Moving Forward: Is the Past Driving the Bus?

When studying and learning to manage change, I recalled this statement: “You should never carry the past with you as change is carrying you forward.”  This is important when the past is a burden and slows you down. However, in both management and personal life, I also learned you cannot move forward effectively unless you listen to the wisdom of the past.

As we try to keep up or get ahead, it is imperative that we deal effectively with the past. If we imagine our business as a yellow school bus, the challenge is to let the past be a “person” on the bus but not let that person drive the bus! Whether you are a manager, owner, or in charge of purchasing technology for your business, give the past a seat on the bus, a voice, and heed its warnings. However, do not let it dictate the direction or speed of your bus. Also, strongly consider when it is time to pull into the bus stop and let that fellow off.  

As an example, we at TPN were extremely cautious about LPR technology for decades. Not too long ago, the read rate was acceptable for many industries but not for the parking industry and for that reason we never recommended our clients purchase an LPR system for their facility. However, after long conversations with our friend Laura Caillot, we learned that the technology in the LPR systems has improved significantly, and the read rate is very acceptable for parking facilities. When I understood this update, I looked at the past “person” on my bus who was shouting “The read rate is unacceptable in LPR cameras!” and politely asked him to exit my bus. From then on, we have helped many clients find and install remarkable LPR systems in their facilities with great success. 

For thirty years, I have had the privilege and responsibility to innovate in Our Industry. During this time, I have worked with teams that have created several important products. With each development, we underestimated how often the field managers and potential clients were not willing to try them – they allowed the past to drive their buses. The fellow from the past was saying things like “We’ve never done it this way before!” and accelerating past us. Because of this, Our Industry declined to welcome our forward and progress-focused products into the industry. At first, we did not understand how to help the field managers trust that this new, but proven, idea would improve their service to the owners and customers. But now we understand that often the first step for a new product is to get the past out of the driver’s seat and into a seat towards the back, where we can hear the warnings and wisdom but make clear decisions based on what is outside the windshield. 

Over the last twenty years, other challenges to innovation in the parking industry lie outside the parking industry. Parking is tied to dozens of other industries, and the hang-up is sometimes completely outside our control. Right now, there are many obstacles in the technological world and technology seems to change weekly. Add to that changing technology the fact that we need trained staff to manage it. Also, we now employ a new generation of technology experts who can’t get to work on time or communicate with customers. How can we change what we have control over, influence others carefully, and adjust to these constraints outside of our industry?    

Earlier I mentioned that when you move forward, you cannot let the past drive your business bus.  Jumping with gusto from where we are toward the future without the wisdom of the past is risky; however, to keep doing what has been done while ignoring proven change has also proven to be unsuccessful. Recently, Leigh saw on LinkedIn an interview with a retired CEO who was giving a talk about successful business. He said that the mistake he made was that he did what was successful for too long and missed all opportunities to adapt and grow his empire. Therefore, since the business became stagnant, it was susceptible to failure. Healthy businesses require constant energy applied to moving forward.    

Today, I ask you, how do you listen to and value the past while also moving forward with intention and determination? How do you need to move forward personally? How do you help your staff move forward? How do you convey to your higher-ups that you understand the challenges moving forward and understand that they may not be ready to move forward? How does moving forward, or not, affect your staff and customers?  Twenty years ago, I understood that change was difficult and that presenting change to a new group of managers would be difficult.  However, I failed to understand that managers in all industries feel safer if they hold on to the past.  The past is what they know, and it is comfortable. The changing product was something we had created, tested, proven, and were ready to implement. We were excited to take this to our clients and to parking managers.  However, we did not anticipate they would not embrace it. It was difficult for them to let go of the safety and comfort of the past, to get that guy out of the driver’s seat and move him to the back of the bus. Thankfully, since time helps most things, these products have been incorporated into the industry as the industry has moved from credit card dependence to ecommerce acceptance – this has been really exciting!  

We at TPN have learned from observation about the challenges of Moving Forward and making the future a comfortable place to move.  Moving Forward requires change. We often say we want to be progressive and advanced, but we don’t actually want to change anything. Change brings with it processes that you may not understand or be prepared for.  We at TPN see it often in our own company as we look across our industry. Embracing the pace of change is crucially important if you want to keep driving your business bus for a long time.  If you desire to Move Forward, it is important to let the past have a very comfortable seat on your bus. Give him a snack and a time to share. But keep that guy out of the driver’s seat!