Parting Shot

He Is Telling You The Truth!

By Lowell Anderson, Founder & CEO

simplysoundconsulting.com

Iread Eric Anderson’s ‘Confessions of a Customer” in the January issue and I have to admit I thought it was really spot-on. (Don’t tell him…he’ll get the big head) Working as a consultant in the motorcycle industry for the past three years after spending 20+ years on the corporate side, I can honestly say that what he is telling you is absolute truth!

Our industry has gone from a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who applied business practices to their skillsets, to large groups of self-proclaimed corporate “gurus” who haven’t got a clue what they are selling or whom they are selling it to. Riders have been replaced by groups of “educated” cronies with MBAs making huge paychecks. However, they cannot make a simple decision without reviewing tons of data and having 15 meetings.

Everything is a long, drawn-out process and if they finally make a decision, it is usually the wrong decision. These “teams” cause huge delays and financial losses for the companies they serve. The market does not wait for anyone. Good, successful companies have strong leaders who are engaged in the industry they serve. Not the current crop of second-guessers suffering paralysis through analysis.

The best business success I have ever experienced in this industry was when I had a leader who supported his leaders and let his leaders make the decisions for the areas they were delegated. For those reasons we experienced huge financial success in a few short years. That company was KTM, and that leader was the late Rod Bush.

Losing All Historical Knowledge

Our industry was once filled with people who had firsthand knowledge and personal experience. Motorcycle enthusiasts dominated the leadership roles in our industry. Everyone rode motorcycles and they loved the industry as a whole. These people understood the customers and often could make good decisions based on their personal knowledge alone. Between listening to their customers and their own seat of the pants expertise, they were able to make decisions quickly and correctly.

Over the years there has been an influx of corporate leaders insisting on bringing in people with MBAs to do remedial jobs simply because that is the language the new leadership speaks. I have interviewed hundreds of people over the years for jobs in the motorcycle industry. I have had HR teams tell me that asking if a candidate was a motorcycle enthusiast was not a relevant question. Why would we not ask that question? If you’re hiring a welder would you ask them if they know how to weld?

Why would you hire a leader that cannot recognize the difference between a Honda and a Harley? I literally had a Director of Merchandising ask me what the difference was between a dirt and street tire. I also had a Director of Marketing put a Triumph® motorcycle on an ad for Harley® parts. They both had spent some time in the industry, but never had any interest in really learning about it.

Pride

Many of the business people being hired for these roles have no appreciation for our industry. Their goal is simply to make as much money as they can, and then move on to the next job. Few of these people are humble enough to learn about our passion and the industry we serve. Even fewer are willing to truly experience it. They have to apply themselves to understand the customer and what really drives them.

Often, they refuse to ask these questions for fear of looking and sounding foolish, but they have no problem pointing out that the parts guy made a mistake on his spreadsheet. This all translates to a hostile work environment where the industry people simply give up.

Working as a consultant I can tell you I have experienced the same prideful practices I experienced when I worked as an employee. Large teams all trying not to offend anyone struggling to make decisions based strictly on numbers. Zero accountability because there is no delegated authority. All these “employees” are not operating to make the company successful.

Instead, the majority of these teams are operating out of fear and insecurity. Afraid to do anything that may cause them to lose their positions. I find myself in this same situation as a consultant from time-to-time. I evaluate a situation and give clear direction on how to resolve it and I am offered alternatives from upper-level management.

Instead of listening to the direction and following the independent consultation advice, I find myself trying to convince them this direction is correct. Why do you hire a consultant and then refuse to listen to “the expert” you hired? What makes you think these management “teams” of outsiders are ever going to listen to an engaged employee that is trying to better the company?

Leadership

I agree with Eric that there needs to be a strong leader at the top. A sign of a strong leader is someone who will impart authority to their people in exchange for accountability. They expect decisiveness from their leaders and they hold them accountable.

Strong leaders rarely give orders, they give intent to their leaders combined with support and clear direction by setting overarching goals. Strong leaders will surround themselves with people that are better than themselves at Simply put, they hire people to do a specific job, and then they let them do that job. Strong leaders build and mentor future strong leaders.

Our Current State

As an industry I believe we are truly in trouble. Now more than ever we need good leadership helping to guide us in these unstable times. People who value experience in this industry and have a strong understanding of our customers while staying up to date with good business practices.

Bottom line: Sometimes the loudest voice in your business is not a trouble maker. It’s the employee who cares the most about your success.

Industry veteran Lowell Anderson established Simply Sound Consulting to be just that. Our approach is simple. Real solutions that deliver real results. No smoke and mirrors and no acronyms to make ourselves sound intelligent. We bring experience and practical solutions delivered through clear communication to help you succeed. http://simplysoundconsulting.com/

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