Bruce Outridge

Dreaming and Driving

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Bruce

John was loved by everyone, pleasant to be around, but was divorced. He had been driving for many years and always had a good rep-our with the people that he worked with. He usually was gone for many years during the holiday season because he was he was divorced so it didn’t make a difference. This year however he was one of their star drivers and as a reward was given the Holiday Season off with his family. As this was the first year that John was awarded this by the company he and his family had some big plans to make up for lost time in the past. In the regular course of visiting family and friends John was relaxing more and more. He began to enjoy the time off and began to let loose at the parties.

The party with his immediate family was the best, the whole family had arrived, his Dad was getting old and may not be around too much longer so John was determined to make the time extra special. They took pictures of everyone, caught up on new developments, and laughed over old memories. John had forgot all about driving a truck and his job at this point, he was having a great time. He was pacing himself with a few beers before dinner, a little wine as they carved the turkey, and then an after dinner liquor, but who’s counting. Then there was the beer while he celebrated the news of his Nephew to be, and the four beers while watching the hockey game replay with his Dad.

As he decided to leave for home he felt absolutely fine, the drinks had been spread out all day and surely the alcohol had been doused by the large meal and many pastries lining the table. It would only be a short drive home he had thought.

As he insisted he was fine he got in the car and proceeded to drive home. He was in such a good mood that night the drive seemed to be a dream. He was relaxed, happy, and enjoying the time he had off from his demanding job. As he drove down the road he remembered the memories from the night, the laughter, and the good times and then everything went black. He was woken up by the Police officer that noticed his car in the ditch, and opened the door to shut off the blaring horn. As the Paramedics removed John from the front seat he was dazed and unable to figure out where he was, all he remembers is everything going black. The Officer guessed that when John fell asleep he was so drunk and in such a deep sleep that he didn’t even feel the car go off the road and hit the tree, saving it from going off the cliff. John turned out to be okay, the thing that hurts the most is his pride. He now finds the bus very crowded and is still looking for work.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a leadership consultant for the transportation industry. Form more information on Bruce visit his website at www.outridge.ca . Please don’t drink and drive this holiday season.

Publicity-The Best Marketing You Can Get

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Bruce

Leave a Comment

I can’t believe they didn’t take the deal, I can’t believe they let that expertise slip through their fingers. That’s what most of us were thinking as we watched the latest version of Dragon’s Den last night. It was young entrepreneur night and a couple of university students had developed a computerized math game. The game had the attention and resources needed to take it past the scrutinization of the Dragons to create a bidding war. All five Dragons wanted in on the deal but with more equity and sides were taken based on the equity willing to take. In my mind the two young entrepreneurs should have taken the deal even with a 50% stake and gotten all five Dragons. Their counter offer to the Dragons took everyone off the table and the two left the show with nothing. The point is that they were written up in todays local paper as they are from my hometown and will probably get help just from being on the show. There was another little girl who had toeless socks and before her pitch was done my wife was on her website picking out her colour of choice. We have seen the same things happen on shows like American Idol, The Voice, and more where even if they don’t win the competition usually if you are in the top ten you will get some deal from somewhere.

The point of this is as entrepreneurs this may play into a big part of our marketing strategy. Instead of taking ads out in the local paper, or advertising in magazines and such it may be more effective for us to get out there and be in the news. Now I am not suggesting you rob a bank, or hurt someone in any way, but attend events, push yourself to the next level, and so on. For instance through my illustration business we have expanded into video production for clients. Many times the video needs some introduction and many people are not comfortable in front of a camera, so I jump in and do an interview to get it going. This has helped in a number of ways even though the videos aren’t about me. I am now known as an interviewer comfortable in front of the camera, it has made me very comfortable talking with people on camera and made me think quick on my feet when they forget what to say, and every time that video is watched my name goes in front of the people watching. I couldn’t buy that kind of advertising. Maybe you can host an event for your club, or possibly sit on the board of a business group. I am sure pictures will be taken and cameras rolling so you could get some free publicity. Sometimes getting your name on camera without being the centre of attention can be the best marketing possible.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant specializing in the transportation market. For more information please visit his website at www.outridge.ca

When You’re Full You Need to Empty the Glass

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Bruce

5 Comments

This isn’t a post about drinking or how much I drank, this is about knowing when to take some time off. Since most of my posts are about business I am usually on the rant about making sure you are stepping up your game and taking full potential of the opportunities available for the business owner. There is a time when every body needs to wind down and recharge their batteries, but how do you know when that time is? Some people believe they should have every weekend off, my kids think like that. On the other hand some people can go years without taking time off and be perfectly fine, ask any weathered sea man. I am somewhere in the middle. I believe in taking time off when you need it, not for the sake of it.

My businesses operate on different schedules. I have one division that is very busy with corporate clients and the other division is very busy with retail clients. That is not good for a small office because the retail clients are busiest on weekends and after normal work hours. The corporate clients are busy with meetings and programs during the work hours so you can see how this begins to be a problem as far as taking time off. Many Owner Operators fall into this trap due to the fact that their job is to travel and there are so many ways they can be held up from weather to construction, border delays, and more. Like everyone else money isn’t made if the wheels aren’t moving.

The secret to knowing when you should take time off is to know your body. When you start being irritable for no reason unless of course you are normally like that, if you feel sluggish and tired much of the time, or you just feel out of sorts then you may just need a day off. The needs will change with the individual and their profession so don’t go by someone else’s time table. In my mind there is no shame in going to bed early or taking a day off if it will keep you on the top of your game, your business depends on it, however your health depends on good rest and once in a while a day off is the answer.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant with over 30 years experience in the transportation industry. For more information on Bruce and his programs please visit his website at www.outridge.ca

Creating Your Driver of the Year

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Bruce

Leave a Comment

As Chairperson of the Hamilton Niagara Fleet Safety Council it has been a pleasure to see so many people nominated over the years for their professional driving techniques, attention to detail, accident free record for a certain time period, great customer service, and much more. The recipients are awarded with a jacket and other mementos should they win the nomination. If you would like to view the criteria then visit the Fleet Safety Council website and click on the Hamilton Niagara Chapter for details. The actual award is the Rick Grammick Award, a person who was very special to the chapter. You may be asking yourself why I bring all this up as you are not part of the Fleet Safety Council? The reason I bring this up is that in an age of fierce competition in driver recruiting and retention, fleets trying to attract new people to the industry, why wouldn’t each employer hold their own awards internally at their own company? I know in the past it was always a silent function, if you worked at a company and were good they would give you a newer truck, or better runs, or a steady run. All great stuff but it was never mentioned out loud that it was for a good job. I think much of it has to do with the industry being mostly men and bonding is not meant to be shown. As we have come to learn however, is that everyone, both men and women need that feed back and support on a regular basis to help them keep doing their jobs effectively.

We hear a lot about those that have terrible records in the industry and the industry regulations focus on the negative side of transportation on a regular basis. What about the good side, what about the drivers and employees at companies that are doing a good job, and being safe on the roadways? We need to hear more about that throughout the year especially in the workplace. It will help in the recruiting drives, it will help with retention issues, and it will help in company culture. Go to any truck show and you will see guys line up and polish all weekend for that one trophy showing they have the most pride in their trucks. Why not do that for other areas of transportation? Why not have an award for the best customer service, safest driver of the month, etc?

I find too many companies focus on the negative and don’t promote the people doing a good job, and then when that person leaves management doesn’t understand why. This goes for any industry and any company, whatever your product or service, is there is a way create a positive environment for those that deal with it on a regular basis. One of the best programs in the workplace has been the McDonald’s Employee of the Month Program. Why do we not have that in transportation? Why is it only left for truck shows or special events? If you would like to create your own program here is what you do. Find a few areas that can be measured on a regular basis, you may not want to do this monthly, or maybe quarterly works better for you. One might be equipment cleanliness, customer service, on-time deliveries, fuel economy, etc. Road safety and freight incidents may be tracked as another program for a yearly basis. The point is to have something that can be attained and shows off what the top performers are doing and reward them for the hard work they are putting into your company. Many companies do these types of things but they are limited in criteria. For instance you get an award after a million miles of accident free driving. That’s fine, it’s a great milestone to achieve, but you are talking ten years out before you can get that award. Reward your people and you will find that it brings up the workers that need help and awards the ones that are working hard for you. The other choice is to do nothing and wonder why they left.

About the Author

Bruce Outridge is a business and leadership consultant with 30 years of experience in the transportation industry. For more information on his programs please visit his website at www.outridge.ca

Is Your Pricing Structure Hurting Your Business?

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Bruce

1 Comment

There is nothing to that can take away the trust of a customer than non-structured pricing of your products or services. Not to say you can’t have sales, or change pricing but you need to have some kind of structure for it. I work with many event coordinators and some of them will change the pricing based on the client. So one time they are hiring you for $100 and the next time $65.00. This waters down your brand and clients will never feel the pricing is fair. I learned long ago to fix my pricing and add or take away items to try and meet a clients budget. That way you stand firm with your pricing yet don’t feel that you have been taken for a ride. You may lose a few clients but in the end you will be happier about it.