SEMA News—September 2014

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
By Jon Wyly

Are you Skating to Where the Puck Is Going to Be?

Arguably one of the greatest hockey players ever to pick up a stick, Wayne Gretzky is also credited with one of the most insightful quotes ever about focus and achievement: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” This simple thought captures the essence of staying ahead of the game: Think ahead, pay attention to where things are going, and go for it! Whether you are anticipating future trends in automotive accessories and performance or you’re staying on point with business technology, it’s critical to always be looking forward.

The same certainly applies when acting on the rapidly growing demands for quality, standards-compliant product data. I have said many times that those who are taking a wait-and-see attitude about their data will soon find themselves on the outside looking in as more-progressive competitors suddenly command front-stage visibility. How? With ready availability of quality product data, well maintained and expertly distributed, that creates a saturation of consumer awareness and brand recognition. Remember, more than 50% of consumers in the automotive specialty parts space use the Internet to research what products they are going to buy. If you are “data challenged,” you are as good as invisible on search engines such as Google and Bing.

And don’t assume for a second that customers will expend extra energy to find you because you have been around for 50 years or your stuff is way better than the other guy’s. Visibility is becoming more and more relevant every day, and the attention span of consumers is getting shorter and shorter. It’s often been said by Internet marketers that if you aren’t on the first page of Google results for search terms around your product or service, you aren’t being seen. Test it out for yourself. You might very well find that a search for your product category produces little or nothing for your brand, or maybe you are being saved by a few customers who are savvy about search-engine optimization. Is that going to drive the sales growth you are looking for in the next three, five or 10 years?

In this case, the “puck” is going to be in electronic form rather than where it has been in years past—i.e., paper catalogs, telephone calls and that event trailer you spend so much money on every year. We are hearing more and more from progressive manufacturers and retailers who have already stopped printing paper catalogs or are thinking hard about it. And what are they investing this saved money in? Websites, electronic catalogs, mobile capabilities, all powered by…you guessed it, product data.

And by the way, did you know that you can load, validate to the standards, securely store and distribute your product data with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC)to an unlimited number of customers for as little as $1,000 a year? Even the biggest companies in our marketplace simply can’t spend more than $600 a month to use the SDC’s powerful data-management system, and there are no upfront costs to get started! Oh, and there’s that free Help Desk support and some of the industry’s leading experts available to provide all the help you need.

So go check that budget and remind yourself how much you spend each year on customer dinners, sales calls and events. You might find that it’s pretty easy to see the value of an industry-owned and -operated solution that can and will help you get your data up to world-class standards and provide an easy way to manage it going forward—all at a pretty darn good price.

Check out the SDC. We’ll be happy to help you get up to speed in a hurry. We’ll give you the stick, help you navigate the ice and point you to exactly where the puck is going.

To learn more about how you can take control of your product data and manage it at the lowest possible cost, contact SDC Director of Membership Jim Graven via e-mail at jimg@semadatacoop.org or by phone at 888-958-6698 x4.

SEMA News—September 2014

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
By Jon Wyly

Are you Skating to Where the Puck Is Going to Be?

Arguably one of the greatest hockey players ever to pick up a stick, Wayne Gretzky is also credited with one of the most insightful quotes ever about focus and achievement: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” This simple thought captures the essence of staying ahead of the game: Think ahead, pay attention to where things are going, and go for it! Whether you are anticipating future trends in automotive accessories and performance or you’re staying on point with business technology, it’s critical to always be looking forward.

The same certainly applies when acting on the rapidly growing demands for quality, standards-compliant product data. I have said many times that those who are taking a wait-and-see attitude about their data will soon find themselves on the outside looking in as more-progressive competitors suddenly command front-stage visibility. How? With ready availability of quality product data, well maintained and expertly distributed, that creates a saturation of consumer awareness and brand recognition. Remember, more than 50% of consumers in the automotive specialty parts space use the Internet to research what products they are going to buy. If you are “data challenged,” you are as good as invisible on search engines such as Google and Bing.

And don’t assume for a second that customers will expend extra energy to find you because you have been around for 50 years or your stuff is way better than the other guy’s. Visibility is becoming more and more relevant every day, and the attention span of consumers is getting shorter and shorter. It’s often been said by Internet marketers that if you aren’t on the first page of Google results for search terms around your product or service, you aren’t being seen. Test it out for yourself. You might very well find that a search for your product category produces little or nothing for your brand, or maybe you are being saved by a few customers who are savvy about search-engine optimization. Is that going to drive the sales growth you are looking for in the next three, five or 10 years?

In this case, the “puck” is going to be in electronic form rather than where it has been in years past—i.e., paper catalogs, telephone calls and that event trailer you spend so much money on every year. We are hearing more and more from progressive manufacturers and retailers who have already stopped printing paper catalogs or are thinking hard about it. And what are they investing this saved money in? Websites, electronic catalogs, mobile capabilities, all powered by…you guessed it, product data.

And by the way, did you know that you can load, validate to the standards, securely store and distribute your product data with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC)to an unlimited number of customers for as little as $1,000 a year? Even the biggest companies in our marketplace simply can’t spend more than $600 a month to use the SDC’s powerful data-management system, and there are no upfront costs to get started! Oh, and there’s that free Help Desk support and some of the industry’s leading experts available to provide all the help you need.

So go check that budget and remind yourself how much you spend each year on customer dinners, sales calls and events. You might find that it’s pretty easy to see the value of an industry-owned and -operated solution that can and will help you get your data up to world-class standards and provide an easy way to manage it going forward—all at a pretty darn good price.

Check out the SDC. We’ll be happy to help you get up to speed in a hurry. We’ll give you the stick, help you navigate the ice and point you to exactly where the puck is going.

To learn more about how you can take control of your product data and manage it at the lowest possible cost, contact SDC Director of Membership Jim Graven via e-mail at jimg@semadatacoop.org or by phone at 888-958-6698 x4.

SEMA News—September 2014

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
By Jon Wyly

Are you Skating to Where the Puck Is Going to Be?

Arguably one of the greatest hockey players ever to pick up a stick, Wayne Gretzky is also credited with one of the most insightful quotes ever about focus and achievement: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” This simple thought captures the essence of staying ahead of the game: Think ahead, pay attention to where things are going, and go for it! Whether you are anticipating future trends in automotive accessories and performance or you’re staying on point with business technology, it’s critical to always be looking forward.

The same certainly applies when acting on the rapidly growing demands for quality, standards-compliant product data. I have said many times that those who are taking a wait-and-see attitude about their data will soon find themselves on the outside looking in as more-progressive competitors suddenly command front-stage visibility. How? With ready availability of quality product data, well maintained and expertly distributed, that creates a saturation of consumer awareness and brand recognition. Remember, more than 50% of consumers in the automotive specialty parts space use the Internet to research what products they are going to buy. If you are “data challenged,” you are as good as invisible on search engines such as Google and Bing.

And don’t assume for a second that customers will expend extra energy to find you because you have been around for 50 years or your stuff is way better than the other guy’s. Visibility is becoming more and more relevant every day, and the attention span of consumers is getting shorter and shorter. It’s often been said by Internet marketers that if you aren’t on the first page of Google results for search terms around your product or service, you aren’t being seen. Test it out for yourself. You might very well find that a search for your product category produces little or nothing for your brand, or maybe you are being saved by a few customers who are savvy about search-engine optimization. Is that going to drive the sales growth you are looking for in the next three, five or 10 years?

In this case, the “puck” is going to be in electronic form rather than where it has been in years past—i.e., paper catalogs, telephone calls and that event trailer you spend so much money on every year. We are hearing more and more from progressive manufacturers and retailers who have already stopped printing paper catalogs or are thinking hard about it. And what are they investing this saved money in? Websites, electronic catalogs, mobile capabilities, all powered by…you guessed it, product data.

And by the way, did you know that you can load, validate to the standards, securely store and distribute your product data with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC)to an unlimited number of customers for as little as $1,000 a year? Even the biggest companies in our marketplace simply can’t spend more than $600 a month to use the SDC’s powerful data-management system, and there are no upfront costs to get started! Oh, and there’s that free Help Desk support and some of the industry’s leading experts available to provide all the help you need.

So go check that budget and remind yourself how much you spend each year on customer dinners, sales calls and events. You might find that it’s pretty easy to see the value of an industry-owned and -operated solution that can and will help you get your data up to world-class standards and provide an easy way to manage it going forward—all at a pretty darn good price.

Check out the SDC. We’ll be happy to help you get up to speed in a hurry. We’ll give you the stick, help you navigate the ice and point you to exactly where the puck is going.

To learn more about how you can take control of your product data and manage it at the lowest possible cost, contact SDC Director of Membership Jim Graven via e-mail at jimg@semadatacoop.org or by phone at 888-958-6698 x4.

SEMA News—September 2014

BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY
By Jon Wyly

Are you Skating to Where the Puck Is Going to Be?

Arguably one of the greatest hockey players ever to pick up a stick, Wayne Gretzky is also credited with one of the most insightful quotes ever about focus and achievement: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” This simple thought captures the essence of staying ahead of the game: Think ahead, pay attention to where things are going, and go for it! Whether you are anticipating future trends in automotive accessories and performance or you’re staying on point with business technology, it’s critical to always be looking forward.

The same certainly applies when acting on the rapidly growing demands for quality, standards-compliant product data. I have said many times that those who are taking a wait-and-see attitude about their data will soon find themselves on the outside looking in as more-progressive competitors suddenly command front-stage visibility. How? With ready availability of quality product data, well maintained and expertly distributed, that creates a saturation of consumer awareness and brand recognition. Remember, more than 50% of consumers in the automotive specialty parts space use the Internet to research what products they are going to buy. If you are “data challenged,” you are as good as invisible on search engines such as Google and Bing.

And don’t assume for a second that customers will expend extra energy to find you because you have been around for 50 years or your stuff is way better than the other guy’s. Visibility is becoming more and more relevant every day, and the attention span of consumers is getting shorter and shorter. It’s often been said by Internet marketers that if you aren’t on the first page of Google results for search terms around your product or service, you aren’t being seen. Test it out for yourself. You might very well find that a search for your product category produces little or nothing for your brand, or maybe you are being saved by a few customers who are savvy about search-engine optimization. Is that going to drive the sales growth you are looking for in the next three, five or 10 years?

In this case, the “puck” is going to be in electronic form rather than where it has been in years past—i.e., paper catalogs, telephone calls and that event trailer you spend so much money on every year. We are hearing more and more from progressive manufacturers and retailers who have already stopped printing paper catalogs or are thinking hard about it. And what are they investing this saved money in? Websites, electronic catalogs, mobile capabilities, all powered by…you guessed it, product data.

And by the way, did you know that you can load, validate to the standards, securely store and distribute your product data with the SEMA Data Co-op (SDC)to an unlimited number of customers for as little as $1,000 a year? Even the biggest companies in our marketplace simply can’t spend more than $600 a month to use the SDC’s powerful data-management system, and there are no upfront costs to get started! Oh, and there’s that free Help Desk support and some of the industry’s leading experts available to provide all the help you need.

So go check that budget and remind yourself how much you spend each year on customer dinners, sales calls and events. You might find that it’s pretty easy to see the value of an industry-owned and -operated solution that can and will help you get your data up to world-class standards and provide an easy way to manage it going forward—all at a pretty darn good price.

Check out the SDC. We’ll be happy to help you get up to speed in a hurry. We’ll give you the stick, help you navigate the ice and point you to exactly where the puck is going.

To learn more about how you can take control of your product data and manage it at the lowest possible cost, contact SDC Director of Membership Jim Graven via e-mail at jimg@semadatacoop.org or by phone at 888-958-6698 x4.

SEMA News—September 2014

CHRIS KERSTING

Recruiting and Cultivating for the Future

For decades now, SEMA members have expressed concern about the aging of the automotive specialty segment and the number of young enthusiasts entering the marketplace and our workforce. Addressing those concerns, SEMA has developed a number of initiatives, many of which have matured and grown. There has been expansion of the SEMA Young Executive Network (YEN), now 1,300 strong; development of a robust student program that brings 500-plus automotive students to the SEMA Show each year; and substantial support of other productive youth-oriented automotive programs, such as Hot Rodders of Tomorrow.

More recently, we’ve initiated the Gen III Innovator award to identify and recognize outstanding talent and, for the third year now, we are honoring 35 young individuals who have been recommended by their peers as outstanding examples of innovators and young leaders in our industry. You’ll find the story of this year’s under-35 honorees in this issue, and they are an impressive group. About a third of them work at SEMA-member companies or have some SEMA council affiliation, but many are young people who’ve had little or no prior relationship to the association.

Bridging to future leaders who are not yet a part of the SEMA community is a key opportunity within this program. As a group, the honorees are entrepreneurial in nature, innovative and enthusiastic. Once identified through this peer-to-peer program, we look for appropriate ways to help them succeed with their businesses, become involved in SEMA and, we hope, propel the future success of the industry.

The initiatives I’ve noted have already made a difference when it comes to attracting and integrating young people into our industry. But we are always looking for new and promising ideas.

One new initiative created by YEN came to fruition earlier this summer, when SEMA embedded 10 YEN members into the Hot Rod Power Tour. This experience gave these future leaders new insights into the industry and personal access to established industry leaders. Perhaps of greater significance, these outgoing business ambassadors spent the week meeting with young enthusiasts and speaking at vocational and technical schools to highlight our industry as an exciting, attainable career path.

I had the chance to personally witness some of those connections and conversations, and they reminded me of the many stories I’ve heard about how great icons in our industry were initially inspired by encounters with people who had already succeeded in turning their passion into careers. Our ambassadors posted blogs, made videos and tweeted their messages to create a social-media groundswell aimed at a younger generation. The project was a real success.

Another recent project is allowing us to test ways to bring promising young talent into member companies.

The Career Windows Project is an internship—with a twist. Instead of the traditional internship, where an individual might spend a summer working as an entry-level employee in a single department of a business, the Career Windows Project moves the intern through multiple departments in a short amount of time. The intern might spend two or three days in each of several different departments, such as product development, manufacturing, warehousing, customer service, shipping, marketing and administration.

This framework allows the intern to gain a broad view of various roles in a specialty automotive business in perhaps three weeks. It makes for a reasonable commitment by the host company, and the intern can see more, try out more workplace roles and assess more career choices within our industry. This kind of program also benefits the company by gaining access to strong future prospects for employment. The cost, in time and money, is minimized by the short duration of the internship, but the upside is maximized.

We recently conducted a “pilot” Career Windows Project internship here at SEMA headquarters, leading us to the conclusion that this concept—along with more traditional internships—might be something we could coordinate for the industry, matching potential host companies with prospects from the many schools and programs where young people are exploring automotive careers. It’s just one more way that SEMA may be able to help member companies connect with new talent and energy and build companies that can succeed into the future.

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

SEMA News—September 2014

CHRIS KERSTING

Recruiting and Cultivating for the Future

For decades now, SEMA members have expressed concern about the aging of the automotive specialty segment and the number of young enthusiasts entering the marketplace and our workforce. Addressing those concerns, SEMA has developed a number of initiatives, many of which have matured and grown. There has been expansion of the SEMA Young Executive Network (YEN), now 1,300 strong; development of a robust student program that brings 500-plus automotive students to the SEMA Show each year; and substantial support of other productive youth-oriented automotive programs, such as Hot Rodders of Tomorrow.

More recently, we’ve initiated the Gen III Innovator award to identify and recognize outstanding talent and, for the third year now, we are honoring 35 young individuals who have been recommended by their peers as outstanding examples of innovators and young leaders in our industry. You’ll find the story of this year’s under-35 honorees in this issue, and they are an impressive group. About a third of them work at SEMA-member companies or have some SEMA council affiliation, but many are young people who’ve had little or no prior relationship to the association.

Bridging to future leaders who are not yet a part of the SEMA community is a key opportunity within this program. As a group, the honorees are entrepreneurial in nature, innovative and enthusiastic. Once identified through this peer-to-peer program, we look for appropriate ways to help them succeed with their businesses, become involved in SEMA and, we hope, propel the future success of the industry.

The initiatives I’ve noted have already made a difference when it comes to attracting and integrating young people into our industry. But we are always looking for new and promising ideas.

One new initiative created by YEN came to fruition earlier this summer, when SEMA embedded 10 YEN members into the Hot Rod Power Tour. This experience gave these future leaders new insights into the industry and personal access to established industry leaders. Perhaps of greater significance, these outgoing business ambassadors spent the week meeting with young enthusiasts and speaking at vocational and technical schools to highlight our industry as an exciting, attainable career path.

I had the chance to personally witness some of those connections and conversations, and they reminded me of the many stories I’ve heard about how great icons in our industry were initially inspired by encounters with people who had already succeeded in turning their passion into careers. Our ambassadors posted blogs, made videos and tweeted their messages to create a social-media groundswell aimed at a younger generation. The project was a real success.

Another recent project is allowing us to test ways to bring promising young talent into member companies.

The Career Windows Project is an internship—with a twist. Instead of the traditional internship, where an individual might spend a summer working as an entry-level employee in a single department of a business, the Career Windows Project moves the intern through multiple departments in a short amount of time. The intern might spend two or three days in each of several different departments, such as product development, manufacturing, warehousing, customer service, shipping, marketing and administration.

This framework allows the intern to gain a broad view of various roles in a specialty automotive business in perhaps three weeks. It makes for a reasonable commitment by the host company, and the intern can see more, try out more workplace roles and assess more career choices within our industry. This kind of program also benefits the company by gaining access to strong future prospects for employment. The cost, in time and money, is minimized by the short duration of the internship, but the upside is maximized.

We recently conducted a “pilot” Career Windows Project internship here at SEMA headquarters, leading us to the conclusion that this concept—along with more traditional internships—might be something we could coordinate for the industry, matching potential host companies with prospects from the many schools and programs where young people are exploring automotive careers. It’s just one more way that SEMA may be able to help member companies connect with new talent and energy and build companies that can succeed into the future.

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

SEMA News—September 2014

CHRIS KERSTING

Recruiting and Cultivating for the Future

For decades now, SEMA members have expressed concern about the aging of the automotive specialty segment and the number of young enthusiasts entering the marketplace and our workforce. Addressing those concerns, SEMA has developed a number of initiatives, many of which have matured and grown. There has been expansion of the SEMA Young Executive Network (YEN), now 1,300 strong; development of a robust student program that brings 500-plus automotive students to the SEMA Show each year; and substantial support of other productive youth-oriented automotive programs, such as Hot Rodders of Tomorrow.

More recently, we’ve initiated the Gen III Innovator award to identify and recognize outstanding talent and, for the third year now, we are honoring 35 young individuals who have been recommended by their peers as outstanding examples of innovators and young leaders in our industry. You’ll find the story of this year’s under-35 honorees in this issue, and they are an impressive group. About a third of them work at SEMA-member companies or have some SEMA council affiliation, but many are young people who’ve had little or no prior relationship to the association.

Bridging to future leaders who are not yet a part of the SEMA community is a key opportunity within this program. As a group, the honorees are entrepreneurial in nature, innovative and enthusiastic. Once identified through this peer-to-peer program, we look for appropriate ways to help them succeed with their businesses, become involved in SEMA and, we hope, propel the future success of the industry.

The initiatives I’ve noted have already made a difference when it comes to attracting and integrating young people into our industry. But we are always looking for new and promising ideas.

One new initiative created by YEN came to fruition earlier this summer, when SEMA embedded 10 YEN members into the Hot Rod Power Tour. This experience gave these future leaders new insights into the industry and personal access to established industry leaders. Perhaps of greater significance, these outgoing business ambassadors spent the week meeting with young enthusiasts and speaking at vocational and technical schools to highlight our industry as an exciting, attainable career path.

I had the chance to personally witness some of those connections and conversations, and they reminded me of the many stories I’ve heard about how great icons in our industry were initially inspired by encounters with people who had already succeeded in turning their passion into careers. Our ambassadors posted blogs, made videos and tweeted their messages to create a social-media groundswell aimed at a younger generation. The project was a real success.

Another recent project is allowing us to test ways to bring promising young talent into member companies.

The Career Windows Project is an internship—with a twist. Instead of the traditional internship, where an individual might spend a summer working as an entry-level employee in a single department of a business, the Career Windows Project moves the intern through multiple departments in a short amount of time. The intern might spend two or three days in each of several different departments, such as product development, manufacturing, warehousing, customer service, shipping, marketing and administration.

This framework allows the intern to gain a broad view of various roles in a specialty automotive business in perhaps three weeks. It makes for a reasonable commitment by the host company, and the intern can see more, try out more workplace roles and assess more career choices within our industry. This kind of program also benefits the company by gaining access to strong future prospects for employment. The cost, in time and money, is minimized by the short duration of the internship, but the upside is maximized.

We recently conducted a “pilot” Career Windows Project internship here at SEMA headquarters, leading us to the conclusion that this concept—along with more traditional internships—might be something we could coordinate for the industry, matching potential host companies with prospects from the many schools and programs where young people are exploring automotive careers. It’s just one more way that SEMA may be able to help member companies connect with new talent and energy and build companies that can succeed into the future.

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

SEMA News—September 2014

CHRIS KERSTING

Recruiting and Cultivating for the Future

For decades now, SEMA members have expressed concern about the aging of the automotive specialty segment and the number of young enthusiasts entering the marketplace and our workforce. Addressing those concerns, SEMA has developed a number of initiatives, many of which have matured and grown. There has been expansion of the SEMA Young Executive Network (YEN), now 1,300 strong; development of a robust student program that brings 500-plus automotive students to the SEMA Show each year; and substantial support of other productive youth-oriented automotive programs, such as Hot Rodders of Tomorrow.

More recently, we’ve initiated the Gen III Innovator award to identify and recognize outstanding talent and, for the third year now, we are honoring 35 young individuals who have been recommended by their peers as outstanding examples of innovators and young leaders in our industry. You’ll find the story of this year’s under-35 honorees in this issue, and they are an impressive group. About a third of them work at SEMA-member companies or have some SEMA council affiliation, but many are young people who’ve had little or no prior relationship to the association.

Bridging to future leaders who are not yet a part of the SEMA community is a key opportunity within this program. As a group, the honorees are entrepreneurial in nature, innovative and enthusiastic. Once identified through this peer-to-peer program, we look for appropriate ways to help them succeed with their businesses, become involved in SEMA and, we hope, propel the future success of the industry.

The initiatives I’ve noted have already made a difference when it comes to attracting and integrating young people into our industry. But we are always looking for new and promising ideas.

One new initiative created by YEN came to fruition earlier this summer, when SEMA embedded 10 YEN members into the Hot Rod Power Tour. This experience gave these future leaders new insights into the industry and personal access to established industry leaders. Perhaps of greater significance, these outgoing business ambassadors spent the week meeting with young enthusiasts and speaking at vocational and technical schools to highlight our industry as an exciting, attainable career path.

I had the chance to personally witness some of those connections and conversations, and they reminded me of the many stories I’ve heard about how great icons in our industry were initially inspired by encounters with people who had already succeeded in turning their passion into careers. Our ambassadors posted blogs, made videos and tweeted their messages to create a social-media groundswell aimed at a younger generation. The project was a real success.

Another recent project is allowing us to test ways to bring promising young talent into member companies.

The Career Windows Project is an internship—with a twist. Instead of the traditional internship, where an individual might spend a summer working as an entry-level employee in a single department of a business, the Career Windows Project moves the intern through multiple departments in a short amount of time. The intern might spend two or three days in each of several different departments, such as product development, manufacturing, warehousing, customer service, shipping, marketing and administration.

This framework allows the intern to gain a broad view of various roles in a specialty automotive business in perhaps three weeks. It makes for a reasonable commitment by the host company, and the intern can see more, try out more workplace roles and assess more career choices within our industry. This kind of program also benefits the company by gaining access to strong future prospects for employment. The cost, in time and money, is minimized by the short duration of the internship, but the upside is maximized.

We recently conducted a “pilot” Career Windows Project internship here at SEMA headquarters, leading us to the conclusion that this concept—along with more traditional internships—might be something we could coordinate for the industry, matching potential host companies with prospects from the many schools and programs where young people are exploring automotive careers. It’s just one more way that SEMA may be able to help member companies connect with new talent and energy and build companies that can succeed into the future.

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

SEMA News—September 2014

CHRIS KERSTING

Recruiting and Cultivating for the Future

For decades now, SEMA members have expressed concern about the aging of the automotive specialty segment and the number of young enthusiasts entering the marketplace and our workforce. Addressing those concerns, SEMA has developed a number of initiatives, many of which have matured and grown. There has been expansion of the SEMA Young Executive Network (YEN), now 1,300 strong; development of a robust student program that brings 500-plus automotive students to the SEMA Show each year; and substantial support of other productive youth-oriented automotive programs, such as Hot Rodders of Tomorrow.

More recently, we’ve initiated the Gen III Innovator award to identify and recognize outstanding talent and, for the third year now, we are honoring 35 young individuals who have been recommended by their peers as outstanding examples of innovators and young leaders in our industry. You’ll find the story of this year’s under-35 honorees in this issue, and they are an impressive group. About a third of them work at SEMA-member companies or have some SEMA council affiliation, but many are young people who’ve had little or no prior relationship to the association.

Bridging to future leaders who are not yet a part of the SEMA community is a key opportunity within this program. As a group, the honorees are entrepreneurial in nature, innovative and enthusiastic. Once identified through this peer-to-peer program, we look for appropriate ways to help them succeed with their businesses, become involved in SEMA and, we hope, propel the future success of the industry.

The initiatives I’ve noted have already made a difference when it comes to attracting and integrating young people into our industry. But we are always looking for new and promising ideas.

One new initiative created by YEN came to fruition earlier this summer, when SEMA embedded 10 YEN members into the Hot Rod Power Tour. This experience gave these future leaders new insights into the industry and personal access to established industry leaders. Perhaps of greater significance, these outgoing business ambassadors spent the week meeting with young enthusiasts and speaking at vocational and technical schools to highlight our industry as an exciting, attainable career path.

I had the chance to personally witness some of those connections and conversations, and they reminded me of the many stories I’ve heard about how great icons in our industry were initially inspired by encounters with people who had already succeeded in turning their passion into careers. Our ambassadors posted blogs, made videos and tweeted their messages to create a social-media groundswell aimed at a younger generation. The project was a real success.

Another recent project is allowing us to test ways to bring promising young talent into member companies.

The Career Windows Project is an internship—with a twist. Instead of the traditional internship, where an individual might spend a summer working as an entry-level employee in a single department of a business, the Career Windows Project moves the intern through multiple departments in a short amount of time. The intern might spend two or three days in each of several different departments, such as product development, manufacturing, warehousing, customer service, shipping, marketing and administration.

This framework allows the intern to gain a broad view of various roles in a specialty automotive business in perhaps three weeks. It makes for a reasonable commitment by the host company, and the intern can see more, try out more workplace roles and assess more career choices within our industry. This kind of program also benefits the company by gaining access to strong future prospects for employment. The cost, in time and money, is minimized by the short duration of the internship, but the upside is maximized.

We recently conducted a “pilot” Career Windows Project internship here at SEMA headquarters, leading us to the conclusion that this concept—along with more traditional internships—might be something we could coordinate for the industry, matching potential host companies with prospects from the many schools and programs where young people are exploring automotive careers. It’s just one more way that SEMA may be able to help member companies connect with new talent and energy and build companies that can succeed into the future.

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO

SEMA News—September 2014

CHRIS KERSTING

Recruiting and Cultivating for the Future

For decades now, SEMA members have expressed concern about the aging of the automotive specialty segment and the number of young enthusiasts entering the marketplace and our workforce. Addressing those concerns, SEMA has developed a number of initiatives, many of which have matured and grown. There has been expansion of the SEMA Young Executive Network (YEN), now 1,300 strong; development of a robust student program that brings 500-plus automotive students to the SEMA Show each year; and substantial support of other productive youth-oriented automotive programs, such as Hot Rodders of Tomorrow.

More recently, we’ve initiated the Gen III Innovator award to identify and recognize outstanding talent and, for the third year now, we are honoring 35 young individuals who have been recommended by their peers as outstanding examples of innovators and young leaders in our industry. You’ll find the story of this year’s under-35 honorees in this issue, and they are an impressive group. About a third of them work at SEMA-member companies or have some SEMA council affiliation, but many are young people who’ve had little or no prior relationship to the association.

Bridging to future leaders who are not yet a part of the SEMA community is a key opportunity within this program. As a group, the honorees are entrepreneurial in nature, innovative and enthusiastic. Once identified through this peer-to-peer program, we look for appropriate ways to help them succeed with their businesses, become involved in SEMA and, we hope, propel the future success of the industry.

The initiatives I’ve noted have already made a difference when it comes to attracting and integrating young people into our industry. But we are always looking for new and promising ideas.

One new initiative created by YEN came to fruition earlier this summer, when SEMA embedded 10 YEN members into the Hot Rod Power Tour. This experience gave these future leaders new insights into the industry and personal access to established industry leaders. Perhaps of greater significance, these outgoing business ambassadors spent the week meeting with young enthusiasts and speaking at vocational and technical schools to highlight our industry as an exciting, attainable career path.

I had the chance to personally witness some of those connections and conversations, and they reminded me of the many stories I’ve heard about how great icons in our industry were initially inspired by encounters with people who had already succeeded in turning their passion into careers. Our ambassadors posted blogs, made videos and tweeted their messages to create a social-media groundswell aimed at a younger generation. The project was a real success.

Another recent project is allowing us to test ways to bring promising young talent into member companies.

The Career Windows Project is an internship—with a twist. Instead of the traditional internship, where an individual might spend a summer working as an entry-level employee in a single department of a business, the Career Windows Project moves the intern through multiple departments in a short amount of time. The intern might spend two or three days in each of several different departments, such as product development, manufacturing, warehousing, customer service, shipping, marketing and administration.

This framework allows the intern to gain a broad view of various roles in a specialty automotive business in perhaps three weeks. It makes for a reasonable commitment by the host company, and the intern can see more, try out more workplace roles and assess more career choices within our industry. This kind of program also benefits the company by gaining access to strong future prospects for employment. The cost, in time and money, is minimized by the short duration of the internship, but the upside is maximized.

We recently conducted a “pilot” Career Windows Project internship here at SEMA headquarters, leading us to the conclusion that this concept—along with more traditional internships—might be something we could coordinate for the industry, matching potential host companies with prospects from the many schools and programs where young people are exploring automotive careers. It’s just one more way that SEMA may be able to help member companies connect with new talent and energy and build companies that can succeed into the future.

—Chris Kersting, SEMA President and CEO