“Our marketing and promotions have been misguided.” “We’ve been trying to change our way out of this—if we don’t watch out, we’ll change the very things that have brought us success.” “This will dramatically affect our new product development—a lot of projects will go by the wayside.” Joe interjected, “Yes, there’s a lot to learn here. Some ideas will be shelved, true. But think how simplifying all this will be. All of our complexity has squeezed out the passion. Our lack of communication has allowed for negativity to 昀椀ll in the void. We’ve been trying to create our essence instead of discovering it and amplifying it.” “Our employees love our company; we need them to be a part of how we 昀椀x this. Let’s share this information with them, warts and all.” Eyes opened, and an executive con昀椀rmed, “Warts and all? How can we do that?” Joe’s eyes twinkled and he answered, “The same as we do for the girls’ JV team—let’s educate and celebrate!” The next company-wide meeting was like none before. It was more than a meeting. It was a workshop, a fair and a celebration. The employees were all educated on the 昀椀ndings from the Thud Book. They were given Joe’s 101—a history lesson on Joe’s and a snapshot of the competition. They were then broken up into small groups. There, they discussed the 昀椀ndings and applied them to make Joe’s a better place to work and a better company overall for dealers and customers alike. The ideas came on like an avalanche. 15