The most important thing to succeed in business is your attitude. Are you open to change. Are you ready, willing and able? Are you disposed to learn something new?

I recently had a conversation with the owner of a transmission shop that went like this:

"Hi, my name is Paul Esch. I want to introduce myself. I don’t believe we’ve ever met. I work with leaders to improve business performance." The air in the room was still. So was his shop. "I’m not interested," he said and he handed back my brochure.

I asked him, "Do you think it’s harder to make a buck in the business today?" He said, "Yes, the business has changed a lot since I started."  I replied, "I appreciate your honesty. How is business today?" "Business is slow," he said. "How come?" I asked. He answered, "Cars are built better and people don’t always fix their transmissions.” 

I said, "One of my vehicles is a ’99 Buick Regal with nearly 200K on it. Do you think the transmission could fail some day?" He answered, "Yes, but you probably wouldn’t fix it. Today, people go out and buy new."

I asked him, "Aren’t there more vehicles on the road today and weren't more vehicles sold between 2001 to 2003 with 0% financing that have come out of warranty by now?" He reacted with, "We’re getting more competition from the other shops and car dealers all the time."

I tried another approach. "Do you think that you might have an opportunity to develop more fleet business?" He said, "We already have a couple good accounts, but most of them are a pain in the neck." 

I told him, "I work with business owners who want to work on their business, not just in it, when they’re ready. Do you want to keep my card?" He replied, "No thanks. I don’t want to change. I’m not interested in what you’re selling."

So I went across the street to another business.  On the wall near the front counter were seven glass framed certifications. This owner so valued education and improvement that he had seven master level technicians working in his shop. I asked him if it was true. This is so rare, most shops are lucky to have one master tech. He verified it starting with his own certification! Plus he had two service advisors who had the training to keep those technicians busy all day. He had invested in many development courses over the years and his business success was evident that day. We visited for a while and he was open to ideas for improvement. He was genuinely interested in the Bottom Line Impact Group business owner peer group I mentioned and wanted to know who else had tried them. He indicated he had to get back to work, but we planned to talk again soon. He went back to helping his customers and staff.  I look forward to working with him.

What a contrast! Can you see the difference that "attitude" makes in our businesses?