Most dealer principals can recite their balance sheet in their sleep. They know how to build Financial Capital through disciplined operations, and they know how to manage Physical Capital — the trucks, the real estate, the shop tools, etc.

Business advisors use the term “future proofing” to describe the discipline organizations need to prepare for generational success — economically, technologically and culturally.

The Leadership Lessons here come from 3 overlapping ideas.

Sell tractors, fix them, collect the money and innovate.
Farm equipment dealerships are not considered the most innovative industry, although remarkable innovations occur there on nearly a daily basis. 

“We sell tractors. We fix them. We collect the money.”
This was the insight I received from a seasoned iron peddler upon my first visit to an equipment dealership more than 20 years ago. Simple and action-oriented, his statement summed up the fundamentals of equipment distribution.