Pub. 19 2020-2021 Issue 2

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S 13 new jersey auto retailer W W W . N J C A R . O R G UNCERTAIN TIMES  continued on page 14 It is easy to consider going remote when you have a desk job or a career that is already rooted in flex-time industries. However, what about those that don’t have it as easy? Virtual reality and augmented reality ( VR and AR ) are two technologies that have started gaining traction in recent years, given the exponential changes of the Three Digital Accelera- tors of bandwidth, computing power, and processing power. Now more than ever, we can see industries — which ordinarily are unable to go remote because they were based on the need for a customer to be physically present — figure out ways to provide a remote customer experience. An incredibly outside-the-box example can be found by way of museums, zoos, and even theme parks going remote. Monterey Bay Aquarium and Walt Disney World have gone remote using live-streaming video and a form of virtual reality applications like Google Street View, so guests having to cancel their vaca- tion can still “walk through” Disney World with their families for something to do. If Walt Disney World, an in-person entertainment giant with visceral experiences, can find a way to go remote, imagine the remote possibilities in several other industries around the world. Innovation Is Needed More Than Ever While our worlds may seem to be in a period of indefinite stasis, the world and peoples’ needs don’t stop. A Hard Trend most people take for granted is that there are more than 500 cycles that continue, such as the sun setting tonight and rising tomorrow, the stock market going down and going up, and the pandemic beginning and ending. I want us all to become positive disruptors, creating the disrup- tions that need to happen in order to make the world a better place for all. Being a disruptor during times like these might sound contrary to what people want. However, when you’re a positive disruptor, you choose significance over success, focusing much less on you and what you have done, and more on what you can do for others in a significant way. When you look for ways to elevate your significance in times like these, you can find new ways to change your community, your state, your nation, and, if you think big enough, even the world for the better. I can’t think of a more needed time than right now. Ask yourself: What can you and your organization do now that would have a significant impact on others? Stop looking at this economic and social slowdown as a time to wallow in the disruption of your status quo. It is also a free pass to innovate as much as you can! An identifiable Hard Trend based on the science of cycles is that the pandemic will end and the market and economy will bounce back. So in the meantime, focus on the positive difference you can make and what you can disrupt in a positive way — what you can do now to make a difference by helping others. The needs are massive and so are the opportunities to make a significant difference! Looking for Opportunity in Helping Others This pandemic has inadvertently leveled the playing field; there- fore, no one is safe from disruption, and this global disruption Stop looking at this economic and social slowdown as a time to wallow in the disruption of your status quo. It is also a free pass to innovate as much as you can! An identifiable Hard Trend based on the science of cycles is that the pandemic will end and the market and economy will bounce back. So in the meantime, focus on the positive difference you can make and what you can disrupt in a positive way — what you can do now to make a difference by helping others. The needs are massive and so are the opportunities to make a significant difference! is happening a lot faster than digital disruption. We’re all in the same boat, so one major way to innovate is to find ways to help your customers through this in ways you haven’t thought of before. You’re thinking too small if you are thinking of offering them a discount on your product or service. It’s better to look at their desperate needs now and ways that help them stay afloat, which in turn might help you stay afloat. This concept isn’t solely constrained to business and customer relationships. This touches on the topic of thinking about your employees who rely on you. You may be in business as a unified organization, but an employee now working remotely with kids at home and having to now think in terms of profits and losses in their personal life has unmet needs as well that you need to think about and act on. As you work to keep the doors open, what are you doing to take care of your own? Let’s return to the entertainment industry with an example of the National Basketball Association shutting down during this crisis. While it is no secret that owners, players, and team affiliates will be financially okay during this situation, the workers at the snack bars, restaurants, and merchandise stores will feel a major financial impact, if they can survive at all. However, many teams have stepped up and donated portions