I am a huge fan of the stories told at NYWC. Even before I came to work at YS, I always thought they managed to tell the right stories at every event to warm the heart and encourage the soul to keep going.
These are two great short films produced by Ian, our maven of media.
Christopher Yanov
Becky Russell
Sometimes I just latch onto a prop and an idea that just has to happen. When I saw the wings in Beth Slevcove’s office I had to use them for the podcast.
If the former Big 3 are going to get our federal bailout dollars, they need to hear the ideas of the people writing them the checks. And I don’t mean the lobbyist-friendly politicians actually making the decisions in Washington. I mean people like you and I… those of us who work every day and foot the bill for these bail out plans.
This is my third idea for fixing the auto industry. (idea #1 | idea #2)
If Ford, GM, and Chrysler want to survive for the next 100 years, they need to stop perpetrating the lie that they are Made in America.
Living in Michigan and driving a Toyota Camry for 5 years taught me something about the culture… most Michigan residents are blind to some facts.
Fact #1: Toyota and Honda are largely American car manufacturers. They employ Americans. They produce cars in America. Their stock is traded on our stock exchanges. Their parts come from America. Toyota and Honda are just as American made as Ford, GM, and Chrysler. All automakers are multinational corporations including Ford, GM, and Chrysler. The rhetoric of “but the profits go back to Japan” is just silly! It may have been true 25 years ago… but follow the money and you’ll see most of those dollars are now spent right here in the United States.
Fact #2: The Big 3 have outsourced more auto manufacturing than Toyota or Honda. In late May I was filling up my Camry in Shelby Township, Michigan and a man started yelling at me. “That f–king Toyota is the reason our community is in the the toilet! Why don’t you buy an American car!!!” After hearing this for 5 years I finally snapped. “The Toyota Camry as been the #1 selling sedan for 15+ years. It is made in Kentucky… which is a state in case you didn’t know. And that car you are driving was made in Canada. And that Ford over there was made in Mexico. Your car may say Chevy but you and I both know it was made somewhere else so why don’t you buy yourself an American made car and get yourself a Toyota?” He cussed at me some more and drove off. The fact is that the Big 3 have outsourced almost all of the car making process overseas. Ask any engineer and they will tell you. Korea. Mexico. India. Canada. Russia. China. That’s where Ford, GM, and Chrysler get their parts and build their cars.
Fact #3: Made in America is just a union slogan. I hate to say it but it is true. The concept of a “foreign car” or an “American car” is really just code language for “union made” or “non-union made.” While quality has increased a lot in the past few years, the union name is shot in car-making. Very few people I know consider whether a car was built by union autoworkers when they buy a car. They are looking at quality, gas mileage, style, etc.
If the former Big 3 are going to make it for the next 100 years, they are going to have to make it on their own. We live in a free market system. At the end of the day the consumer will decide what to buy, which in turn should decide if a company lives or dies. Hiding behind labels like “American car maker” just won’t cut it anymore. Especially when it isn’t true. Even if it were true I don’t think consumers care enough to change their minds. I heard a CEO say, “If we want an American car manufacturer left we will need a bailout.” What a load of garbage! I thought we were a free market country? If we want an American car manufacturer than they better make some money!
Instead, they should build their brand as independent brands. This worked well with the truck buying public as you have “Ford Men,” “Dodge Men,” and “Jeep Men.” Let’s see if they can build a brand of loyal customers in the small to mid-sized car.
It would be easy to read these ideas and think that I hate the former Big 3. Not the case. I just don’t think that we should support broken systems and companies that can’t make money with our tax dollars. I believe that if they can start living in the reality that people don’t like to go to a dealership, forced unions are bad for business, and they shouldn’t lie to consumers about being American car builders… that the former Big 3 can recover.
That is, if they can cope with my idea #4.
What about you? Do you have ideas for the former Big 3? Share them by leaving a comment.
This is my second idea: Pass a federal right to work law. (Idea #1)
For anyone outside of the pretend world known as Detroit, this solution is a no-brainer. In order for Ford, GM, and Chrysler to move forward into the next 100 years of automaking they have to restructure how their labor is paid.
One important element, the heaviest of them all, is to dump the UAW as the only labor force. With unemployment hovering near 10% in most of the Detroit area counties there is no better time to renegotiate with the unions. (In other words, if the unions refuse to comply simply replace those workers with unemployed people at new, lower wages.) Simply put, if the federal government is going to loan automakers $34 billion to get out of this mess, they should also pass a federal law making every shop in America an equal opportunity employer. As I wrote in January 2008, I think allowing employees to decide whether or not they will join a union is fair. But, today in America, in many states that choice is not allowed.
More importantly, for the former Big 3 to survive they need to scale back wages to more reasonable levels across the board to compete on the open market.
Yes, I am arguing that the Big 3 compensate their employees like other US-based automakers. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and many other “Japanese” automakers pay their employees well, but still roughly half what the UAW demand as “fair.” And when the Big 3 made money hand over fist, who cared what they paid people? But if you’re going to mortgage our childrens future on bailing out these failed companies… let’s spend the American tax payers dollars wisely. Their pay should be based on what these other automakers pay their employees. Or perhaps, since this is federal money, they should be compensated like government employees?
I’m not suggesting that we make unions illegal. I’m suggesting that it become illegal to force people to join them! Allow auto workers, state employees, teachers, and other unionized types of workers to chose for themselves if they want to be in a union or not. Isn’t that fair?
It’s time to have all employees work together for the good of the Big 3. Again, if you haven’t been exposed to the auto industry you have no idea of some of the silliness. There are two separate classes of employees at an auto manufacturer. There is union labor and there is management labor. They have different pay structures, different disciplinary structures, different hiring practices, and even different parking areas! It’s time this all ended! We need the plant manager and the woman on the line to be on the same team. We need the executive and the janitor to have the same health care options, benefits structure, and vacation times. We need to completely kill the entitlement society that the unions create. No more 80% pay layoffs. No more pools of employees who get paid 100% of their salary to play cards. No more union stewards making what a plant manager makes. On and on.
If Ford, GM, and Chrysler are going to take federal money it is time they started acting like 21st century companies. In other words, it is time the former Big 3 started acting like the companies who are kicking their butts.
Learn more about the National Right to Work movement.
Idea one: Change the car buying experience
Idea two: Open the manufactoring to non-union employees
Idea three: Coming soon…
Sometimes ideas are too simple to actually work. If the United States is going to give $34 billion to failing auto industry, I have a right to give my suggestions for how to fix things.
In order to make it for the next 100 years you are going to have to radically innovate. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to mean thinking about doing business differently than you ever have. To save the US Automakers, it’s going to mean sacrificing some of what has become sacred for the sake of making it work from here on out. Inside out top to bottom changes are what you need.
This is my first idea:
1. Starting immediately, your cars will only be purchased directly through you. No car buyer likes the dealership process so you need to kill fast Eddie’s business. You don’t buy a washing machine or a computer without knowing what the price really is, so why should you expect people to buy cars that way?
2. Make car buying about the customer and not the dealer. This means you need to add a shopping cart, much like the one from Dell or Apple, to your website. For most buyers, getting a new car is either a very rare occurrence or they do it all the time. Make the website intuitive enough for the buyer to decide their buying experience. Instead of putting them on the defensive with a negotiation process that favors the professional, make the process about the buyer. The customer is your friend! Time to treat them that way.
3. Have a simple pricing structure. Allow people to know how much the car costs you to produce. Then add a 5% profit and a 3% delivery free to that. Show the math. Allow customers to drill down into that invoice so they can see where every single part comes from and how much it costs. Not only will your prices be cheaper than the competition, your customers will know that they aren’t getting ripped off. All the shopping cart to add things one by one or by package. People are smart and they know what they like in a car… give them that ability.
4. Eliminate the local finance office. This is the sleaziest part of the car buying experience. Allow people to buy the car through your finance company, or allow them to use a bank transfer, or even credit card to buy the car. Again, this is about giving your customer a fantastic buying experience instead of walking onto a dealer lot, with your brand on it, and getting screwed by someone representing you.
5. Convert the local dealership into a delivery, customization, and repair shop. By getting rid of a sales and finance people will make the dealership more like the Apple Store. Change the name of these from dealerships to delivery locations. Instead of a sales force you will have genius’s and customer service agents.
6. Only allow customers to come to the delivery center to buy accessories and receive customer care. Effective immediately, you will deliver the car where the customer wants it. Want a test drive, you can arrange to meet them somewhere. When it needs service, you’ll pick up the car free of charge.
7. Every part of your cost should become open. This is about trust. You can make your money. Just be open about it. Customers will reward you for it.
8. Allow customers to sell their used cars on your website. Have the local delivery office come to the customers house, create a listing, apply the proceeds to a future sale.
9. No one in the sales, marketing, delivery process will be commissioned. Pay the people at the delivery centers well, but don’t overpay them. You want these people doing this job for love. A lot of people need jobs. If people at the new delivery centers quit… they will be easily replaced.
I found this really cool. If your kids are like mine, they are hooked on Club Penguin. Now they are asking kids to help them pick out ways to give away $1 million. Check out this post on their blog. (Megan’s 4th favorite blog!)
Donation booths are set up at the Beach, in the Plaza, and on the Migrator. Remember – every little bit counts, so you don’t have to donate a lot to make a difference.
On December 25, we’ll announce how you’ve decided that the one million dollars will be split. Check out the Kids Helping Kids page on the website to see how your donations are changing the real world. Let us know any other ideas you have for making the world a better place for everyone! link
Maybe you’re ready to take this relationship to the next level? Let’s say you come to Adam McLane’s site every day. And you’re thinking to yourself… “Adam, I dig what you have to say. What are some ways you can check out what else I do online?” Here are a few ways I suggest you do that.
#1 Subscribe to my RSS feed. This will make sure you get every post delivered to your RSS reader, iGoogle homepage, or even by email.
#2 Subscribe to the YS Podcast. You’ll see my pretty face each week on the weekly show that I host. Sure, it isn’t much… but it’s just enough Adam McLane to not feel like a total stalker. Don’t use iTunes? Subscribe via YouTube.
#3 Join my delicious network. Now we’re getting serious. (Rounding 2nd base!) Each day I bookmark all sorts of things. Blog posts, news stories, adolescent research studies, new websites, and all manner of web goodness. Like the links in the YS newsletters? This is like the full monty of that.
#4 Check out my shared items on Google Reader. These are blogs that I read on a daily basis and posts that I think are worth sharing. In other words, let me filter through the lame stuff for you.
#5 Follow me on Twitter. If you’re curious what I’m up to 10-20 times per day, I post to this micro-blogging site in 140 characters or less.
#6 Be my friend on Facebook. You won’t find me on Myspace anymore. I haven’t deleted my account, but I never ever go there. You will find me a lot on Facebook. Me likey Facebook.
#7 Of course you can get to know Kristen too. It’s like getting to know our family 360 degrees. Kristen blogs a lot about family life, recipes, contests, and kids books.
#8 Check out some of our new projects. Kristen and I have started some projects under the umbrella of McLane Creative. Our first project is a collaborative site giving real-world reviews of things to do in San Diego, called Beyond the Zoo.
#9 Meet me in person. I know, that’s not a Web 2.0 way to get to know me. (What is wrong with me?) But it’s completely practical. If you’re ever in the San Diego area I’d love to get together for a cup of coffee and meet face-to-face. Drop me an email.
As I posted a few days ago our family got a new HDTV for Christmas. Since this was our first forray into HDTV, I didn’t have many of the cables I’d need to fully enjoy the full quality. Specifically, it left me with 3 problems I wanted to fix. First, I want to play Nintendo Wii in widescreen so I needed a non-standard cable. Second, I wanted the audio from the cable box to our audio system to have the optical audio cable. In truth, I’ve wanted this cable for more than 6 years but didn’t want to pay $50 for it. Third, I wanted an HDMI cable to connect the TV to the cable box to get the best possible signal.
So Paul and I headed to Target. Those cables were going to cost me more than $100 total! So, then we went to Radio Shack. They had a 6 foot HDMI cable for over $100 by itself. Out of frustration I posted a couple comments about it on Twitter.
That’s when Peggy suggested Monoprice.com. Let me tell you… I am glad she did. Instead of paying $100-150 retail for those three cables I paid $22, including tax and shipping.
Long story short. Don’t get ripped off at Target or Radio Shack with their cable or HDTV accessories. Go straight to a supplier and pay wholesale.
UPDATE: I got the cables a couple of days later. They were AMAZING quality. That’s right, I got better and longer cables for about 10% of the price of retail. What’s not to love?
Kristen and I are feeling a bit post-party this morning. (I’ll create another post a little later about the YS Christmas party.) We don’t have anything on the agenda today. Seriously, other than picking-up Jonathan and taking him to the airport, I am not sure what we are doing with our day.
This morning is pancakes and chatting with our kids about last night. Megan and Paul had FOUR babysitters last night. Jon, Jenna, Paul, and Amy from our community group completely spoiled our kids last night with a holiday party of their own. They made gingerbread houses, played Christmas bingo, chubby bunny, and good cop/bad cop.
Anyway, as always music is a part of my morning. Here are the next ten tunes playing on my iPod. As always, I’m just hitting the shuffle songs button and recording what comes up. So this is completely random, no cheating, and my personal rankings are included.
#1 360 by Josh Hoge ****
#2 Night on Fire by VHS or Beta ****
#3 Take My Life by Chris Tomlin ****
#4 Falling Slowly by Glen Hansgard and Marketa Inglova *****
#5 Make a Joyful Noise by David Crowder Band ****
#6 Unforgettable by Natalie Cole ****
#7 Rock ‘n Roll All Night by Kiss ***** (Perfect considering my costume last night)
#8 Filled with Your Glory by Starfield ****
#9 We Won’t Be Quiet by David Crowder Band *****
#10 Africa Bamba by Santana *****
Growing up we played a lot of basketball. A core component of playing basketball, especially the driveway versions, is learning to talk a good game. There are people who can’t play but can talk a good game. And then there are the best players who don’t really talk much but just flat our put up numbers.
Eventually, it comes down to this simple phrase in pick-up basketball: Put up or shut up.
I think that phrase explains why so many people get fed up with church: They talk a good game about the poor, mercy, seeking justice, living out Acts 2, exemplifying Matthew 5, or preaching the truth. But at the end of the day they don’t “put up.”
Church leaders, if your church talks game it doesn’t have… please stopped talking like you have game. At the end of the day, allow your game to speak for itself.
That’s the best marketing advice I could ever give to a church: Put up or shut up.
Wanna grow your church? Put up or shut up.
Wanna have the best youth group in town? Put up or shut up.
Wanna help people losing their houses? Put up or shut up.
Wanna start a killer small group ministry? Put up or shut up.
At the end of the day you need to allow your church game to speak for you. People are tired of the hype. They are tired of hearing what you want to do. They don’t want to know your vision statement.
They want to see it.
So stop talking smack and get to work!