At a recent automotive aftermarket event, I got into a lively discussion with some other industry veterans (hint: we all have grey hair) about what has made the aftermarket successful over the years. As one might expect, we all shared the same thoughts, and questioned if these factors are still valued today. Staying close to the customer, retaining good employees, quality parts, fulfilling orders and sales support were just a few of the subjects we pursued. Are the customer relationships really meaningful or superficial? Of course, we all agreed it is time to ensure that our words match the music (our actions/commitments)!
This brings me to the word "renaissance," a rebirth, re-awakening or a revival, a cultural rebirth.
Today, our changing business world demands leaders who challenge accepted practices and develop a broad range of skills and talents. Perhaps now is the time to review the past and to gain wisdom from our experiences. Leaders today spend a huge amount of time crunching numbers, which tends to leave little time for relationships and building for the future.
Renaissance leaders utilize both their analytical acumen and their intuition.
According to Jacob Burkhardtis, Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy, (1878) "It was an ‘in between time,’ with many seeking the rise of individualism (sound familiar?), the new economic reality of states and the decline of feudal power as a paradigm shift. Renaissance thinkers saw opportunity and created new approaches, new institutions, new forms of art and literature and new ways of thinking. They leveraged emerging technology to make things happen and they found centres of excellence which became lighthouses for what the future held.”
Perhaps there is a lesson here for all of us!
Yogi Berra, the Italian baseball star, once stated, “The future isn’t what it used to be.” He was spot on. The business world is rapidly becoming a different place – Renaissance world, in fact – with new patterns of behavior.
When one seeks a definition of the new Renaissance in today’s knowledge age, a thesaurus offers synonyms such as regeneration, revitalization and reawakening.
Automotive Aftermarket Renaissance leaders need to be people who have the capacity to link a wide range of disciplines that include manufacturing, distribution and the blurring lines between traditional and retail distribution, as well as lead and motivate a diverse workforce!
The rebirth of our industry means responding to the tremendous increase in global competition, the changing nature of competition, the vast explosion of new technology and the dramatic changes in demographics.
It is interesting to note that in 1980, Walter Light of Nortel articulated the following profile of a Renaissance leader:
· Exhibiting insight (into globalization and the knowledge economy)
· Practicing innovation (putting new knowledge into action in a manner that makes a difference in performance)
· Utilizing imagination as the foundation for innovation (the ability to apply out-of-the-box thinking in dealing with complex challenges)
· Nurturing collaboration and co-creation (helping diverse groups to work together efficiently and effectively to co-create new products and processes)
· Practicing "Systems Thinking" (the ability to see the big picture and to integrate content, development concepts, implementation processes, learning and leadership skills to utilize new information and communication technologies)
· Inspiring others (ability to excite others to function in this manner)
· Honoring diversity (acknowledging the critical need for diverse ideas and approached to support breakthrough innovations)
As leaders, we often fail to consider the past (history) because we have an unhealthy sense of our own uniqueness, and the events around us are peculiar to our time. The key is to see the connection and recognize the parallels between the past market conditions and the present challenges, thus the need for a rebirth, a Renaissance.
Dan Quayle believed, “the future will be better tomorrow!”
According to Stephen Murgatroyd, there are six characteristics of Renaissance leadership:
· Practice personal mastery – They have high integrity and view self-awareness as a prerequisite for leadership. They work hard to develop their capacity to innovate, and to inspire others to join them in making the world a better place.
· Apply a "glocal" mindset – They have a keen sense of history and seek a holistic understanding of changes taking place on a global scale. They use this global perspective as they address local challenges and seize opportunities (global and local – hence “glocal”).
· Accelerate cross-boundary learning – They constantly seek to satisfy an intense curiosity about every facet of human life, past and present, scientific and artistic, technical and social. They guide others in distilling meaning from a morass of information, and efficiently apply their learning in creative ways to nurture innovation and drive improved performance.
· Think back from the future – They are readily able to imagine and articulate alternate futures and work back from there – connecting with lessons from the past to better understand the present and choose among possible paths to the future they see.
· Lead systematic change – They are system thinkers who seek out patterns, inter-connections and inter-dependencies. They are skilled in seeking common ground and nurturing productive collaboration across diverse parts of a system – be it an organization, a sector, a community, a network – to solve complex problems and drive large-scale change.
· Drive performance with a passion – They care that their leadership makes a substantive and sustainable difference, and are relentless in their commitment to performance. They articulate clear (and high) expectations of themselves and others, create focused strategies for innovating to achieve these ends, and are disciplined about assessing progress.
The ideal Renaissance leader will drive change and invent the future, while looking back and learning from the past. We need to value and celebrate what made the wonderful automotive aftermarket what it is today – and strive each day to make it even greater!
In an age of increasing specialization, attaining balance requires going against the grain. This is what makes a Renaissance leader!
