It’s widely accepted by many that change is inevitable so we might as well get used to it. The corollary to this is that while change may be inevitable, change isn’t always good. Over the last several years, I’ve noticed a change in perception of the business of auto repair, a change as to what defines success and how to achieve it as well as the role and meaning of work.
While I certainly can’t speak for every one of my generation or background, in my family work was something that gave life meaning. Being able to work was a privilege and it afforded us the ability to provide for our families. It also set an example for our children of the concepts of discipline and deferred gratification. Work made nearly everything else that is worthwhile or achievable, possible.
Author Michael Gerber penned a popular sentiment that my parents and grandparents had mentioned years before in his book “The E-Myth”, first published in 1977: “There is no such thing as undesirable work,” he continued. “There are only people who see certain kinds of work as undesirable. People who use every excuse in the world to justify why they have to do work they hate to do. People who look upon their work as a punishment for who they are and where they stand in the world, rather than as an opportunity to see themselves as they really are.”
Never is this more apparent than with online comments that question the belief in the very concepts that defined success, brought prosperity, and built this nation that our generation was a part of. Online discussions of the value of work and ownership focus not on sacrifice or deferred gratification, but on work/life balance. The idea of coming in early and staying late to get the job done is anathema to many younger people who have a different concept of what work means in their daily lives. Success is defined only in monetary terms and working in the business is viewed as being undesirable. There’s a popular saying that in order to be successful, or to consider yourself a success in business, you need to work on the business, not in it. The idea that if you don’t distance yourself from performing the work, you’ve just bought yourself a job is becoming more prevalent in the industry. Despite what some coaches may tell you in their quest to follow a franchise business model, there are many owners who really enjoy working in their businesses. They like getting to know their customers, developing relationships and producing a quality product or service. They enjoy true accountability and the freedom and confidence it can provide.
I understand that I come from a different time in which there were more people pursuing jobs than available ones. We now face a shortage of people who choose to work… Aside from a lack of drive to achieve, what I see is a profound lack of gratitude. Gratitude was an integral part of the process. This “attitude of gratitude" and freedom to shape their own destiny was in large part what drove people here to seek economic prosperity from distant lands.
A key component of that prosperity was availing yourself of the opportunity to own your own business and making the sacrifices needed to increase the likelihood of its success. A frequently heard saying made by owners who put in long hours away from their families was “I’m sacrificing today for the blessings of tomorrow”. Deferred gratification personified. Going out on your own therefore was considered a courageous act. Working in the business and having that business thrive was something to be admired. It was frequently said that if a person was happy in their work, were able to provide for themselves and others, had roof over their head, food on their table, and some money in the bank for a rainy day, they were successful. Not so any longer. Now people want more but they don’t want to work for it, they want others to work for them so they can enjoy the leverage that the franchise business model can provide.
A recent post by a 30-something said this “If you are involved in a business, you have four choices:
Employee, Self-Employed, Business Owner, and Investor. The first two; employee and self-employed are traps. Business owner and investor are the only way to go. That’s it.”
This doesn’t bode well for our trade, the welfare of the motoring public or our society. It’s time to restore and reinforce the dignity and value of work.
