As many of you may know, my daughter is a competitive swimmer. She’s pretty damn good, and that’s not just proud dad talk. At age 11, she is currently #1 in the country for 50m breaststroke and holds several other top 5 rankings.
When looking at the accomplishments of my daughter and the success of NAPC, I see a HUGE correlation between a champion business and a champion athlete.
Here are the top traits that make my daughter the star athlete she is, which also happen to be the same four things that make North American Powertrain Components a successful company.
1. SAVAGE FOCUS AND IMMENSE LONGING TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES
Whether it is coming back from an injury, being cut from a team, or reverse engineering a new high tech transmission - top companies and top athletes both face hard times with unrelenting resolve. The two groups are also proactive about training at the highest level possible. We ensure that all the builders at NAPC are ATRA certified and have attended many ATSG & ATRA seminars.
2. CONSTANTLY SETTING NEW GOALS AND CHALLENGES
For most swimmers, making it to the end of the season is a goal. In our home, my daughter never sits on her ass, feeling content with her accomplishments. She views each medal (current count is 52 ) as a stepping stone to the next level. “ I can be faster” and “I can do better” are common phrases I hear.
The same goes for NAPC, as we are always pushing for the next level. We recently purchased a Superflow Valve Body Dyno which put our company in a category above the rest. We can now perform top level tests on valve bodies in addition to using this tool for further research and development.
3. HIGH PERFORMERS ARE INTRINSICALLY MOTIVATED
When compared to other children her age, there are clear differences in how my daughter views her sport and what she finds. High performing athletes tend to engage in self- reflection on their performances. This inward focus is a high level mentality. Not caring what others are doing is an outlook we also share as a company. We are not bothered to focus on our competition and instead set our own standards.
For example, our industry leading warranty of 3 year 160,000 km on our remanufactured transmissions, transfer cases, drive shafts, front and rear differentials is unmatched. Monitoring the performance of the competition can easily affect your mood. Being motivated by external influences can also lead to poor decision making because the motivation is driven from something that you can’t control.
4. BEING A GOOD LEADER AND MENTOR
My firsthand experience has shown that the best swimmers have parents that take a more hands off approach. We see better results when we gently guide our daughter in the right direction, rather than pushing her.
That doesn’t mean that we don’t care or that we don’t do the fundraising or the carpooling. It is actually the complete opposite. We do the “parent stuff” and we let our daughter do the “swim stuff.” As a result our daughter is able to “own” her swimming, training and performances. This allows her to find her own motivation and engage in the sport.
Truth be told, as the VP of NAPC I try and do the same. My employees are high performers who are proud of what they do. They want to be the best they can be and I want to empower them to do so. The expectations are set, tools and mentorship are given, respect is earned and the results are tremendous.
LEADING THE WAY
Ignoring things like genetics and pure talent for a second, being awesome isn’t all that complicated. It’s about having a mindset that thrives in the face of setbacks and finding internal gratification and self-reward in the work being done. It also involves having and keeping an evolving set of goals in an environment that allows you to take accountability for your work (or swimming).
It is adamant that you focus on controlling the things that you can actually control. If there is one thing I have learned, it is the way you react to the conditions you are dealt dictates the final outcome of your performance.
The NAPC facility is a world class place to work and the results are shown in our final product. We are backed by an industry leading warranty, uncompromised quality of parts and the best trained employees in the industry.
To book a tour please email me at todd.crane@napc.ca.
