Discussion: Motorcycle Related Career Paths

[tsorfas]

i read this quote today that i really like.

Never hire for Skill.
Hire for passion.

Skills are cheap, passion is hard to come by.

And I realized my entire career in positions where I did the hiring I never hired people based on skills.
I mostly cared about seeing passion in them and tried to evaluate if i can trust them and if they would be a good fit in my teams.
I believed that I can teach almost anyone to sell, but i wanted people who are hungry, people who will appreciate the work and time I invest in them.

I am proud to say that the last 8 people I hired while I was at AT&T are all managers today, one of them just took over the store I left, all of them talk to me often and came to me prep them for their interviews although I hadnt been with the company any more.
only one of them had previous sales experience.
One of them had actually failed the online test, and the personality interview, but I really liked the kid. He is now the best manager out of all of them and was also the best sales rep out of them.

I have been given several chances in my life because people saw something in me that others (myself included at times) couldnt see.
I learned a lot from that.

I hope people who are in charge of hiring or even people seeking employment can learn something from this. If you believe in something or someone dont be afraid to invest and take risks.

[Petorius]

i read this quote today that i really like.

Never hire for Skill.
Hire for passion.

Skills are cheap, passion is hard to come by.

And I realized my entire career in positions where I did the hiring I never hired people based on skills.
I mostly cared about seeing passion in them and tried to evaluate if i can trust them and if they would be a good fit in my teams.
I believed that I can teach almost anyone to sell, but i wanted people who are hungry, people who will appreciate the work and time I invest in them.

I am proud to say that the last 8 people I hired while I was at AT&T are all managers today, one of them just took over the store I left, all of them talk to me often and came to me prep them for their interviews although I hadnt been with the company any more.
only one of them had previous sales experience.
One of them had actually failed the online test, and the personality interview, but I really liked the kid. He is now the best manager out of all of them and was also the best sales rep out of them.

I have been given several chances in my life because people saw something in me that others (myself included at times) couldnt see.
I learned a lot from that.

I hope people who are in charge of hiring or even people seeking employment can learn something from this. If you believe in something or someone dont be afraid to invest and take risks.

Have you considered doing something like talent development, recruiting, or HR for a job? Sounds like you would enjoy that.

[nhbubba]

Never hire for Skill.
Hire for passion.

Skills are cheap, passion is hard to come by.

I agree with this entirely.

[tsorfas]

Have you considered doing something like talent development, recruiting, or HR for a job? Sounds like you would enjoy that.

no i havent considered it. I dont know what it takes, or how to go about it. Maybe doing some research and learning about it.

[AEG]

i read this quote today that i really like.

Never hire for Skill.
Hire for passion.

Skills are cheap, passion is hard to come by.

And I realized my entire career in positions where I did the hiring I never hired people based on skills.
I mostly cared about seeing passion in them and tried to evaluate if i can trust them and if they would be a good fit in my teams.
I believed that I can teach almost anyone to sell, but i wanted people who are hungry, people who will appreciate the work and time I invest in them.

I am proud to say that the last 8 people I hired while I was at AT&T are all managers today, one of them just took over the store I left, all of them talk to me often and came to me prep them for their interviews although I hadnt been with the company any more.
only one of them had previous sales experience.
One of them had actually failed the online test, and the personality interview, but I really liked the kid. He is now the best manager out of all of them and was also the best sales rep out of them.

I have been given several chances in my life because people saw something in me that others (myself included at times) couldnt see.
I learned a lot from that.

I hope people who are in charge of hiring or even people seeking employment can learn something from this. If you believe in something or someone dont be afraid to invest and take risks.

What you did there requires SKILLS. It takes skills to recognize the talent and find it where the most will step over and keep going.

[tsorfas]

What you did there requires SKILLS. It takes skills to recognize the talent and find it where the most will step over and keep going.

because someone else at some point in time decide to "invest" his time on me and teach me a thing or two.
I consider myself very blessed for having met some very great people in my life.

[Jaynnus]

There is every type of job available in the motorcycle industry. Don't forget that every business needs people like buyers, analysts, IT, marketing, accounting, operations, logistics, HR etc. You don't have to limit yourself to the parts, sales, service side nor does your position in a motorcycle industry leader mean that you will be driven by the seasons. Just don't be fooled, just because the product is motorcycle related does not mean that your position is any more interesting than it would be in another industry. Whether my sales people sell motorcycles or toe jam makes no difference when I am running reporting or analyzing trends. It does mean that you get to work with like minded, sorta crazy, and always wacky motorcycle riding types.

[TheIglu]

I suppose this works in soft-fields like sales and management, or in fields where people are passionate about them.

For the technical side of things, I'd say opposite.

I'll take a grumpy but knowledgeable and skilled IT guy over a passionate stick in the mud any day. Passion doesn't fix the systems when they are down.

I've known some really passionate people who work on motorcycles or sell them for a living.

Then the guys who get my money are the ones that actually know their shit.

My dog has a passion for hide and seek, but he absolutely sucks balls at it. Good thing I'm not paying him.

[backinthesaddle]

I haven't worked in a bike shop since 1986 while in college, but you do get to talk bikes all day, work with others who like bikes, get discounts. The downside can be long hours in the season and little time to ride (back then we were open 9-8 on MWF, 9-6 on T and Th, and 9-4 on Sat, but we raced MX on sundays!). But again this from the dealership side of the industry. Like Jaynnus mentioned there are other parts of the bike industry and they need more than sales, service, and parts. I thought the folks at EBR that I met last year were in a sweet spot, then of course that fell apart.

[backinthesaddle]

I suppose this works in soft-fields like sales and management, or in fields where people are passionate about them.

For the technical side of things, I'd say opposite.

I'll take a grumpy but knowledgeable and skilled IT guy over a passionate stick in the mud any day. Passion doesn't fix the systems when they are down.

I've known some really passionate people who work on motorcycles or sell them for a living.

Then the guys who get my money are the ones that actually know their shit.

My dog has a passion for hide and seek, but he absolutely sucks balls at it. Good thing I'm not paying him.

I will say though that a passion for IT does help (and probably for any field), can't replace experience, but back when I shifted from accounting to accounting systems and then to IT in 1995. I passionately read every white paper I could come across, or book, or worked with test systems. Now its like I can't find the time to prepare for the SAN I am putting in, or phone system, or firewall upgrade, or new cost accounting software. Maybe my hands are in too many places or the network world has expanded too quickly over the years to be all things to all people, or maybe the passion is a little less 20 years later.

[tsorfas]

Obviously I don't think it applies to every industry.

My IT support at my current job isn't passionate at all about what he does. Yet we work great together because we understand each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Clay I don't say passion is everything. But you can teach a passionate person skills and knowledge. But not the opposite.

More importantly Clay, I don't think you represent the majority of the average consumer.

[tsorfas]

Another example of friend who has always been passionate about computers and stuff. Self taught. Hated school. Currently has an amazing IT job. Because he has always been passionate about what he does. The right opportunity popped a guy gave him a chance and it all went awesome from there.

[Kurlon]

Counter point - I had a coworker at one point that was very passionate, but not skilled. Nor could he be taught, he just didn't have the mindset to logically think things through for troubleshooting. Tried his damnedest, but in the end it wasn't a good fit for him.

I used to be passionate, I'm self taught, used my ego and skill set to land the job I've got. I've since had to learn how to tone it down lest I burn out again. Now I'm just good at what I do but I leave it all here at work when I walk out the door for the day. Instead you poor souls have to put up with me refocusing that energy on unicorns.

[RandyO]

the best motorcycle related career path has nothing to do with motorcycles, it is a career in which you can use a motorcycle as transportation that you can get reimbursed that requires daily travel in rural areas during the day

[tsorfas]

I would be very happy doing this for a living

Motorcycle vs. Car Drift Battle 4 (Full 4K) - YouTube

[SVRACER01]

that trike was fucking dope. 360hp.

[nick5446]

i read this quote today that i really like.

Never hire for Skill.
Hire for passion.

Skills are cheap, passion is hard to come by.

And I realized my entire career in positions where I did the hiring I never hired people based on skills.
I mostly cared about seeing passion in them and tried to evaluate if i can trust them and if they would be a good fit in my teams.
I believed that I can teach almost anyone to sell, but i wanted people who are hungry, people who will appreciate the work and time I invest in them.

I am proud to say that the last 8 people I hired while I was at AT&T are all managers today, one of them just took over the store I left, all of them talk to me often and came to me prep them for their interviews although I hadnt been with the company any more.
only one of them had previous sales experience.
One of them had actually failed the online test, and the personality interview, but I really liked the kid. He is now the best manager out of all of them and was also the best sales rep out of them.

I have been given several chances in my life because people saw something in me that others (myself included at times) couldnt see.
I learned a lot from that.

I hope people who are in charge of hiring or even people seeking employment can learn something from this. If you believe in something or someone dont be afraid to invest and take risks.

You should read Good to Great

And if you have questions about the MC industry you can PM me. I've worked for a few companies on the OE side.

[cdovego]

Good to great was required reading at Gap HQ.

[nick5446]

Good to great was required reading at Gap HQ.

Hated every page of it, along with Built to Last. That guy is a pretentious ass.

[carsick]

You should read Good to Great

OK.

Hated every page of it, along with Built to Last. That guy is a pretentious ass.

Wait, what?

[cdovego]

Who moved my cheese really delivered, lol.

[nick5446]

OK.

Wait, what?

Do as I say, not as I do?

[carsick]

All funnin' aside, is the book a worthwhile read for a self employed small business owner, or is it a laughable required read for corporate slaves?

[nick5446]

All funnin' aside, is the book a worthwhile read for a self employed small business owner, or is it a laughable required read for corporate slaves?

Yeah, it's a good and pretty easy read. Some good points are made.

[Stromper]

I do suppose the MC business is much different in areas with an all year season

ATV's jetskis and snowmobiles have helped dealerships survive