This week, in partnership with the University of the Aftermarket, we offer you a front row seat into the Leadership 2.0 experience thanks to participants in this year’s session. Leadership 2.0 is a two-week, residential aftermarket-focused education program hosted by The University of the Aftermarket at Northwood University. The program is designed to develop the leadership and business skills of the next generation of visionary industry professionals. In today’s blog from the front row of Leadership 2.0, we hear from Philip Austin of Standard Motor Products.
BLOG 3
Tuesday was an eye-opening experience. The morning discussion with Brian Cruickshank, director of The University of the Aftermarket, was about the direction of the aftermarket distribution parts channel and how consolidation among these groups has an interesting impact on the entire automotive aftermarket industry.
Dr. Frank Morgan’s session on values allowed all of us to mentally prepare to take ownership of becoming a leader within our organizations in a way that empowers, rather than letting “dominant logic” lead us in the wrong direction. The roundtable-style discussions that took place during the session allowed everyone to see the logical instruction come alive within our conversations. Often, success leads to complacency. We all walked away truly understanding that many factors play a role in our professional success. Values are at the very top of the list.
The afternoon session was mind-blowing, as we received financial insights from the various aftermarket channels. Our instructor, Rick Guirlinger, opened our eyes and truly helped us understand how these insights can add value to market trends within the industry.
Rick opened up with a discussion that led the group to understand that we hopefully all “work to live” rather than live to work. We then spent the balance of the day looking at financial measurements to guide us all into understanding how to use them to our full advantage.
My time in this program reminds me of this quote by Abraham Lincoln: “If you give me six hours to cut down a tree, I will use first four hours sharpening the blade of my axe.” I felt time invested in Leadership 2.0 Tuesday’s session allowed me to become much sharper in my profession. And it’s only the middle of the week!
Editor’s Note: If you missed yesterday’s blog post from Lee Walker, click here.
To learn more about Leadership 2.0, click here.
