Several months ago I wrote a column describing my years as a college instructor. Still dwelling on this part of my life and looking over the contents of this month's ABRN, I couldn't help but notice a common current in both – namely, how some pain and suffering is necessary if we're to make real change.
I'm not talking simply about physical pain. I'm referring to the difficulties all of us experience while making core adjustments in our lives as we abandon familiar habits and thinking to go well outside our comfort zones and, essentially, become new people. Our habits, perceptions and ways of thinking define us. When those change, we transform, hopefully into something better.
The same goes for businesses. They only experience true change when the people, the practices and the habits at their core permanently change.
When I was an instructor, I believed I needed to offer more than just basic courses on writing and analytic thinking. I believed that the most important part of an education was personal change, which is especially important when you consider most of my students came right out of high school. These people, most of them either 18 or 19, were at college to become mature, thoughtful adults willing to open their minds to new ideas. If they weren't going to change as people, there was no way they could take full advantage of their education.
Nudging people into breaking habits and letting go of "old" thinking is extremely difficult. Any of you who have mentored or helped train someone, especially someone not yet equipped with the maturity and focus to take on "adult" tasks, knows how difficult this change can be, both for you and the trainee. You have to continually and consistently work on developing new habits. You hold yourself accountable and practice the habits you're teaching.
I'm reminded of all this while reading Camille Eber's column, "Changing minds about scheduling". She writes on how flat scheduling would benefit shops and add efficiency to the repair process. Yet, many insurers still want to stick to outdated "In on Monday, out on Friday" thinking, as do some repairers who have difficulty even imagining a system that functions differently from the one they've grown used to.
Joan Engebretson's article "A Strong Italian Blend" describes the impact of Italian automaker Fiat's purchase of Chrysler. Not long ago, Fiat itself was in dire financial straits, and that experience could help it pull Chrysler from its difficulties. Still, both companies face major challenges as they attempt to integrate dissimilar model lines and different cultures – something Chrysler and Daimler-Benz were unable to pull off.
John Yoswick's article "Gauging your company culture" examines the core of any business change, identifying then changing or redirecting the business culture. Yoswick spoke to a number of industry vendors and shops who noted just how important it is for any organization to define itself and maintain a core identity that every employee recognizes and adopts. Indeed, both of these actions are key steps for any of you attempting to adopt lean principles or other processes or make significant changes such as moving to waterborne. If the culture doesn't adopt the change, there will be no real change, regardless of the demands made by management or ownership.
Fortunately, help is available to help you make these transitions. You can contract with companies and consultants to survey your shop culture. Vendors, some of whom are mentioned in Yoswick's story, offer these surveys along with other help to guide core changes. Check out our Web site, www.searchautoparts.com, and view the webinar "The Process Centered Environment: The Journey to Achieving Measurable ROI in Collision Repair," which discusses making cultural changes.
Regardless of what steps you take, your ultimate goal is to take steps that truly count, steps that allow you to make the kinds of changes that ensure you not only survive, but also thrive. There's going to be some pain involved. Look at it this way. At least it's discomfort you plan for your shop's long-term benefit.
