Out of the Crisis.Org

[Louis Altazan]

Obstacle six, waiting until it is too late, may not have the exact meaning you may imagine. Any viable business can, at any point, be helped by better management. From this respect, where there is “life” there is hope. Life being an ability to continue business functions.

Waiting until it is too late, refers to the manager rather than the business. There are managers, that have such a vested interest in the status quo, they will not be able to change. This is not because it is not possible. It is because they will consider no other way. This often happens to people who have done well in the past. It is very difficult for such people to acknowledge they have succeeded in spite of themselves. The environment that once allowed them to succeed has changed and they will continue to look to the past, rather than embracing a better way. This appears so, even though all outward signs indicate the business is now struggling.

Many large businesses in the US today are in this position. They have been world leaders, feel they are teachers and will not admit they are now in trouble. Instead they will continue to search for figures that prove [to them] they are still on top and make excuses for not actually being. Following WWII the US was the only major producer left in tact. Our factories poured out goods that were eagerly consumed by a waiting world, needing everything. Europe and Japan were in shambles. A lot of people got very rich and felt their methods were pretty smart. Today that has all changed. The US is not the only producer and there is keen competition for the markets that exist. Many such businesses are struggling, yet cling to their old ways.

Automotive shops went through a microscopic version of the same phenomena. Through the nineties and up until the beginning of this century the vehicles still in use, required a great deal of care. Cost were relatively low, shops were not very sophisticated and anyone that could “fix a car” could do pretty well. Management meant little more than hiring a few people, putting them on flat-rate and being nice to clients. Mistakes were not very costly and a person could do fairly well with Do, Inspect, Rework and Deliver. This was largely because those being competed with were no more sophisticated, as to management ability, than they.

In the twenty-first century things have changed. Vehicles are more complex, mistakes and rework are cost prohibitive. There are many options available to clients, beyond “fix it or don’t drive.” These factors will not change and will get more burdensome. Professional managers are only now beginning to come online. As shops get better at managing, they will grow, at the expense of those they compete against. Well run shops will enjoy much lower cost, higher production and become a far more desirable option to the market.

Past matrixes such as “car count” and dollars per square foot will be as meaningless as the number of hitching post in front of a business as a sign of success. A healthy profit, growth rate and a waiting list of happy clients are far more meaningful, and these will be accomplish in ways perhaps seldom considered. Those that can change may and may become part of the future. Those that have a vested interest in their present ways may find it too late to change.

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Louis Altazan
Owner/Manager AGCO Automotive Corporation
Baton Rouge, LA