In Praise of Pristine Fleets: Part Deux

I liked the fact that James took the time to get the discussion rolling on pristine fleets out there. As per a previous blog , my speaking travels gave me the chance to spend a weekend in Winnipeg a couple weeks back. I spent 2 great days on special shoots for Mark Brandt Trucking, Rik Dhaliwal and a visit to the prestigious, mystical "Winnipeg Cabover Club". Here's your chance to take a peek at a couple of those shoots. For photos of the 4 Kenworth Cabovers click on the link below: http://www.windows2thesoul.com.temp.livebooks.com/#mi=1&pt=2&pi=11000&p=-1&a=0&at=0&pw=cabover If you have a Cabover, feel free to leave the year, make and town in which its at in the comments. Tell us your story! Mark Brandt has one of the nicest fleets anywhere. This is a guy who takes pride in what he does. To check out the photo shoot of one of his Petes click on the link below: http://www.windows2thesoul.com.temp.livebooks.com/#mi=1&pt=2&pi=11000&p=-1&a=0&at=0&pw=lasvegas Full stories on Mark Brandt and the Kenworth Cabover Club will be subject of future wowtrucks.com emails. If you'd like to subscribe, send an email from the email you wish to get them at to david@wowtrucks.com with the title "subscribe". I promise I won't bombard you. Usually 1 to 2 emails are sent each month honoring cool things in Canadian Transport. To all you "pristine" fleets out there. Keep doing what you do! David P.S. As Rick Mercer would say.. If you find yourself in Central Alberta this weekend... why don't you check out the Pro-Trucker Alberta Big Rig Weekend at Westerner Park in Red Deer.

Ditch Your Expectations!

A couple weeks ago an experience taught me the value of being flexible around expectations I have. I was flying into Winnipeg and then driving to deliver a couple workshops on Conflict Management in Sioux Lookout Ontario. I speak in Winnipeg usually twice a month and my rental with National Rent a Car on a previous trip was this great Volvo coupe. It had it all I thought: stylish, sunroof, great handling, the most ergonomic seats I'd ever ridden in.. it was just one of those cars that makes you feel good.

Your chance to get great images of your truck(s): Winnipeg/Area Truck Photo Shoot June 5-6, 2010

I’m excited to get the opportunity to have a weekend free in Winnipeg Saturday June 5 and Sunday June 6. So many of the Wowtrucks Calendar Winners have come from…

Power to the People

I finally figured out why they call our parliament the "House of Commons". Its always seemed an ironic name to me. Watch even 20 minutes of Parliament on TV and you'll soon realize our political parties share very little in common. But I've finally figured it out...

The Sun and a Clean Shave: A Great Principle for Leaders and Managers.

Many of you have heard that Alberta is introducing a "Distracted Driver" law this fall. It will fine people who are distracted while driving. What "distraction" means is at the judgment call of the officer watching you. It may be for talking on your hand held cellphone. It could also be for flossing your teeth or trying to balance a Wendy's Combo Meal on your lap while also navigating the road. This past week I would have been guilty as charged! The culprit: My new electric shaver.

Putting Freight Where it Belongs

I wish two things for you this year: 1) More Cargo in your Truck 2) Less Cargo in your Head You know what cargo in your truck looks like. So what is cargo in your head?

Get Organized!

Maybe this is one of your New Year's Resolutions. That something you've always wanted to improve on but have struggled with. Been there done that. You want to a place to start: Forget filing, Forget buying a PDA or a Daytimer.. all good things but the best place to start is to:

Own the Podium

99 percent of Canadians are either satisfied or really satisfied with the results delivered by Canadian athletes at the recent Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. While the "Own the Podium" program overarching goal of being the number 1 country with medals wasn't reached, our record breaking 14 gold medals and the other incredible stories brought out by the Games had Canadians pumping their chests like I've never seen them pump them before. I've lived in many different regions of our great country and medals were coming out of all of them. The "Own the Podium" program is a good chance to reinforce a couple key leadership principles: 1) People achieve more under greater expectations than with less. Our previous contentment with PBs or Personal Bests was radically challenged when we said we would Own the Podium in Vancouver. The new Goal was specific, measurable and repeated over and over and over so that noone could possibly not understand it. So much so that you could see that our athletes started to believe it. That is a key foundation to success. If we don't believe we can do something .. we very likely will never achieve it. What does your team at work truly believe they can accomplish? 2) The goals were resourced. Through both increased goverment funding and private donations the level of funding of our athletes rose to unpredecented levels. Funding for the best technology. Funding to allow the athletes the ability to focus on their goal and not have to work 2 part time jobs to support it. As a leader, one of the best things we can do when we give employees is to check up front if they have the resources at their disponsible to be successful. Two years ago I was the local Flying J here in Calgary and spotted a retro Team Canada Jersey that I thought was really cool. What was even better was that this high quality jersey was only 19.99 when all the other jerseys around it were 50 bucks! I bought it. While I've got the odd compliment here and there..they rank nothing like the 3 offers to purchase that I had as I travelled from the Calgary airport to Winnipeg just after the Games, to begin a week of speaking. Don't back off having expectations of the people around you and then setting them up for success. Success can be a ton of fun when it brings a nation, community or company together. It also attracts more success. Funding for the Own the Podium program for future Olympics got doubled in our most recent federal budget..one otherwise known for it's goal of freezing costs. David Benjatschek is an award winning trainer/speaker in the areas of Leadership & Communication with a 15 year track record dealing with the Canadian Transport sector. Workshops include Supervisory/Leadership, Dealing with Diffucult People, Presentation/Communication and Priority Management. Visit www.marketbeamer.com or email David: david@marketbeamer.com for more info

Get your 2010 Wowtrucks® Calendar compliments of Shell Rotella®

In my last blog, i mentioned the Wowtrucks® Calendar that I shoot/produce. It pays homage to some of Canada's finest drivers and trucks. I sold out my calendars on January 3 of this year. Shell Rotella* T though, as a major sponsor of this year's showpiece, still has a few copies remaining. They are giving readers of Truck News one last chance to get theirs.

Get What you are Worth in 2010

A couple weeks ago I laid helpless in my dentist’s chair with a power drill down my throat. Rob, my dentist of several years and a towering figure launched into…

Cut to the Chase

I know many of my friends appreciate people who get right to the point, or in other words: ”Cut to the Chase” Cutting to the Chase is also a great thing to remember to do when dealing with conflict.

Be Accountable

As Donna and I await our second child which is due November 20th, I"ve begun to think back to when Mia, our three year old was born. Past the elation and wonder at life's miracles it also hit home as I stared into her beautiful little eyes that, nestled in my arms was someone completely reliant on me. While a part of that was nice, the other realization was the increased importance of my ability to "provide". Its funny how I tend to act in life. If the only person who is effected by my decisions and action or inaction is me: I tend to take a greater laissez-faire attitude. When someone else is relying on me .. I pay more attention. In the case of Mia, the increased urgency to provide was good. It acted as fuel by providing extra purpose to the speaking & photography businesses I'm building. In our work lives, accountability serves the same purpose. If we work in a job where we are not accountable to anyone other than our boss, it can be a dangerous place. When work teams are set up such that members are accountable to each other on a regular basis, great things happen: 1) Team Members get regular feedback. As human beings we need feedback. We need it now, tommorrow, the day after. We constantly need feedback. Praise is great, but knowing where we need to improve is also cool. We just need to know where we stand. While silence should mean "agreement" with a person's performance, we all know that an extended vacuum of feedback is usually filled with negative doubt and not helpful in motivating employees. I've been there. I know many of you have as well. 2) Increased Corporate Profits when misunderstandings are caught sooner than later because employees have expectations of each other that need to be met on a regular basis. Regular expectations of team members from each other, act as "check-ups" to make sure your process is on track to success. When it is not, flags can be raised and misunderstandings corrected (sooner rather than later, when it becomes harder to deal with). 3) Purpose. You've probably all heard of Rick Warren's best seller book the "Purpose Driven Life". The title hits a wish cord in many of us. We all need "purpose" to be motivated and sometimes to simply get us off our butt. I don't know if any of you would say you work better under pressure. I know that is a fact for myself. Regular accountability to each other means regular deadlines which gives me the positive pressure I need to stay focused on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. It can do the same for your team. Use it to your advantage. Accountability is tougher when you deal with remote employees. The danger with remote employees, those you rarely see face to face is that 'out of sight' can also mean out of mind. A system of regular structured communication is doubly important. We all probably know someone who feels cut-off and unimportant in their remote office. The Transportation sector is no exception. Long Haul Transport Drivers can be on the road for weeks at a time. If you are a transport company the question should be: What regular expectations of communication are built into their daily routine? Not just to protect the company but ironically and as importantly, to protect the driver's sanity and levels of motivation. Regular feedback can decrease your risk of driver dissatisfaction, abandoned loads etc. Each accountability point can and should be a feedback opportunity to keep the driver focused on success, yours and theirs. As for me.. a week or less until some increased accountability comes in to my life and I can't wait! In the "nesting mode" that parents get into before kids arrive.. I've updated my speaking website: www.marketbeamer.com. I have met many Transport Sector friends in the Leadership & Communication seminars I facilitate. See you soon!

Turning Up the Heat: Managing Conflict

Lets face it: Most of us struggle with conflict. We either don't like conflict and try to avoid it. Or live for it and create it where its not necessary.. just to see what happens. Conflict exists in every organization. It is human nature. Your personal and organizational success depends on dealing with it effectively.

Expect More

Give me playoff hockey anytime, all the time! The rest: the pre-season and much of the regular season can be a long, sometimes boring warm up to the real thing...