Rons Auto Parts
One corporate drama playing out in the news is the fate of Saab — a now-orphan division of General Motors that appears will narrowly escape extinction by last-minute buyer Spyker. For owners, employees, dealers, and suppliers of Saab, the potential death of such an iconic brand was probably hard to fathom. After all, the Swedish version of Saab, with its roots in the aircraft industry, existed for more than 50 years before becoming part of General Motors for another 10. Its products have always had a reputation for quality and safety, along with a somewhat quirky design. So how could a company with this kind of heritage almost go out of business?
The reality is organizations — just like people and products — have life cycles and life spans. And very few live forever. My first realization of this little-spoken fact was many years ago when Eastern Airlines gave up the ghost and left me holding a lifetime membership in the Ionosphere Club. It was a shock to realize that my life was going to last longer than a company considered a leader in its industry.
Since then I've seen hundreds of seemingly invincible firms bite the dust or cease to exist independently. In fact, 2009 saw the demise of organizations such as Schering Plough, Wyeth, Nortel, Circuit City, Max Factor, Perot Systems, Marvel Enterprises, BusinessWeek, and Linen N'Things. And both the Saturn and Pontiac brands are set to expire in 2010.
While the final days of some companies are dramatic and garner top news coverage, most companies deteriorate over a period of years due to competitive issues, financial weakness, or strategic missteps. For example, Saab's growth and expansion in the 1980s created a need for capital that brought it into the arms of General Motors, which purchased 50 percent of the automotive division in 1989, and the remainder in 2000. From that point, Saab became a casualty of GM's inability to rein in costs, prune products and platforms, and compete on quality.
In other words, companies don't usually die of sudden heart attacks, but rather have protracted illnesses that kill them over time.
Clearly the end of a company — whether through bankruptcy, merger, restructuring, or shutdown — is often painful and traumatic for those involved. Most people emotionally identify with their employer so even when their job continues with a new entity, or they get a financial payout, there is still a sense of loss. And of course, the loss is more acute when there is neither a job nor a payout.
Organizational failure, like death, is one of those subjects many of us avoid and deny, which makes it all the more shocking when it happens. But given the reality — it might be worth considering in advance how you would handle the impending death of your company or division. Is there anything you could do to prevent it based on your position and influence? If not, think about your own future. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Are there skills that you need to develop to become more portable?
- Are there experiences that will position you for an important role in a successor company or with another business in the same industry?
- Do you have a clear sense of what you would want to do if you had to exit your company? Would you want to reinvent yourself, go off on your own, or continue the same work with another organization?
After all, your company might not have an afterlife, but your career will. Now is the time to get ready.
KEN MURANAKA OF CHINO HILLS NAMED FIRST NAPA AUTO PARTS HONORARY CREW MEMBER OF 2010 NHRA FULL THROTTLE SERIES
POMONA, Calif. (Feb. 14, 2010) - Ken Muranaka, equipment manager at Excel Paving of Long Beach, Calif., was named the first NAPA AUTO PARTS Honorary Crew Member of the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series today at the 50th annual NHRA Winternationals.
Muranaka, 45, of Chino Hills, Calif., has been a drag racing fan for 30 years, and has attended this event every one of those years. "I used to stand on the outside of the fence before there were seats on the right side of the track," he said. "I used to be able to ride my bicycle up here and stand on the seat of my bicycle and look over the fence. That's how I watched the race. I only got to see some of it, but that's what I got to do."
Excel Paving, a construction company with a fleet of over 100 pickup trucks and medium-duty trucks, has worked with the Long Beach NAPA AUTO PARTS store for eight years. "The store meets the needs of the construction company by supplying all the parts we need when we need them," added Muranaka, who has been with Excel for 20 years and has managed the equipment shop for 10. "They treat me well."
Terry Drake, outside sales rep for NAPA Long Beach, helped present the award. He explained the selection process. "The opportunity came up during a meeting when the bosses were looking for somebody to promote for the Honorary Pit Crew Member," he said. "I heard about it and put his name in and, I guess, after consideration by the management, he's the one they chose. I was pretty excited about that and when I called him he was pretty excited, too.
"It took me about eight years to get into his fleet," added Drake. "It's a large fleet in Long Beach. One day I met Kenny and he gave me an opportunity to sell him parts and service them, and obviously we met his expectations and he's been buying from us ever since. He's one of my best customers. He's really fun to deal with. There's a lot of respect and loyalty there and it's something I appreciate. That's kind of hard to find these days."
Muranaka's non-wrenching crew-member duties included escorting the NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Funny Car to the staging lanes for the Funny Car eliminations rounds today. He then helped retrieve the car at the end of the track after each pass. Capps ended the day as Funny Car runner-up to 14-time champion John Force.
"It was great," he said. "Ron Capps is a really nice guy, I'm sure glad to have met him. I was very impressed with how the NAPA team put the car back together today when the rear-end broke between rounds. I think I'm going to be a Ron Capps fan for a while."
The side window of the NAPA Dodge sported Muranaka's name as the NAPA AUTO PARTS Honorary Crew Member this weekend.
He also met and chatted with the entire NAPA AUTO PARTS Dodge Funny Car crew, was a special guest in the NAPA hospitality area throughout the weekend, received a NAPA team jersey, experienced an up-close-and-personal view of the NAPA crew as the team worked on the car, and enjoyed a private tour of the team transporter and pit area.
NAPA AUTO PARTS distribution centers at each NHRA event during the season have different criteria for choosing the persons who are potential NAPA AUTO PARTS Honorary Crew Members.
-source: dsr/napa
