The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | OCTOBER 2015 33 BUSINESS OPERATIONS N E W S have decreased the likelihood of a natural disaster impacting their business. Still, the gravity of the recovery from a natural disaster is not lost on small business owners—as an estimated 25% of businesses do not reopen following a major disaster. The survey also revealed some other shocking facts: While more than a third (38%) of small business owners say it is not impor- tant for their business to have a disaster recovery plan, over two-thirds (69%) have an evacuation plan at home. For many without a plan for their business, disaster recovery is simply a low priority (34%). Time (11%) or cost (15%) play little roles in the decision not to have a written disaster recovery plan in place. For companies with fewer than 50 employees, only one in five (18%) have a disaster recovery plan. Unfortunately, if a disaster were to occur, 44% of small business owners say they don't have access to generators— and 66% don't even have business inter- ruption insurance. I recently read an interesting article that claimed many of the best known, top-level executives and trail blazing CEO's are jerks. People such as the late Steve Jobs, Howard Schultz and Jeff Bezos are said to behave in a way that is borderline tyrant with relent- less demands and exceed- ingly high expectations and yet they are still considered visionaries. Why? Because they have a vision; a detailed, comprehensive, unwavering vision of what they want for their company and product and are completely commit- ted to achieving results by any means necessary. People who have worked directly under these men have reported unrelenting pres- sure and a 'no excuses' response to any failure. The office environment is often described as high stress and very intense, but also high reward as creativity and input are welcome and the resulting product often changes our world and redefines the industry. After all, it was Apple iPod launched under Steve Jobs' leadership that sent shockwaves across the portable music world and made cassette tapes, compact discs and the Walkman obsolete. Talk about vision! While we are not suggesting you become a tyrant, there are certainly lessons to take from these leaders. You too should have a vision for your company and your products. A complete but flexible plan with goals, deadlines, and peri- odic progress reviews. The industry and world around you will change over time, and the vision should be adjusted, but it should not ever be allowed to just lan- guish and expire. Design your company or product goals in the short, interme- diate, and long term then communi- cate these goals with your staff making them a part of the vision. Do you want to expand from heating fuels into commercial diesel and gas deliveries? Will it take a new truck to do that? How will you market this new ser- vice? What are the boundar- ies to entry in this market? Inform the staff of your new goal, develop a timeline, and move forward enlisting their help utiliz- ing their expertise and experience every step of the way. Your sales team knows the objections; your mechanic knows the issues with dual hose reels. Their sup- port is essential to gain forward momen- tum and make this plan a reality. That will be easiest to obtain if you open the door for input from all parties and fol- low through. Let them not just execute the plan, but help design it as well. In every industry there is a need and success can be found in fulfilling that need. A lackadaisical approach to planning and growth will yield lackadaisical results. Develop a vision and go for it. But don't be a jerk about it. Misty Sexton is vice president of sales and marketing for Space Petroleum, a wholesale fuel brokerage supplying petro- leum products to the Mid-Atlantic states. Sexton began her career in the office of a mid-sized home heating oil company and transitioned to wholesale fuels in 2008. Her customer base is varied and includes distributors and end-users along with government agencies and of course, small home heating oil companies. She can be reached via email at Misty.Sexton@ SpacePetroleum.com Opinion: The Vision of Jerks By Misty Sexton Misty Sexton