In Search of Dolphin Leather
I read this in Seth Godins blog I follow...
There's a story in the bible with very specific instructions for building an ark. Included in the instructions is a call for using tanned dolphin leather. Regardless of your feelings about the historical accuracy of the story, it's an interestin questions: why create an impossible mission like that? Why enourage people who might travel 100 miles over their entire lifetime to undertake a quest to find, capture, kill, skin and eventually tan a dolphin?
My friend Adam han an interesting take on this. He told me that the acquisition of the leather is irrelevant. It was the quest that mattered. Having community-based quest means that ther's less room for whining, for infighting and for dissolution. Having a mission not only points everyone in the same direction, it also creates motion. An motion in any direction is often better than no motion at all.
All around you, people are telling you two things:
1. Whatever you want, forget it, it's impossible and
2. Sit still, preserve resources, lay low.
And yet, the people who are succeeding, creating change and (not coincidentlally) are happier aren't listening to either of these pieces of advice. Instead, they're on the searc for dolphin leather.
Frank Sinatra had it wrong. Your dream shouldn't be impossible, but it sure helps if it's improbable. Don't choose your dreams based on what is certain to happen,choose them based on what's likely to cause the change you want to occur around you.
Best regards,
Bill Park
There's a story in the bible with very specific instructions for building an ark. Included in the instructions is a call for using tanned dolphin leather. Regardless of your feelings about the historical accuracy of the story, it's an interestin questions: why create an impossible mission like that? Why enourage people who might travel 100 miles over their entire lifetime to undertake a quest to find, capture, kill, skin and eventually tan a dolphin?
My friend Adam han an interesting take on this. He told me that the acquisition of the leather is irrelevant. It was the quest that mattered. Having community-based quest means that ther's less room for whining, for infighting and for dissolution. Having a mission not only points everyone in the same direction, it also creates motion. An motion in any direction is often better than no motion at all.
All around you, people are telling you two things:
1. Whatever you want, forget it, it's impossible and
2. Sit still, preserve resources, lay low.
And yet, the people who are succeeding, creating change and (not coincidentlally) are happier aren't listening to either of these pieces of advice. Instead, they're on the searc for dolphin leather.
Frank Sinatra had it wrong. Your dream shouldn't be impossible, but it sure helps if it's improbable. Don't choose your dreams based on what is certain to happen,choose them based on what's likely to cause the change you want to occur around you.
Best regards,
Bill Park
Frank had it right we still love his songs and the ark was to preserve the world so where's this suposed to be going?
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Here's where this is going. You are all in control of your own destinies. Take a good look at your business as it is today & where it was one, two or three years ago. Now project where you want to be & how you can get there. What you are going to find is that you can't get there from here. We have all allowed an outside entity to control our industry. We all believed more volume meant more cash flow and profit. How wrong we were. Now, along with giving discounts and conceded labor rates, we are being told what we can and cannot charge for along with how much we can charge. We are also being told what parts are to be used and how to use them. Our employees are wasting an incredible amount of time evaluating and processig total losses, (which by the way is illegal) and performing other claims office functions rather than focusing on the customer and the repair. Think of your shop and this market as if they were the Titanic. We have already hit the iceberg. You and your employees are armed with small buckets and very few, if any lifeboats. The iceberg keeps tearing holes and you can't stop the water from coming in at this point. There is a solution, but it will require action, determination, and commitment from everyone. I will leave it up to all of you to realize what that soluton is.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE PAYMENT PROCESS. ALL State Farm SHOPS EXCEPT SELECT SERVICE FACILITIES (THEY HAVE 50+ SHOPS) NEED TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS TO CHANGE SHOP PROCEDURES TO AVOID PROBLEMS.
I spoke to Rob Shaver, Head of Estimatics, today 9/24/09 about a missing supplement check that three different State Farm people said had been mailed to our shop. THE NEW PROCESS IS TO MAIL ALL PAYMENTS TO THE CLAIMANT OR INSURED.
ADVICE TO ALL SHOPS IS TO IMMEDIATELY WAIT FOR FULL PAYMENT, IN YOUR HANDS, BEFORE RELEASING ANY VEHICLES. THE CUSTOMER CAN PAY WITH A CREDIT CARD OR CASH BUT DON'T RELEASE VEHICLES.
We already have a list of companies that we don't release cars until the "money is in hand". We have added State Farm to that list It is clear the "prevailing practice" in our industry is to send supp.checks to shops NOT to vehicle owners.
Expect to see some big changes from the "good neighbor" and make adjustments to your business practices.
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