There is nothing better in life than spending time with the people you love to be with. Outside of my family, my favorite people are the ones I work with every day – whether that’s an end-user customer, a dealer, a Great Dane employee or a supplier in the industry.
Well, my family didn’t come to the North American Commercial Vehicle Show (NACV Show), but all my other favorite people did, and that’s what made this week so great. We knew NACV would be different since it was billed as a high-quality show with high-quality leaders in the industry. And that’s exactly what it was. On the court (in our booth), we met with dozens of old friends, and we had the pleasure of meeting many new friends as well. Off the court (dinner and possibly a cocktail or two), was just as fun and enlightening. Getting to spend that time with friends and learning more about the things that matter to them is time well spent, in my opinion.
So here’s to our friends – on and off the court.
My Top 4 Revelations This Week:
1.Coffee is important. To fully experience everything this NACV week had to offer, we started first thing in the morning at the show and didn’t end until late at night over dinner and drinks with old friends and new. There was so much to learn, see and do and we wanted to enjoy it all. Needless to say, coffee was important.
2.My feet hurt. The Georgia World Congress Center is big. It was exciting to explore the different booths and see all of the new technologies that are coming to our industry. Trucking is truly a fascinating business, and meeting with industry suppliers and learning about what they are working on was one of the greatest highlights of the week. But after 4 days, I realized I need better shoes when I come back in 2019.
3.The world is changing really, really fast. Great Dane has been around for 117 years, and we’ve evolved exponentially over that time. But we didn’t always see that change as it happened over years or decades. Today, it seems that technology will push the speed of change much faster and more seamlessly. I was amazed at what the suppliers in the industry are doing. From telematics and electric vehicles to virtual and augmented reality, it’s amazing what is headed our way and even more amazing the pace at which it is coming.
4.Great Dane really does have the best customers in the industry. I’m thankful for their confidence and trust in our brand and in our people.
