Wheels in Motion

My Annual Battery Pack Rejuvenation

2012-02-16T16:55:00.000-05:00

For the past four years, the folks at Wofford College inSpartanburg, South Carolina have been kind enough to invite me to speak attheir Sophomore Experience event (http://www.wofford.edu/center/sophomoreexperience/). Scott Cochran, the Dean of Wofford’s Centerfor Professional Excellence, is a dear friend of mine and someone I will writeabout in more detail in a future blog.

The important thing today is the sense of rejuvenation I amfeeling after my visit to Wofford. NEVERlet someone use broad generalizations to tear down today’s youth. The liberal arts students I meet every yearat Wofford inspire me to no end and this year’s crop was particularlyintriguing. They included futurebusinesspeople, doctors, entrepreneurs, attorneys, poets, activists,psychologists, accountants, musicians, car traders…the list is as varied as youmight expect.

The engagement, passion and enthusiasm these students sharedwith me, however, was somewhat unexpected. These young people are cautiously idealistic: They want to change the world for the betterbut they know it will take smarts, hard work and commitment, all of which theyhave in abundance.

When I returned to work after my visit, I was already prettypumped up. Then a box containing theSteve Jobs biography arrived. Evenbetter, the students had taken the time to write personalized notes thanking mefor MY inspiring them. They had itbackwards: As gratifying as it was to beappreciated for my time, THEY are the ones who inspired me and gave my batteries an annual mid-winter re-charge. Thanks Wofford. Keep emailing me updates as you chase down those dreams.

WhatAm I Reading?

Netherland by Joseph O’Neill came outin 2008 and somehow completely escaped my attention (despite apparently beingwidely publicized as the first novel that Barack Obama read on his summervacation in 2009!)

Netherland is told by Hans, a bankertransplanted from the Netherlands, who is struggling to find his way in NewYork after his wife and son head to the U.K. in the aftermath of the 9/11attacks. Hans stumbles upon a variedcast of immigrants who bond over cricket matches played in the shadows of NewYork overpasses and other odd places they’ve conquested to play the world’smost popular stick-and-ball game.

This story about strangers in themargins who struggle to make it in a city where they are often anonymous isboth intimate and wide scale.

Unsung Heroes

2012-01-20T14:37:00.000-05:00

Every organization has them, those unsung heroes who show up every day and often toil in the shadows of more high profile members. Like offensive lineman of the gridiron, they aren’t afraid to get dirty even as they do the blocking and tackling for superstar quarterbacks and running backs who get more glory and inspire kids to wear their jerseys.

At GWC Warranty, those unsung heroes are our teammates in the Claims Department. They are somewhat anonymous (until they’re needed!) and tend to stick together in a tight unit in the back quadrant of our office. But each and every one of them has an enormous impact on our company’s results:

They handle an unbelievably high volume of calls every day, generally from the moment they sit down to the time they go home. Those calls directly translate to our bottom line results.
They are on the front line in dealing with our customers, dealers, service shops and parts vendors. And generally, their contacts occur when something has gone wrong (or is about to!)
They are master negotiators, ensuring that we meet our obligations in a fair, timely manner while giving respectful service. That means saying “no” at times in the nicest possible manner.
They are the living embodiment of our “No Worries, Just Drive” motto. It’s what we sell. When the Claims Department adjusters do their jobs, they ensure we live up to our customers’ expectations.

So, today, I want to give a special shout out to these unsung heroes. I could call them out individually if I had room, but instead let me just give particular props to Brett, Ed and Big John, the seasoned Managers and captains of the group (as well as our newest Manager, Jon). They lead, mentor and inspire their teams and for that we (especially Archie and I) are grateful. Thanks!

What Am I Reading?

Nightwoods by Charles Frazier: The new novel by the author of Cold Mountain tells the story of a woman in the rurals of 1960’s North Carolina suddenly given charge of her deceased sister’s mute but wild two children. Things take a turn for the worse when their murderous father turns up looking for his missing loot. Frazier is an incredibly gifted storyteller with an incredible knack for simple details that bring the time and place to life.

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-01T11:46:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! It's already 2012 and time for Resolutions, which I make sporadically and keep haphazardly! However, this year there area few areas I HAVE to improve in.

First, I resolve to stop swearing. This has been an ongoing vice for me but it has really gotten ugly lately. If only certain expletives weren't so versatile; what other words can serve as nouns, verbs AND adjectives, sometimes in the same phrase? Regardless, I've got to stop, probably cold turkey. I somehow managed to raise the two older kids without infecting them, but I fear for my 8-year-old, who is much more impressionable!

So, if you're reading this and you know me, please help me by administering any necessary admonishments when I slip up. You'll be doing all of us a favor.

Second, I resolve to slow down, particularly when driving. After three speeding tickets in the past two years (Steve from Allstate, please be merciful: Nobody got hurt except my pride!), I need to become one of those drivers that dawdles down the road in front of you causing you to wonder "What in the heck is wrong with him?" (Notice how I worked Resolution 1 into that last sentence?) It's either that or risk becoming a permanent passenger with Jeanette or Chris as we head down the mountain to work, and nobody wants that.

What Am I Reading?

The Leftovers by Tom Perotta. A Rapture-like event has occurred and the residents of a small town are grappling with how to make sense of their lives knowing that for inexplicable reasons they were not chosen. And, at the same time, fill the holes in the town's fabric left by those who were.

What Are You Reading?

2011-12-19T15:59:00.001-05:00

Those of you who have had the (pleasure?) of interviewing with me you probably had to come up with an answer to that question. And if you are currently working for us, you probably came up with a good one!

I ask this for several reasons: First, I’m genuinely interested in understanding what makes a person tick, what they’re interested in and how they occupy their mind in quiet times. Second, I have found that the smartest, most creative people I know tend to be life-long readers. Third, I believe that you have to continually challenge and inspire your mind if you expect to keep it sharp over the course of a career.

By the way, it doesn’t matter so much WHAT you read, just that you DO read. Business books, novels, magazines – they’re all valuable. While I subscribe to about 15 magazines, The New York Times, the local paper and several online magazines that are personalized for me, I also try to have one or more books going at the same time.

So, I’m adding a new feature to the blog that will hopefully inspire you to pick up a book of your own (maybe even one I’ve described).

What Am I Reading?

The Last Greatest Magician in the World by Jim Steinmeyer. This biography of Howard Thurston, who at one time rivaled Houdini but today is all but forgotten, is a fascinating look into the worlds of illusion and show business in the early 20^th Century.

“I Choose Not to Participate In That!”

2011-11-21T17:01:00.000-05:00

Our Vice President of Agency Development, Marty Walsh, is becoming well-known within GWC for his quick wit and snappy comebacks. My favorite of Marty’s golden nuggets is a response he learned years ago whenever someone complained about the tough economy: “I choose not to participate in that!”

What a great and self-fulfilling attitude! And it’s worth keeping top of mind as we all continue to grapple with the ongoing “Great Recession.” In fact, more than a few of GWC’s Dealer Consultants have done just that. In a market that on a year-to-date basis has seen used vehicle sales by Independent dealers increase by 5% (or well below the 12+% forecasts we saw at the beginning of the year), many of our Dealer Consultants have “chosen not to participate” in the doom and gloom:

· Cindy H. has taken her sales in a market where we added several DCs up by almost 75%!

· Becky E. has grown her “mature” market up by almost 50%!

· Dominic L. moved into an underserved territory and has expanded it by about 45%!

· Jim J., Ruthie S., Sal R. and Kent N. have all taken their existing markets up by 30+% this year!

I could go on and on; in fact, these high performers are among a large cadre of top sellers who are successfully demonstrating to dealers across the country that GWC’s products and people add tremendous value to their businesses.

The next time someone tells you that the economy is tough, think about our great GWC sales team, including the champs listed above, and tell them “I choose not to participate in that!”

Thanks, Steve, and Godspeed.

2011-10-06T14:54:00.001-04:00

Steve Jobs’ passing yesterday is a reminder of our fragility and the fleeting nature of time. Steve’s life, however, is also a reminder of how awesome it is to be alive, brimming with ideas and making the world a better place.

As Steve’s health waned over the past few years, I found myself becoming sadder and sadder over what appeared to be the inevitable: That we would lose an inimitable cultural icon who had touched our lives in a myriad of ways.

Stanley Bing’s column in Fortune a few weeks ago was prescient in capturing why we will miss Steve and could serve as a great eulogy: The Bing Blog: Thanks, Steve.

On a personal level, I will never forget watching my young son fall in love with his first iPod in 2003, cradling it under his pillow each night as he went to sleep. As a confessed music geek myself, the iPod transformed my travels by allowing me to take 25,000 of my favorite songs with me everywhere I went. And, after forcing myself to hold off until the iPad2 came out earlier this year, I walked around for days telling everyone in earshot that I was in love with that amazing gadget. In fact, it’s 8 months later and I’m still doing it!

What can I say? I love Steve Jobs and Apple in a way that is hard even for me to understand. But my life and the lives of millions of people around the world are cooler, richer and more fun than they would have been without Apple, Pixar and all the other miracles that Steve Jobs envisioned. And for that, I can only humbly say “Thanks, Steve, and Godspeed.”

The Art of Compromise

2011-08-03T16:55:00.000-04:00

The recent spectacle in Washington D.C. over raising the debt ceiling leads to some obvious questions: Why have we let compromise become such a dirty word? Why is it acceptable for powerful people to demonize their opponents? And why have graceful negotiation tactics (sometimes known as “win-win”) all but disappeared from our political scene?

These are not just idle musings. The ramifications of the recent debt ceiling fiasco are significant to all of us who invest or borrow money (i.e., all of us). In fact, GWC’s financial advisors were even sharing regular updates on the possible impacts of this on our very conservatively invested reserves. This simply illustrates just how deep this issue cuts across our financial universe.

Everyone in business knows that it is very rare that one side gets everything it wants. In fact, those of us who lead businesses know that we cannot demand everything we want (at least not for very long) from customers, suppliers or employees without running the business into the ground. GWC is constantly managing the delicate balance of providing for our Dealer Partners, looking out for the best interest of our customers, and supporting our employees. We understand that no business is healthy when one of its key segments is weak.

Perhaps that’s a lesson that needs to be clearly articulated to those we’ve elected to lead our country.

Are you a Hedgehog or a Fox?

2011-06-08T17:10:00.002-04:00

by Rob Glander, GWC President and CEO

One of my neighbors, in the process of packing for a move to Florida, asked me if I wanted any of his business books. I quickly grabbed his copy of “Good to Great” by Jim Collins, which I last read when it was published in 2001. Hard to believe it’s been 10 years since this groundbreaking work came out, but the lessons it shared still ring true.

One of my favorites is Collins’ appropriation of the ancient Greek parable: “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” Companies that go from Good to Great understand what they can be the best in the world at and then focus single-mindedly on that.

In the midst of a continuing tough economy, it’s easy for all of us to be distracted by the day’s challenges, false hopes and fads. Instead, we at GWC are rededicating ourselves to focusing on what we do better than anyone else: Deliver the “No Worries. Just Drive” service contract experience to our thousands of dealers and end customers across the U.S.

Thanks for the 10-year reminder, Jim.

Ribbon Cutting

2011-04-29T15:38:00.002-04:00

by Rob Glander, GWC President and C.E.O.

This past Wednesday, GWC hosted about 150 guests at the ribbon cutting and open house celebrating our new office. Our Coal Street location in Wilkes-Barre, PA is the 4^th space GWC has occupied since its founding as Guardian Warranty 16 years ago. Each move has represented an important step in the company’s growth. This beautiful space represents our company’s past success as well as our future aspirations.

Several years ago, Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton laid out a vision for the Coal Street complex that would rescue it from disrepair and restore the happiness of its glory days. We were inspired by the Mayor’s commitment to this project and are proud to be part of this energizing community. While we are a nationwide company, GWC Warranty is delighted to call the City of Wilkes-Barre our new home.

GWC Warranty now occupies more than 16,000 square feet of space which houses our claims administration, contract processing, and executive offices. A 72-person training room gives us the ability to host high-level training programs for partners and employees.

The transformation of GWC’s headquarters itself took just about a year to complete. Just 5 months ago we were standing in a completely undeveloped space. We have many people to thank for turning that empty space into a world class office that our employees are proud to call home:

· Coal Street Redevelopment (including John Aciukewicz)

· The Wilkes-Barre City Council

· Mayor Leighton and his staff (most notably John Koval, who worked out the details of this deal with us over several months)

· The Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business & Industry (in particular, John Augustine who introduced us to this site last year)

· Tony Bevilaqua from Sordoni Construction Services, who served as our construction manager

· Jim Kline from Sordoni, who was the onsite superintendant every day during construction

· Highland Associates, our Architects. (In particular, Charlie Consagra who convinced us to go big and bold with the space. Also, Denise Luikart from Highland, whose design genius can be found in every square inch of this space)

· I’d also like to note that Jason Fondren, the artist who created the beautiful paintings in our gallery under a very tight schedule, made the trip over from New York to be with us for the opening.

· Finally, Joe Brennan, GWC’s Vice President of Operations, who lived and breathed this project from its initial inception through this reception. All in his spare time while doing his day job! Thanks so much Joe.

GWC Warranty is proud to be a leading provider of vehicle service contracts in the U.S. We bring the “No Worries. Just Drive” experience to dealers and drivers nationwide.

And, we are thrilled to occupy this state of the art facility, from which we will continue to deliver that experience for our customers.

Moving Day

2011-03-31T16:04:00.000-04:00

by Rob Glander, GWC President and CEO

I’m writing this surrounded by boxes, noise and the general commotion that accompanies a move. And I couldn’t be happier.

Today, GWC is relocating to an amazing new office at 40 Coal Street in Wilkes-Barre: 18,000+ square feet of exquisitely designed (thanks, Highland Associates) space above the number one sports franchise in NE PA (the Divisional Champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins). It will be the 5th space we’ve occupied since our inception 16 years ago and represents another growth-driven leap ahead for GWC.

And I have to share my pride a little bit: This new office is simply beautiful. From our state-of-the art Boardroom to our 72 person training room and every workstation in between, we have invested in a facility that befits our aspirations as a company.

Even more importantly, I am proud of our people. As I see everyone scurrying around packing and cleaning up, I am reminded of how much everyone cares about this company and how engaged they are. Special thanks to Mandy, Kelli and Georgiann, who took on some of the nastiest cleanups without any prompting, just because it had to be done. And kudos to Jeff who led the cable stringing, server room setup so we will be up and ready on Monday morning.

Finally, a particular shout-out to Joe Brennan, our Vice President of Operations, who for the past year has lived and breathed this project. Joe found the space, convinced us to take on the audacious task of building it out, negotiated our many contracts, oversaw the design and basically lived onsite for several months while the renovations were being done in record time (and within budget!) Joe, we all owe you a big debt of gratitude.

These are exciting times for GWC and we’re bursting at our seams to share that excitement with our great dealers and end customers. We’re all moving confidently ahead: “No Worries. Just Drive.”

The GWC Social Network

2011-03-17T10:56:00.008-04:00

by Rob Glander, GWC Warranty President and CEO

Several years ago, I noticed my teenagers’ use of their cell phone minutes plunging. They had discovered Facebook and since then it’s become solidly enmeshed in their lives. It’s now their primary source of daily contact with their friends across town and across the country.

I didn’t get it; my standard line was “I have a hard enough time managing my REAL LIFE relationships, much less online ones.” But I chalked it up to a generational divide and decided it was okay for me to miss this trend. Even after my college roommate convinced me to get an account I rarely even glanced at my Wall, much less the fascinating musings of the hyper-aggressive types who’d sought me out and invited me to be their friends.

Cue to December 2010, when I still didn’t completely understand the appeal of Facebook and its blunt, 140-character cousin, Twitter. However, The Social Network was winning movie awards, Facebook was receiving astronomical market valuations and it seemed like every major business was racing to devise a social media strategy.

When founder Mark Zuckerberg was named Time’s Person of the Year, the accompanying article finally made it clear to me:

    “Right now the Internet is like an empty wasteland: you wander from page to page, and no one is there but you. Except where you have the opposite problem: places like Amazon.com product pages and YouTube videos, where everyone’s there at once, reviewing and commenting at the top of their lungs, and it’s a howling mob of strangers.

    “Zuckerberg’s vision is that after the Facebookization of the Web, you’ll get something in between: wherever you go online, you’ll see your friends.”

Mark Zuckerberg actually summed up Facebook’s mission this way:

    “In the world, there’s trust. I think as humans we fundamentally parse the world through the people and relationships we have around us. So at its core, what we’re trying to do is map out all of those trust relationships, which you can call, colloquially, most of the time, friendships.”

At GWC, we used to say that we wanted to be a car dealer’s partner or consultant. But based on Zuckerberg’s definition, we really want to be their Friend.

So, please be our Friend. Visit our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter, stay tuned to our website and become part of the GWC Social Network.

facebook.com/GWCwarranty

twitter.com/GWCwarranty

What Happens in Vegas...

2011-02-15T15:27:00.003-05:00

by Rob Glander, GWC Warranty President and CEO

The GWC Warranty sales team recently held its National Sales Meeting in Las Vegas. It was the first time we’d gathered the entire Sales organization in one place since August 2008, when the meeting was held in Scranton. As much as we love NE Pennsylvania, weather-wise January is a tough month so we headed to the Southwest.

Contrary to the infamous advertising slogan, I’m confident that what happened in Vegas WON’T stay there! We had a tremendous time discussing our goals for the year, refreshing our product knowledge and sharing ideas for how to better meet the needs of our dealer customers.

We also spent some time celebrating. Like many of our dealers, we have successfully weathered the toughest economic times in memory. We’re standing tall, building on our financial strength and growing aggressively.
Most importantly, we were able to strengthen the bonds between our new and experienced Dealer Consultants and remind everyone that they work for a GREAT company with a unique heritage. We arrived in this position by serving our customers energetically, offering superlative service and rolling out unique products.

It’s no secret: GWC has the best team serving the most successful independent and franchise dealers in the U.S. We ensure that our customers have “No Worries. Just Drive.” And we’re already taking our Vegas experiences out to our customers and creating even greater shared celebrations in 2011.
I’d like to invite you to see all the exciting things happening at GWC by joining us on Facebook and Twitter via the following links:

See you all online!

BECAUSE It All Starts With Values

2011-01-04T13:43:00.001-05:00

by Rob Glander, GWC Warranty President and CEO

Before I joined GWC, the partners at our parent company asked me what I would do first. I replied "Define the values of the organization." Values are integral to who we are, how we interact with our customers and what type of person belongs on our team. This is serious business: We believe that Jack Welch got it right when he said "Making your numbers but not demonstrating our values is grounds for dismissal."

It's also an exciting opportunity: We have a chance every day to establish ideals for our business and then live up to them.

Every one of our employees knows what BECAUSE stands for at GWC:

Bring
Engagement
Creativity
Accountability
Urgency
Salesmanship
Execution

We're living these values every day at GWC. I'm confident that as we continue to expand and evolve they will serve as a great foundation for our business.