Today, February 9, 2023, was a great day for the Goldfarb family. Our oldest son Michael and his wife Noemi had their second child, our third grandchild. A beautiful baby girl named Sasha Belle. We couldn’t be more thrilled and she’s perfect in our eyes. Mom and baby (and Dad) are doing very well. Don’t worry, we have the famous Goldfarb & Associates onesies ready for her (and anyone else who has a baby, just request one and we’ll send it right out!).
Sasha’s brother, Matan, and her cousin, Hallie (Scott’s daughter and future President of G & A) have kept my wife Elissa and I on a constant high for the last 2 years. Having our 3rd grandchild got me thinking. Why do we all work so hard? Why do many of us spend more time at work than we do at home? Some of the reasons are pretty obvious. Everyone wants to provide for their family. Many want to get rich. But that can’t and shouldn’t be the only reason. Some people want to build something to hand down to their children. Some people want to help their fellow employees and customers succeed. Others find the work fascinating, challenging, or exciting. For me, all of the above are true. Of course I want to be financially successful and take care of my family. Working with our terrific employees also gives me a thrill. Watching a new employee come to G & A without any knowledge of our industry and grow into a successful, contributing member of our team is really gratifying. Even more satisfying is listening to our employees talk with you, our vendors and customers, to find the right parts for you just when you need them. Nothing at work makes us happier than hearing someone say “Thank you so much, you really helped us out of a jam last time.”
In January, we had a fantastic time at the 2023 ADS/HDAW show in Dallas. Finally, things feel like they are getting back to normal. The crowds were substantially higher than last year. Karla, Scott, Brant, and I saw so many people that we hadn’t seen in 3 years. Goldfarb & Associates was one of the platinum sponsors of the “Get Acquainted” reception on Sunday night where everyone had a good time. The program on Monday was even better! The speakers were right on point and I was honored and surprised to receive the Joe Callahan Memorial Appreciation Award. I am so grateful to the Replacement Parts Committee and all of the members of ADS.
Anita Barlow of Delphi Diesel/BW Diesel/New Name gave a fantastic talk about her 40+ years in the Diesel Industry. I particularly liked her discussion of all of us being in a VUCA world. VUCA stands for: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity and represents the crazy times we find ourselves in. To counter this VUCA world, Anita suggests you need to be Versatile, Unstoppable, Collaborative and Audacious. This idea really resonated with me and I have begun reading up on how to thrive in a VUCA world. More on that some day.
The next 2 days were filled with productive networking opportunities. Whether at the HDAW trade show, the one-on-one meetings, or the random hallway conversations, meeting with existing and potential customers and vendors, in person, is really the best for building our business. Everyone was excited for our industry’s future, despite some of the EV technologies you will hear about from time to time. Diesel is still a thriving industry and appears to be on a good path for years to come. G & A’s booth at the tradeshow was busy non stop, none of us ever were able to walk the entire show. That’s a good and bad thing, but we came away appreciative for the opportunity to see so many of you. Once again, thank you to the Association of Diesel Specialists for putting on such a phenomenal event and we are already looking forward to next year’s show.
So, I ask again, why do we work so hard? Is it your family? Your employees? Or the great people in our industry? I think my answer is all of the above. What’s yours? Think about it, I would love to hear from all of you.
