Hitting the Road: Chapter 3
Isn’t it a great feeling when you’re running on all cylinders? Your strengths keep showing up, work is rewarding even when it’s hard, and even your mistakes don’t seem too bad. The last couple of months I invited you to consider some of the details of what it’s like for you to be on ‘your road’ and what signs you rely on to ensure you are on it. Now, what happens when the sun goes down?
What lights up your road when it gets dark? Just like we count on streetlights, and headlights when driving, we can learn to use ‘lights’ to help us see and stay on our road when it gets dark. As with all other components of our road (and this metaphor), it’s ultimately up to you to determine the right answer for you, but here are a couple of the most common and universal things that I see lighting the road for remarketers
I. Headlights: Purpose
Your headlights go where you go, just like your purpose. Having at least a sense of why you are on this planet, and an understanding of the staggering odds that put you here is like flicking on the headlights in the dead of night. Unfortunately, most of us spend too much time with one headlight out, and the other stuck on low beam and shining through a cloudy cover.
It’s easy to let go of our purpose. The daily grind can do that to us. It can also slip because holding it takes an element of faith. I’m not sure how fully you can know your purpose without having some very explicit belief behind it, and there is a difference between knowing and believing. Whether that faith comes out of religious doctrine, other spirituality, family and community influence, a deep feeling in your core, or beyond is up to you. Typically, knowing your purpose, your “why,” is the first and best way to light up your road.
If a passenger in your car said turn left here, you’d see what your headlights are illuminating first before turning the wheel. Checking in with your purpose offers you confidence and agency, even when the road ahead is unknown and dark. If you’re not fully in touch with your purpose, well, that’s a different article. Luckily, there are some great resources available, like Simon Sinek’s Start with Why and Find your Why.
II. Streetlights: Truth
If headlights help show what’s in front of you, streetlights can show you what’s out there. Sometimes it’s important to seek and accept the truth of what is. I’m thinking of Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Vacation telling his family “we’re experiencing a part of the country we wouldn’t otherwise see,” instead of saying “we’re lost,” as he steers the family truckster through a bad part of St. Louis. His tune changes when a gunshot and screams ring out, heralding the arrival of the truth all at once. Hey, comedy was different in 1983, but that moment was a ‘roll up the windows and hit the gas’ moment for the Griswold family.
We think we see the truth clearly all the time, but are often operating on bad assumptions, incomplete information, and biases toward what we want to be true. To find the truth we often need to change our perspective – or source of illumination. My purpose (headlights) might not be pointing me down this side street, and the corner might not be well lit, but if I can see a streetlight down that road a bit, it gives me a kernel of knowledge – new truth – that there is a road there.
In remarketing, we’re lucky to have some incredible streetlights available:
· Data: Measuring our performance, and, if we’re smart, the activities that lead to those outcomes.
· Co-workers: Which peers, employees, and supervisors do you trust to ask a question like: “What’s the biggest thing you think I could do to improve my performance?”
· Industry Relationships: You can’t read the label from inside the bottle. Asking for perspective from outside your company can offer huge perspective shifts. By the way: For those in Remarketing, have you seen ARA’s Hand Up Program? Our industry’s premier mentor matching program is perfect for this.
· Professional Resources: If it’s time to go deeper, there are now online, affordable counseling resources available, and we have professional leadership coaches in the ranks of remarketing, all here to help you see more clearly.
When it gets dark, our purpose helps keep us pointed in the right direction, and the truth helps us see where we are. Which one could you use more of on your road right now? What else lights the way for you?
Joe Miller is the Founder of Awareness to Action Coaching where he empowers our industry and the community with coaching and content for current and future leaders. After 15 years in the heart of our industry as an executive at AutoIMS, Joe brings a unique understanding of the remarketing industry and a passion for helping leaders reach their potential. You can see more of Joe’s content on LinkedIn or schedule time with him directly or contact Joe with questions.