Changes

“I've been living through changes,
It's not the same thing every day.
I hope it's not my age,
But I wouldn't like to say.”

-Julian Cope, “Treason”

Lately I’ve found myself regaling people with tales of my first positions in business with General Motors.  Needless to say, the world looks a lot different today:

• People could smoke at their desks.  And if you were unfortunate enough to share an office with a smoker, the company solution was to deposit a portable electric air freshener on your desk to inhale the fumes.  (At about the same time, Orbit, a long-defunct humor magazine in Detroit likened compared designating a “No Smoking” section in a closed room to setting aside a “No Urinating” section in a public pool, but I digress…)

• My parking lot abutted that of Burroughs Corporation which, at the time, was over one hundred years old and one of the largest computer companies in the world.  Does anyone remember them today?

• We drafted our documents in longhand and passed them over to secretaries (sometimes in a secretarial pool) who typed them using a Wang system which saved the documents for future editing.

 I didn’t even mention that at the time General Motors had 40+% of the U.S. market share for new vehicle sales.

In the mid-1990’s GWC Warranty Corp. was founded as Guardian Warranty Corporation.  I’m proud to say that our company has evolved a lot in the 17 years since its founding.  In fact, the pace of change over the past few years has been staggering, as we’ve expanded our talent, products, technology, even our office space.  Consequently, we are rapidly growing and thriving in an ever more competitive market.

However, we will NEVER rest on our laurels and stop changing.  So buckle up and join us for an unpredictable but rewarding ride.

What Am I Reading?

Thanks to our friend and neighbor Natalie B., I recently devoured Child 44, the debut novel by Tom Rob Smith that came out a few years ago.  It’s a riveting murder mystery that unfolds in the shadows of the Stalinist Soviet Union of the 1950’s.  In that terrifying, totalitarian world, a child murderer simply could not be acknowledged, lest it be seen as an indictment of the perfect order of the State.  One fearless investigator, a seemingly broken man, risks the shreds of life he and his wife are clinging to in order to bring a killer to justice while racing against a state bureaucracy out to crush him.  Simply spellbinding storytelling.

My Annual Battery Pack Rejuvenation

For the past four years, the folks at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina have been kind enough to invite me to speak at their Sophomore Experience event (http://www.wofford.edu/center/sophomoreexperience/).  Scott Cochran, the Dean of Wofford’s Center for Professional Excellence, is a dear friend of mine and someone I will write about in more detail in a future blog.

The important thing today is the sense of rejuvenation I am feeling after my visit to Wofford.  NEVER let someone use broad generalizations to tear down today’s youth.  The liberal arts students I meet every year at Wofford inspire me to no end and this year’s crop was particularly intriguing.  They included future businesspeople, doctors, entrepreneurs, attorneys, poets, activists, psychologists, accountants, musicians, car traders…the list is as varied as you might expect.

The engagement, passion and enthusiasm these students shared with me, however, was somewhat unexpected.  These young people are cautiously idealistic:  They want to change the world for the better but they know it will take smarts, hard work and commitment, all of which they have in abundance.

When I returned to work after my visit, I was already pretty pumped up.  Then a box containing the Steve Jobs biography arrived.  Even better, the students had taken the time to write personalized notes thanking me for MY inspiring them.  They had it backwards:  As gratifying as it was to be appreciated for my time, THEY are the ones who inspired me and gave my batteries an annual mid-winter re-charge.  Thanks Wofford.  Keep emailing me updates as you chase down those dreams.

HEY are the ones who inspired me and have given my internal batteries their annual mid-winter charge.  Thanks, Woff

HEY are the ones who inspired me and have given my internal batteries their annual mid-winter charge.  Thanks, Wofford!

What Am I Reading?

Netherland by Joseph O’Neill came out in 2008 and somehow completely escaped my attention (despite apparently being widely publicized as the first novel that Barack Obama read on his summer vacation in 2009!) 

Netherland is told by Hans, a banker transplanted from the Netherlands, who is struggling to find his way in New York after his wife and son head to the U.K. in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.  Hans stumbles upon a varied cast of immigrants who bond over cricket matches played in the shadows of New York overpasses and other odd places they’ve conquested to play the world’s most popular stick-and-ball game.

This story about strangers in the margins who struggle to make it in a city where they are often anonymous is both intimate and wide scale. 

Unsung Heroes

Every organization has them, those unsung heroes who show up every day and often toil in the shadows of more high profile members.  Like offensive lineman of the gridiron, they aren’t afraid to get dirty even as they do the blocking and tackling for superstar quarterbacks and running backs who get more glory and inspire kids to wear their jerseys.

At GWC Warranty, those unsung heroes are our teammates in the Claims Department.  They are somewhat anonymous (until they’re needed!) and tend to stick together in a tight unit in the back quadrant of our office.  But each and every one of them has an enormous impact on our company’s results:

• They handle an unbelievably high volume of calls every day, generally from the moment they sit down to the time they go home.  Those calls directly translate to our bottom line results.
• They are on the front line in dealing with our customers, dealers, service shops and parts vendors.  And generally, their contacts occur when something has gone wrong (or is about to!)
• They are master negotiators, ensuring that we meet our obligations in a fair, timely manner while giving respectful service.  That means saying “no” at times in the nicest possible manner.
• They are the living embodiment of our “No Worries, Just Drive” motto.  It’s what we sell.  When the Claims Department adjusters do their jobs, they ensure we live up to our customers’ expectations.

So, today, I want to give a special shout out to these unsung heroes.  I could call them out individually if I had room, but instead let me just give particular props to Brett, Ed and Big John, the seasoned Managers and captains of the group (as well as our newest Manager, Jon).  They lead, mentor and inspire their teams and for that we (especially Archie and I) are grateful.  Thanks!

What Am I Reading?

 Nightwoods by Charles Frazier:  The new novel by the author of Cold Mountain tells the story of a woman in the rurals of 1960’s North Carolina suddenly given charge of her deceased sister’s mute but wild two children.  Things take a turn for the worse when their murderous father turns up looking for his missing loot.  Frazier is an incredibly gifted storyteller with an incredible knack for simple details that bring the time and place to life.

New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year!  It's already 2012 and time for Resolutions, which I make sporadically and keep haphazardly!  However, this year there area few areas I HAVE to improve in.

First, I resolve to stop swearing.  This has been an ongoing vice for me but it has really gotten ugly lately.  If only certain expletives weren't so versatile; what other words can serve as nouns, verbs AND adjectives, sometimes in the same phrase?  Regardless, I've got to stop, probably cold turkey.  I somehow managed to raise the two older kids without infecting them, but I fear for my 8-year-old, who is much more impressionable!

So, if you're reading this and you know me, please help me by administering any necessary admonishments when I slip up.  You'll be doing all of us a favor.

Second, I resolve to slow down, particularly when driving.  After three speeding tickets in the past two years (Steve from Allstate, please be merciful:  Nobody got hurt except my pride!), I need to become one of those drivers that dawdles down the road in front of you causing you to wonder "What in the heck is wrong with him?"  (Notice how I worked Resolution 1 into that last sentence?)  It's either that or risk becoming a permanent passenger with Jeanette or Chris as we head down the mountain to work, and nobody wants that.

What Am I Reading?

The Leftovers by Tom Perotta.  A Rapture-like event has occurred and the residents of a small town are grappling with how to make sense of their lives knowing that for inexplicable reasons they were not chosen.  And, at the same time, fill the holes in the town's fabric left by those who were.

What Are You Reading?

 

Those of you who have had the (pleasure?) of interviewing with me you probably had to come up with an answer to that question.  And if you are currently working for us, you probably came up with a good one!

I ask this for several reasons:  First, I’m genuinely interested in understanding what makes a person tick, what they’re interested in and how they occupy their mind in quiet times.  Second, I have found that the smartest, most creative people I know tend to be life-long readers.  Third, I believe that you have to continually challenge and inspire your mind if you expect to keep it sharp over the course of a career.

By the way, it doesn’t matter so much WHAT you read, just that you DO read.   Business books, novels, magazines – they’re all valuable.  While I subscribe to about 15 magazines, The New York Times, the local paper and several online magazines that are personalized for me, I also try to have one or more books going at the same time.

So, I’m adding a new feature to the blog that will hopefully inspire you to pick up a book of your own (maybe even one I’ve described).

What Am I Reading?

The Last Greatest Magician in the World by Jim Steinmeyer.  This biography of Howard Thurston, who at one time rivaled Houdini but today is all but forgotten, is a fascinating look into the worlds of illusion and show business in the early 20^th Century.