If you were to ask 1,000 people what James Bond looks like, most Baby Boomers would describe one of the actors who played him in the ’60s and ’70s, most likely Sean Connery. Some old timers might say it was Barry Nelson, who played James Bond in the 1950s TV series. Members of Generation X would describe Timothy Dalton or maybe Pierce Brosnan. I haven’t got a clue who would describe Daniel Craig. Great movies, but he just doesn’t look the part.
The point is, time goes on, even though we all tend to get stuck in an era we lived through. I always get a kick out of a story Paul McCartney tells from when he first met his daughter’s new boyfriend back in the ’80s. The young man politely asked McCartney: “Didn’t you used to play in a band?”
It’s OK to remember or even to love the way things used to be, but it is essential for all of us to move on. So don’t get stuck in the past, but be very wary of the motives of those touting new things.
The car business is never going to be the way it was again. Everything around us is changing and we need to go with the flow. After 38 years in the industry, I find myself constantly re-educating, re-inventing and learning new things. I am creating new processes, word-tracks and marketing innovations. Hey, we have to go where no one has gone before, right? And customer-friendly sales do not necessarily mean low profit or no profit.
Read the full article on Auto Dealer Monthly here.
