At the Helm: Fueling improvement
Reading through the results of the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo Call for Presentations, one of the proposed titles jumped out at me: The Improvement Engine.
As business executives, we all want to find ways to fuel the pursuit of continuous improvement within our companies. But it’s difficult to maintain the high level of energy and focus required by an improvement project. By the time the project is over, most of us feel like we’re out of gas and ready for a return to “normal.”
Yet we know continuous improvement is possible. Just look at the Top 100 Dealers. Many of them have participated in the program since 2005, and still they continue to impress our editors with the long list of improvements they pursue in their businesses each year. In fact, they make it look easy. Improvement seems to be their “normal.” It’s this drive that separates the Top 100 Dealers from the pack, resulting in industry-leading best practices and industry-leading results.
In fact, through the Top 100 Dealers Program, their dedication to improvement fosters a higher level of professionalism throughout the North American dealer body. Their proven strategies for success, which we share with the entire industry through the pages of this magazine, not only inspire other dealers to reach for new heights, but provide them with tried and true methods to get there.
None of that would be possible, however, without the support of our partners, the Top 100 Leadership Alliance. These companies share the drive for continuous improvement, not only within their own businesses, but also across the recreational marine industry.
As we launch the eighth year of this program, the Leadership Alliance has committed to help us keep the mission and message of the Top 100 alive throughout the year. Their passion for supporting and serving the marine dealer body and for recognizing marine dealer excellence comes out of a desire to help raise the bar of professionalism for the entire boating business.
These Leadership Alliance members – Volvo Penta; GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance; Manheim Specialty Auctions; and the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas – are unwavering in their commitment to you, the marine dealer.
As the 2012 boating season gets underway, it’s their willingness to invest in the future of the marine dealer body – and the industry at large – that will ultimately fuel boating’s pursuit of forever higher levels of success.
