Good bye July, hello August. I can't believe I'm hearing myself say that. Hopefully my farewell takes the heat along with it. I'm betting all of you have mustered through the intense heat we've been experiencing. You know, only in Iowa can you reach 120 heat index and negative 30 below zero within a five month increment!
I was thankfully able to dodge the heat for a few days but only to come back to an office of chaos in preparation for the upcoming expo. Amongst the chaos, it hit me that we were preparing for a 50th celebration. That would explain it, huh? So, as you can imagine, one thought led to another. Are we doing this? Did we confirm that? What if? Who? And so on and so forth. My anxiety quickly halted when I got the "mom look" from our event planner. Come on, no one ever wants the "mom look." But, of course, my pondering didn't stop. Go figure, right?
I got to thinking, 50 years. That's half a century. When people approach me to congratulate us on our tenure I smile politely and sincerely appreciate the acknowledgement. What I don't do is realize what it means to have survived the cruel business world we work in for this long and how the heck we did it?!
How did we do it? Well, ultimately (and as most of you already know or should know) our success lies in the commitment and trust of our employees and colleagues both past and present as well as the support of our customers and community. My gratitude for that is an entire newsletter in itself. But, as ironic as it is, a lot of the credit is in fact due to our obligation of keeping up with the innovations our industry so frequently provides us; or in it's broadest term, TECHNOLOGY!
Seriously, think about it. We have to run our business by way of the future because implementing the right technology has proven results. Everyone wants faster, smaller, the most cost-effective, and the list goes on. Take for example your desktop, which became your notebook which then became your tablet which will become the size of your smart phone with 3D capabilities, a keyboard that virtually appears out of thin air and does your laundry like clockwork! Okay, that's a bit extreme but it's my attempt of really drilling down my point.
There's always a point (or two or three with me). We have survived and prospered for 50 years because we believe that change is a GOOD thing and that staying in front of your competition is even better! Without incorporating the technological advances of today, it's hard to compete, but still it's even harder to change. That's where we come in.
Ok, here comes the salesman in me, but I promise no 30 second elevator pitch. Many businesses don't get just how dynamic we are which is why I'm going to, again, encourage you to join us for our August 25th Tech Expo. I'm inviting you to be the judge of our success. I think you'll be amazed at what you find and what really defines tenure for us and our customers alike.
Cheers,
Mike Brogan, President
