Leadership 2.0, the University of the Aftermarket’s annual Leadership Development Program, officially began its second session Sunday at Northwood University’s West Palm Beach, Fla., campus. This week, several participants in this year’s class will bring us their firsthand perspective on the experience. Today, we present blog entry No. 4 from Dan Gatins, NAAM financial analyst for Tenneco. 
And down the stretch they come!
Wednesday marked the final day of “business as usual” at the University of the Aftermarket’s Leadership 2.0 program. With our group presentations today and just a half day tomorrow for graduation, the end of a great week is in sight; it is an end that will come with many friends made, many lessons learned, and most importantly, many questions provoked.
Yesterday’s lesson was from Rick Guirlinger, formerly of General Parts International. It was his second session about finance as it relates to the aftermarket, and more importantly, to the industry and macro-economic conditions today. Though a difficult subject matter to convey, Rick proved today why it is important for aftermarket leaders to have an understanding of the financial impact of decisions that are made every day in business transactions throughout our companies and elsewhere. Rick exemplified why it is important for leaders in this industry to not only have a grasp of how their business decisions are impacted by financial conditions and decisions, but more importantly, how to take control of important factors.
I’d like to supplement something I read in yesterday’s blog by John Tully in which he challenged the reader to take a step out of their comfort zone and give a minute of their time for self-reflection, introspection, and the betterment of themselves. As I read his thoughts on the blog yesterday, I couldn’t help but think about how that challenge aligns with what each participant’s employer was thinking when they asked one of their own to participate in Leadership 2.0: Use the perspectives you know, supplement them with the knowledge you have gained and drive your business forward with what you’ve learned.
http://www.aftermarketnews.com/Item/112456/leadership_20_blog_day_three_with_john_tully_of_norwood_motor_parts_co.aspx
“There is no greater burden than great potential.” This quote from Peanuts creator Charles Schulz came up in our Monday lesson from Dr. John Passante, and really struck a chord with our group. Within this class is the core of our industry’s future.
This may be a burden, but not the negative sort. It is the impetus for action upon that potential. Our discussions and learning together as a whole have made it abundantly clear to me this group is willing to learn from past experience, grasp the present state of the business, and blend that experience and understanding to propel the industry into the future, however it may manifest.
Yesterday evening, we really got a chance to experience what team building and camaraderie in a group are all about. I can say with confidence that the learning process has been very positively influenced by the relationships cultivated in the short amount of time that we have had together. With that in mind, like my predecessors in the blogosphere have offered, I lay a challenge to all those who are reading this: If a group of incredibly diverse individuals (like those in this class) can learn from each other, confide in each other and cultivate strong leadership principles that they can apply in the real world in just two weeks of training, what can your team and/or business accomplish by working together every single day?
Finally, I would like to personally thank all of my classmates for their zeal, the facilitators of the Leadership 2.0 sessions for their wisdom and my employer Tenneco for its unrelenting support. Your words, actions, attitude and most of all, passion for this industry are what has fueled its success for so long and our collective commitment to serve the customer, watch out for each other, and develop our own future is what will keep us going for the indefinite future.
