Editor's Note

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Earlier this year the National Safety Council (NSC) declared that driving while talking on a cell phone puts drivers at four times greater risk for an accident and should be banned. The first time I ever heard of such a concept as cell-phone free driving was when I visited Hong Kong in 2001.

Having spent over a decade selling productivity solutions to roofing contractors, I always look forward to our annual Tool and Equipment Guide.

The mass media continues the assault our psyche with endless reports of “the worst economy since the Great Depression.” Each new report makes me want to work even harder to point to great opportunities existing for roofing contractors today.

I just spent the last few hours researching statistics about the dangers of falls in roofing. This research took me not only through statistics but reams of rules and regulations on fall protection from state and federal agencies, as well as those of several other countries.

When you consider all the good things that can come from a down cycle in the economy, it is hard to be depressed about it. I am not referring to silver linings, but golden opportunities.

It would be business as usual for me to add a P.S. to this editor’s note reminding you that it is not too late to sign up to attend the International Roofing Expo (IRE), which runs concurrently with three days of the NRCA convention next month. Most of you would agree, however, that business is anything but “as usual” right now.

How do you define success? That is a question I have asked at the conclusion of more interviews than I want to think about. For some reason it stops most interviewees in their tracks. I have become accustomed to patiently waiting on a response.

Aesop was writing about business in the 21st century in the 6th century B.C. Wonder if he knew? His fable about the tortoise and the hare has just been played out between a pair of banking giants. And the tortoise won again.

In addition to all the attention the retail media is giving to the upcoming national election, there is considerable talk among many of the business folks close to me about the effect it is having on markets.

The stark question virtually shouted at me from the bottom of page 38 in the July issue of Pro Sales magazine: “Sales Suck?” There it was, right there beneath a drawing of the Titanic slipping into oblivion.