It’s all about ME - Networking

I have a workshop coming up at the Expedite Expo and the topic is networking. The more I think of this subject the more circles I draw all intersecting the nucleus which is me. When I came up with this topic for the workshop I thought wow how simple we network every day without even trying. I listen to different trucking shows on the trucking channel 171 on XM such as Kevin Rutherford show which keeps me in the loop of upcoming industry changes. We belong to various professional trucking groups such as the 20 Group http://www.cdlofit20group.org//portal.php which is a group to share ideas on different arenas of trucking. I talk to other drivers within our company, often discussing rates, good and bad parts of the country for freight and upcoming freight trends for the months ahead. I talk with our contacts within the company we are leased to, to stay abreast of upcoming changes with policies and to stay informed of current events such as the upcoming equipment on board recorder (EOBR). I talk to other expediters on ways to make life on the road more interesting, ideas to manage our possessions in the sleeper such as using expandable curtain rods in our freezer to hold food in place, easier ways to cook and eat healthy on the road, and ways to make each day even better then the last. We talk to drivers from other areas of trucking on how the economy is affecting them and how they are staying ahead of the game. One idea that has really made me stop and think was our personal appearance and how we portray ourselves to our customer and even other drivers. We attend truck shows to get the chance to see new and innovative products and also to interact with other drivers. We have learned better and safer ways to secure our freight which in the Expedite world is a huge concern. At one show a neighbor had a telescoping ladder that was awesome as it took up so little room for storage and this new item was soon added to our supplies. I am also involved with various trucking sites sometimes as a lurker, sometimes as a poster, and in others as a moderator. Expediters Online http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/ started us in the Expedite world and is one site I spend a part of each day reading. We have found in some networks we are the student trying to learn everything discussed and in other networks we are the teacher sharing what we have learned. In all instances we are still the benefactor of each network we are a member of.

Certified Master Contractor Denver CO April 2009

Bob and I attended a four day trucking seminar (CMC) this past week in Denver. We had an awesome time with the first full day learning the Art of Negotiating. One of the oddest things we learned was to take notes on yellow paper with a red pen to retain about 48% more then you will using a black or blue pen on white paper. We learned that you need to interpret men and women's movements differently and also the tone of voice and to listen to what they are saying. He who speaks first has all ready set them self up in a weaker position. Never assume anything and let the other person speak their mind. We had a couple role playing skits that were a lot of fun to set up and then watch them play out. One skit was to negotiate a better rate from a broker and our table had a ace in the hole with Henry Albert who has been doing this for many years. He was able to get us a pretty darn good rate by letting the broker know we would take a discounted rate for two week to prove ourselves then we would come back to the table and talk. The next day we went over getting your own authority with Rex Evilsizor and in the afternoon we had Bruce Mallinson with Pittsburgh Power. I was a little side tracked as we really do not want more power and at this point I am not real interested in getting our own authority. (that idea scares me to death). The next day Kevin Rutherford started in on us! One of Kevin's favorite tricks is to make us move to another chair. That is very hard to do as once we sit in a chair at a seminar we now take ownership of that space. We went from the back row where our group sat to the front row! We made Kevin pay for this somewhat as we kept raising our hands. Kevin spent a lot of time going over spreadsheets on how to determine good or bad loads, how to improve our existing spread sheets, and how to improve our bottom line. Kevin is also a firm believe in reading and listening to books. He knows we have the best job to get a lot of books read and he had a pretty long list of books he suggested. Ya I know teachers pet but I had all ready read all of those books! The next day was one we had all ready been through on aerodynamics, sweet spots and rear end ratios. I missed most of that day as I was out playing on a computer learning a few new programs.

We were out every night for dinner with a great group of people who loved to talk trucks! We talked trucks from 6 in the morning till midnight

at the earliest. We talked on how to make our businesses better, how to improve our image, how to be leaders in our field. By the time Thursday was over we were almost brain dead! But what a great week with some very very smart people! We have a lot of new mentors in many areas and all we can do is to keep striving to become as awesome many in our group all ready are.

Some of the coolest parts of the CMC was getting to drive the new Cascadia of Henry Albert's. Thought Henry and I were going to die a few times as the truck does not take off as quickly as our M2 does due to not having an automatic transmission (Allison). Henry's truck has an automated transmission (AMT) and it takes

some getting used to and I do not want to even go into trying to back the truck up. I know Henry will be wanting to comment that I need a GPS to get around as I took us to the TA twice as I got lost! We were also able to spend time with Miguel from Detroit Diesel and he is just a brilliant sweat heart! If you want to know anything about specing a truck for your operation he is the guy to talk to. Getting to meet Lily in person was also an inspiration as she sure has a lot of drive and can inspire anyone!

Pictures are:

Linda and Kevin Rutherford

Rex Evilsizor

Henry Albert and Miguel Soetaert

Bob and Lily