“I succeeded so I quit.”
#thingssuccessfulpeopledontsay
I’m at the 2017 Press Preview for the New York International Auto Show and I just heard a presentation from Bridgestone, the tire company. Bridgestone said they have been working on some cool technology for their TIRES. But, before we get to that what do I think about tires?
Tires are:
- Round – can’t get no better right?
- Rubber – durable ain’t it?
- Tread – water out means less crashin’?
- Pressure monitoring – less under inflated tires in the winter!
- Run Flat Technology – Nail punctures r sooooo 1990’s!
I think we’ve got the tire game covered. HOW CAN THEY IMPROVE FURTHER???
Back to Bridgestone
You know the tire company. They said some pretty obnoxiously awesome things. They’ve been so successful over the years. In 2015 they had $34,000,000,000 in sales, and $2,500,000,000 of that was income!
Why keep improving?
What is the difference between those that are “successful” and STOP and those that are “successful” and QUIT?
I dunno about that, but here is what I do know:
A company the size of Bridgestone must innovate, improve, and be pioneers in their industry. They have to constantly take ideas that they’ve had in the past and vet them as viable all over again. Year after year companies like Bridgestone must figure out if their once good idea, is now worthy of the scrap heap. Improve or BUST – and that’s AFTER they’ve been so successful already!
This brings me to WHAT Bridgestone announced they’ve been working on. Contact Patch Monitoring.
ARE YOU FREAKIN’ KIDDIN’ ME?! Are we really monitoring how much of the tire is contacting the pavement at all times?
Wait…I can’t imagine my life without:
- Tire pressure monitoring systems – cuz I’m lazy and don’t look at my tires.
- Airbags – cuz I like being alive (and Just in case)
- Anti-roll warning stuff – in case I get too overzealous.
- Parking Sensor Beeping – to save me from my sucky parking.
- Backup Camera – I sometimes forget I have a neck.
- Traction Control – cuz some of us drive the same way when it’s raining and when it’s wet.
- Stability Control – maybe because we need therapy…
- Accident avoidance – cuz why not?
Now, let’s add Contact Patch Monitoring to the must-have car safety features list. Because it just makes sense.
This isn’t really a post about car safety features. This is a post about the motivation I feel when I see large companies like Bridgestone, not sitting idle while some other company that’s more dynamic and more aggressive comes along and punches them in the face.
Conversely, I feel motivated when I see people like Gary Vaynerchuk have a lofty goal, like OWNING THE NEW YORK JETS, be his primary focus. He literally cannot stop building his companies because pro sports teams are BILLIONS OF DOLLARS!
Bridgestone,
Thanks for taking the time to do what you are doing. In the grand scheme of things right now, I don’t really much care about your new Contact Patch Monitoring technology. But, I’m sure all of the years of research and engineering you put into rolling out something like this will become another safety feature I can’t live without.
Precious Cargo Aboard
