One of the best lessons that I learned early in life stems from a very basic cliche often recited by ... well, just about every single youth sports coach you’ll ever meet. That’s for good reason, though, as I still find myself referring to it; not only with folks on my team here at NOLN (or with my own kids), but also as a reminder to myself when times get difficult.
I’m guessing you’ve heard it: The only two things you can control in life are your attitude and your effort. I mean, that’s pretty spot on, right? All we can truly determine is how we react to obstacles in our path. My adapted, “grown-up” mindset with this is to try to be “solutions-oriented”—don’t dwell on problems; focus on finding answers.
Anyway, this all came to mind in reading NOLN associate editor Matt Hudson’s feature story this month, “Telematics Tug of War.” You likely don’t need me to tell you that the simple mention of the word “telematics” often elicits a wide range of responses from people, running the gamut from confusion and frustration to eagerness and excitement. The intense conversation around advanced vehicle technology today, as a whole, offers many emotionally charged takes. Matt avoids the rhetoric in this piece, and brings, what I feel is, a great journalistic approach to the topic, focusing far more on the opportunities available to those in the quick lube and fast maintenance industry rather than the potential hazards that may spring up. And despite the overall sense of trepidation that seems to surround the topic of vehicle data, those opportunities Matt outlines are plentiful for shop operators.
I won’t give away the details of the story here (I highly recommend you give it a thorough read), but the overall takeaway is apparent very quickly: Shifts in technology and consumer behavior aren’t threats to your livelihood. For those who take a more progressive, solutions-focused approach, there’s plenty to gain from the changes. We can’t control how technology shifts and alters the ways we have to work, but we can control how we react to it. So, let’s push forward.
