Sorry, Everybody Won't Get A Trophy
Many in today’s workforce grew up in the era where in school and sports, as long as you participated, everyone received the same reward for their effort…a trophy. The best player and the worst, the best team and the last place team, all received exactly the same recognition. Many leagues wouldn’t even allow the score to be kept. Just this week, an Ohio high school announced it was discontinuing the tradition of recognizing the valedictorian to discourage competition!
This “feel good” policy has produced an entire generation of people who think that all they have to do is participate and a successful outcome is guaranteed. Unfortunately, in the “real world” and in the business world in particular, this is just nonsense. When did competition become a bad thing? Aren’t sports, both college and professional, a multi-billion dollar industry? How many people would be fans if they didn’t keep score? Competitiveness is human nature and to nullify it with policy is unnatural, in my opinion.
To my point, just because you go out and buy/lease a truck and bring it to Landstar, you are not guaranteed to be successful. I see posts on FB everyday about how unfair it is at LS because some BCO’s have _____________ [you fill in the blank]. LS should do something about_________________ [you fill in the blank]. Meanwhile, hundreds, if not thousands of BCO’s are quietly making an awesome living for themselves using the very same tools and opportunities that the whiners are complaining about and demanding to be changed. Business is a competition. Not everyone will survive. Those who succeed will pay a price for that success; those who fail will also pay a price.
So what’s the difference between the two? The answer is simple but not easy…hard/smart work. Successful people are willing to do the things that unsuccessful people are not. Many times, it is just a willingness to put in the effort. Sometimes it’s more elusive, like educating yourself or being willing to self-analyze and change to correct past deficiencies. What they don’t do is blame others for their own inadequacies. They hold themselves accountable and they all do this. They keep score! Oddly enough, that score is called “accounting” in business, and all successful business people spend a lot of time studying the score.
Every BCO at Landstar started with the same tools. Those who are wildly successful just used those tools more wisely than the ones who fail. Are you using the tools and the LandStar opportunity to your advantage? If not, maybe I can help. I will be offering a series of webinars in July to help BCO’s survive in the “post-2018 bubble”. I’ll be sharing my expertise and my program in a free introductory webinar. Details will be announced soon.
You can survive, even thrive in this market if you understand business and how to partner with the Landstar opportunity. I look forward to sharing my experience and knowledge with you.