The Veteran’s View: By Dennis Mitchell The party is over. All the paper and confetti have been cleaned up, so now what? The end of the year holiday season is such a positive time, but after New Year’s Day and before Easter is a long span. What’s going to fill that time, good intentions or you just going through the motions until something else comes along? Will you even recognize that something when it happens? Then, when that “something” happens, did it happen to you or for you? Last month I mentioned how with the potential of an expanding economy each of us need to be making an effort to search out new possibilities for our business and to start making plans for the potential to move or maybe expand in a different direction. Note to self: use caution. Don’t jump ship unless you are certain what waters you are jumping into. This is good advice no matter what the nature of your business. I’m always wary of salespersons (recruiters, carrier representatives, or any other third party presentations) who are offering me that “deal” of a lifetime. If it’s such a good deal, why are they offering it to me and not taking it for themselves? Could it be the only profit is in the sale, not in the ownership or operations? If you need a real life example, the Navy posts sharpshooters on the deck of their ships in a position of accessibility and at the ready whenever they have any swimmers in waters known to have sharks or other predatory dangers lurking. Having been one of those swimmers, I can attest to the relief knowing that someone had by back. Today, I don’t think it’s necessary to hire sharpshooters, but it’s always a good idea to have a qualified financial, legal, and accounting person on your team, if for no other reason than to use as a sounding board to bounce potential ideas off and get their feedback before you jump. I have written before about the necessity of having qualified members on your team. Even if you don’t employ them on your payroll, it’s good to have access to their knowledge and expertise. No person is an island onto themselves. Each of us may have a specialty, but none of us are so special that we don’t need help or assistance from others. I have known many successful people in my life, but to a person when asked how they became successful, they all gave credit to others, often outlining tech manuals and procedures or guidelines set forth by people more successful than them. I once asked Don Schneider (owner of SNI, Schneider National Inc.) how he knew so much about running a trucking company. His response kind of shocked me at the time. However, years later, I understood what he was referring to. His response was simply, “I don’t need to know anything about trucking except how to hire the first person. That person will in turn hire additional people who will each bring a new and different perspective to the company. Over the course of time the direction and scope of our team will ultimately be managed by me (himself), but I can only reduce or refine the assets I have available.” That short but very memorable conversation has served me well over the years. Even though Mr Schneider is now passed on from this life, his legacy still lives as a testament to his leadership. Like so many others, I moved on from his organization, but not before I followed more of his advice. “Make sure your Plan B is just as sound as the Plan A.” Learn to take advantage of all the opportunities offered you in the company or organization you currently work with. Far too often we only measure success in terms of dollars on the settlement check. If we are not generating enough of them, it’s considered to be a failure. In reality, failure may not be the fault of your carrier. Trust me, they are just as interested in 46 10-4 Magazine / February 2025 CREATING SUCCESS
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