Leadership 2.0 Blog No. 5: James O'Dell, Marketing Manager, Motown Automotive Distributing Co. - aftermarketNews

Leadership 2.0 Blog No. 5: James O’Dell, Marketing Manager, Motown Automotive Distributing Co.

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 hear from James O'Dell, marketing manager, Motown Automotive Distributing Co.

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 hear from James O’Dell, marketing manager, Motown Automotive Distributing Co.
 
Click here to read Blog Post No. 1, here to read Blog Post No. 2., here to read Blog Post No. 3 and here to read Blog Post No. 4 in this weeklong series.

 
Leadership
2.0 is drawing to a close as we complete our last full day of classes.
Yesterday, we discussed the changes happening in our industry by looking
at events that have happened since last autumn, trends in the industry
and what the first Leadership 2.0 class in 1995 thought our industry
would look like today. As we looked at the predictions from that first
class, we found them to be quite accurate. We also discovered that the
manufacturers, program distribution groups and warehouse distributors in
that very first Leadership 2.0 class are very different today.
 
So,
what will the industry look like in another 20 years? Certainly, it
will be different than it is today. Change is constant as the market
finds more efficient ways to meet the needs of consumers. How will your
company adapt to the changing industry to ensure that you will remain
part of a healthy auto care industry? That is a question all of us will
have to answer.
 
In the afternoon, we presented our team
projects. I know those who have been in this program in the past have
gone on to have notable careers in the industry, and after watching all
the presentations, I saw the same kind of potential in all my
classmates. All were driven to present compelling information on
industry issues and passionate about how to solve them. I am sure the
same can be said about every class.
 
I was reminded again this
week of many valuable lessons. I cannot control very many things in life
but I can control my actions and my attitude. As a leader what you do
and the attitude you have will be noticed by all and will set the tone.
Tone is set at the top.
 
Are you ethical, authentic, passionate,
trustworthy, positively impacting the lives of employees and their
families and mentoring future leaders? If you are, then you are leading.
Leadership is not something that is reserved only for those who have
important titles, so I encourage you to be a leader within your
organization.
 
Thank you to all those who fund, teach and make
this program possible. We all are grateful for your contributions in our
lives. I am also grateful to my company, Motown Automotive Distributing
Co. and the University of the Aftermarket Foundation, for allowing me
to attend this wonderful class. I look forward to seeing how those in
this class ultimately impact our industry.
 
 
 

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