There are going to be huge changes to our industry in the coming year. The changes will be expensive. They will be hard to learn. Sales will drop and expenses will soar.
Have you ever felt that way? The fact is, there are big changes coming, but that isn’t a new thing. Big changes came when the industry was brand new in the early part of the twentieth century and the pioneers of our industry had to figure out how it worked. More big changes came during World War II when scrap metal went to the war industry, and manufacturers stopped making cars and trucks for civilian consumers. Even more changes came when environmental concerns started to affect the way cars are processed or even thought of. New ways of thinking and doing were implemented by even the smallest of salvage yards as it became apparent that yard management systems, as well as a means of marketing outside of the local area, were going to be necessary if we wanted to stay in existence.
Now we are faced with changes in the technology of the vehicles we dismantle and recycle. I would say that in between all of those big changes, were hundreds, if not thousands, of smaller changes that the industry has made over the years.
Some changes are easier to make than others, but we constantly face change.
Just as has been happening for the last century, this coming year is going to bring changes. I don’t even know what most of them are, but they will inevitably happen whether we like it or not. At our yard, we have a plan for some changes that we hope will make us a better company with a future full of relevance and sustainability. We have long-range goals and plans that will require change, but the ones that we all struggle with are the changes that we must make due to circumstances outside of our control – things like changing technology, regulation, or even societal changes.
If we step back and try to see it all, it can be overwhelming. But for 2024, I urge you to not focus on everything all at once. Instead, look at the changes in smaller segments which are easier to handle. “Take it one day at a time,” they say. The calendar I have says there are 366 days in 2024, which is a leap year. That is a lot of small steps we can take towards those changes.
Instead of focusing on the changes we have to make, it is also good to spend time thinking about the changes we get to make: improvements to our facilities, our business, and ourselves. You don’t have to make a resolution; you only have to make a plan. (Insert your favorite cliché here.) Charles Darwin is credited with proposing the theory of survival of the fittest. That isn’t quite right. What he was really proposing was survival of species that were able to adapt to change – changes in climate, predators, foraging, etc. While I do not in the least believe that animals and the human race evolved over the millennia from some random life form that was banged into existence, there is no denying that things evolve and change. So, don’t worry if you think your business may not be the fittest, just focus on being the most adaptable.
My favorite maxim comes from our former ground water consultant, Bill West. I remember him saying in regard to business: “Little pigs get fat; big pigs get slaughtered.” Don’t worry about the changes coming. I know you are going to rise to the occasion, and as an industry we will become better as we adapt together.
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