Student of your systems…

Yesterday was really cool for me, especially being a car nut and all.  At the age of 50 I did something for the FIRST time.  That’s kinda fun isn’t it?  Doing something you’ve always wanted to do, for the very first time.  

This was NO big deal.

I went to a car auction to watch one of my clients work.  He runs a car business and part of his work is the purchasing of used and new vehicles.  There’s not much to buying the new ones.  Not true when buying used.  

Yesterday’s auction took place just outside Marysville, Ohio.  A small rural setting, you could easily miss the metal building as you sped by on Performance Parkway.  Inside the metal building were about twenty five buyers, an auctioneer, and his helpers.  Running through the metal building was a steady stream of cars.  They would come through in one long line and each stayed in the building no more than 30 seconds.  During that time they would be handled, touched, and looked at by about one third of the buyers.  AND, about two or three buyers would bid.  That was it.  

The buyers mostly knew each other and as they would buy, they would catch up with each other.  My client, like most of them, had a small network that exchanged smiles and “bursts” of conversation.  There wasn’t time for lengthy dialogue.  Here’s why.

The auction lasted from 9:30-11:30.  Two hours.  During that time 250 cars were SOLD.  Once every 30 seconds or so.  WOW…

Here’s my big learning from yesterday.  

First, this is one crazy system.  Just like buying stocks, bonds, or commodities, these cars, as they parade through the metal barn, look nothing like the objects of desire I’ve always imagined.  They looked so different in a metal barn then they do at the “Toy Store.”  Funny, huh.

Second, and most importantly, this auction showed another glimpse into human nature.  First, you couldn’t miss the guy from Car Max.  Nobody stood near him.  He’s an outsider.  Classic.  You could see the rich, big shot that tried to trip the old guy because he outbid him on the one he really wanted.  He wasn’t used to losing.

AND, you could see our impatience, as humans, in ACTION.  

As the auction neared it’s end, the twenty five had turned to twelve.  Half the buyers had gone home early.  They had bought what they were looking for, or had simply spent their wad.  The best deals came at the end.  I asked my client if this was normal or if what i witnessed was a “one off.”  He smiled.  

He’s one sharp student of this system.   There is a reason why his team is ahead of plan.  In fact, they are ahead of their sales plan during a time when almost all others in their system aren’t moving a thing.  Very cool. 

Remember, every team is a system.  Every market is as well.  You must become a student of your systems if you are to succeed over time and through the adversities that are sure to come.   The leaders that “beat” the system aren’t beating it at all.  These leaders are simply mastering their craft.  Master yourself, your craft, the art of leading your team, the art of leading leaders, and, of course, the art of mastering your systems.  AND, remember, all the while to master the art of living.

The art of living.

Remember…