we used multiple sources for vehicles, lessors and the ancillary services that were available at that time. And that was long before we all had computers on our desks or even our own fax machines!

Back in those days I was a fleet manager and everything was done manually. As mentioned above, there were no computers. There was one fax machine for the entire office. If you had a fax to send it had better be important. We used telex machines to manage our global fleet, an IBM Selectric typewriter for just about everything and an essential tool we called a telephone. We had those on our desks and we used them! Not only did we answer them when they rang but if we missed the call (and got a message from the reception/switchboard - no VM in those days) we actually called people back! But I digress and telephone etiquette is a topic for another blog.

Sole sourcing was a great idea as long as everything runs the way it is supposed to run. That's just not so anymore. I've spoken with many fleet mangers all over the country who have yet to order even one vehicle for the 2009 model year. Why not? In some cases the manufacturers slowed or shut down production because of excess inventory. Then came the financial crisis. Now maybe we could get production but no one would write a lease! If we weren't sole sourcing on those two fronts our opportunities to avoid the disruptions in our fleets certainly would have improved. However there are other effects to this trend. Your maintenance costs will rise, replacement rental costs rise and your fuel expense rises as your fleets fuel efficiency decreases. Those factors will directly effect your driver's productivity. Regardless of whether you are managing a sales or a service fleet, your drivers need their tools to sell or service your company's products. When their productivity goes down (remember they are in the shop waiting for their rental car), your company profits will drop. Oh it's a vicious cycle isn't it?

Now since we're going old school in this blog, how about unbundling? Anybody remember what that is? I know. Some will say it's more work, and you know what? It might be, but it doesn't have to be. There was a time we worked with service providers that were the best in their field. We had two lessors, contracts with at least two different vehicle manufacturers, worked with an independent maintenance company and remarketed our used vehicles ourselves (full disclosure - I am a remarketer!). There weren't any national fuel card companies back then (even WEX was just getting started) and the idea of accident management was in it's infancy. Did I mention we didn't have computers?

So what's the bottom line? Fleet management is a lot of work. Whether we are in the 80's and working with calculators and graph paper or in the 21st century and working with the latest technology it's still alot of work. Our employers pay us to be the experts and develop the best systems to minimize fleet expensive and increase the company's sales/service force productivity. There may have been a time when sole sourcing and bundling worked, but times have changed. It's time to dust off a few of the tricks we used when the lack of technology required us to to be innovative.

Twenty-five years ago I started reading this little magazine called Automotive Fleet. Back then I always turned to the closing editorial and read it first. From that editorial I learned alot about the fleet business - the importance of the relationships with not only my fellow fleet managers, but with all industry vendors. I learned about the importance of depreciation and why it's so important to be a hands on remarketer as a fleet manager. It's still the first thing I read when the magazine comes in. Thanks Ed! You're a terrific teacher. Maybe it's time to dust off some of those old pieces for our latest generation of fleet managers.

Keep your chin up! And do let me know what you think!

Social Networking, Part 2: Why I Like LinkedIn

Welcome back! We survived our blizzard here in Denver and almost everything is back to normal this afternoon. Last time we started our discussion broadly about social networking. Today, I'm going to focus in on LinkedIn and where I think it can help us in fleet management.

There are four features that impress me about LinkedIn: The network, the profile, the groups, and the applications.

The network concept is basic. I know alot of people; you know alot of people. In the past, if I needed a lead that you had, I would call you, tell you what I was looking for and we'd share information that way. Using this network we have the ability to share all that information and we can grow our network, and knowledge base exponentially! Next, your profile. I see this as our resume on the Internet. But the profile can and should be so much more than that. The way we look for jobs over the years has changed radically. That's why it's so important that your profile accurately reflect your experience. Maybe it shouldn't look so much like your traditional chronological resume. Perhaps it should be more experienced based. Today, potential employers post jobs in LinkedIn Groups and can search networked members using keywords. There are all sorts of implications there for employers and job seekers!

Then there are the Groups. There is something for everyone here. There are our Association based groups, such as AFLA and NAFA. There are show based groups, such as CAR (Conference on Automotive Remarketing). Then there are also groups that have been formed by specialty, expertise, and so forth. The groups give you the opportunity to post questions, and share your expertise. It's also a terrific way to keep up with the burning questions in our industry and in the world. There's no saying that you need to post or even comment on any subject. Sometimes it's just interesting to watch.

Lastly, there are the LinkedIn applications. These are actually provided by some some of their partners and my experience with them so far has been good. The price is right (free!) and the apps are actually useful. There are three I'm using on my site at this time: Reading List, Blog Watch and Company Buzz. If you enjoy reading, the Reading List app is for you. Share what you have read and show your network what makes you so smart! I'm always looking for new books to read, especially books of the business variety. The Company Buzz app takes advantage of the new rage: Twitter. Track postings of your company name (for instance) to see who's talking about you. Blog Watch allows you to keep track of your favorite blogs that may be associated with LinkedIn. I have a couple of friends that use LinkedIn and are also bloggers. Because they have listed their bogs in the LinkedIn profiles the Blog Watch automatically tracks and posts them to my page.

In recent weeks I've become acquainted with some of the LinkedIn experts out there - there are many! My favorite so far is http://linkedintobusiness.com/. I discovered Viveka’s site after hearing her interview on The Small Business Guru podcast on BlogTalkRadio. She has lots of helpful tips, especially for those just getting started. Check it out!

Now I know what you are thinking. I don't have the time. I'll get FLOODED with e-mails. Make the time! It's worth it. Manage those e-mails! I have not seen any kind of major change in my e-mail box and I belong to many groups! You can even turn off the e-mail alerts if you really do feel like you're getting overwhelmed.

So what's the bottom line here - how can it help you? I know you're way too busy to start anything new at this point, right? Well I am too. But here's how I look at it. The economy is struggling right now and so are many of us. We have to look at new ways to market ourselves in this ever increasingly competitive world. We need to work together to succeed. This is one way to start. Yes I said start. There are advantages out there are fleet managers, salespeople, purchasing specialists and even entrepreneurs. Not everything will appeal to all of us. But there is more than enough value there that we should all be using it to increase our knowledge and build our networks. Embrace it!


Until next time, keep your chin up and let me know what you think! Cheers!

Social Networks - What's It All About

Social networks - some can say, and would be right up to a point, that these fascinating networks are just another way to waste a whole lot of time! I prefer to look at them as a fantastic (even super fantastic!) way to stay connected with family, friends and business colleagues.

Back in the great old '70's when I was getting started in business we kept track of our network with good old fashioned, hand-written phone directories. If we were lucky we had a Rolodex instead - that way we didn't have to keep crossing out contact info and rewriting it - what a mess! It's incredible how much has changed in such a short time. In any event, I digress. Let's get back to today.

I use three different networks, all for different reasons. There's MySpace, which I use for my family. The aunts and cousins and all my kids like this one. For my friends, and mostly for fun, I use Facebook. I started out thinking this would be a good site for business networking and it is up to a point - but it's still very casual. It's a hoot to track your friends' status, send them flair or even hit them with a snowball. But that said, one of my friends, a personal coach and motivational speaker (Hi Sherry!) has generated business by her presence on Facebook. Meanwhile another friend that hosts a radio show and podcasts (Hi Mark!) extensively promotes all his business activities using Facebook. Some of us just like the flair!

Then there's LinkedIn. WOW! Here we have a hardcore business "social" networking site. A neighbor friend of mine mentioned that he started using it and suggested I check it out. To me, this is the ultimate Rolodex. My network grows everyday, and has already spread throughout the United States and into Europe. There are so many great features about this networking system that it's difficult to know where to start. So for now I'll pause and continue this thread in my next blog.

I'll leave you with this closing thought. Social networking is an exciting and innovative way to communicate and is evolving every day. These sites have already changed the way we stay in touch with each other and I see the way we do business evolving along with the networks (and the rest of the world). But more on that next time!

Keep your chin up, and let me know what you think. Cheers!

Why do a blog?

That's a really good question. These days, more than ever before, you need to think "outside the box". It doesn't really matter what you do. It doesn't matter if you serve in a purchasing function or a sales function, a management function or even if you're like me a fleet entrepreneur. Throw in that old TYPE A personality and mix in a bit of workaholic and you tend to wake up in the middle of the night with the wildest ideas - about work!

So that's how this blog was born. As an idea in the middle of the night from a TYPE A, workaholic, entrepreneur aka former fleet manager. My wish, hope, desire and ultimate ambition is to have a stream of conversation about our beloved business that covers some serious ground, and injects, on occasion, some necessary humor. We live in serious times, and our auto industry is besieged. Costs are rising, cycles are changing and people are losing their jobs. I look forward to discussing our industry, our professional associations and even some controversial topics. I believe we can discuss anything and hope that we will all use this as an opportunity to learn more about our fantastic industry.