Looking for happiness in the golden days of the past is a fool’s
errand. We do that in our politics, in our personal relationships, and it’s a
practice we follow in the trucking industry. Even if we could duplicate past
experiences that our minds have enshrined as golden oldies we have no way of
duplicating the circumstances from which they grew. Times change and our well-being
is dependent on our ability to adapt.
I had the pleasure of taking a young “millennial” with me on
one of my weekly Winnipeg rounders’ just before Christmas. This new young
driver has been working for our company part time in a variety of warehouse
positions and just obtained his learners permit for a class ‘A’ (class 1) truck
license. He has been shunting trucks & trailers around our yard for a few
years and was eager to see the open road and visit one of our other facilities.
When we talk about millennials and boomers we often
re-enforce stereotypes around the generation gap that exists between us. But
what I took away from our short trip together was how we share the same values
across the generations. It was easy to see within the first few hours together
that young people today are no less passionate about their interests than boomers
such as myself were in our youth. But through our conversation over the course
of the week I learned there is one stark difference between our generations.
When I was a young man at 20 years of age I faced a world
that was filled with opportunity and riches yet to be discovered. That was how
we viewed the world, or perhaps it’s better to say that is the way the world
was presented to my generation. It was a very positive outlook. I thank my
parents for that every day. Now contrast that to the world we are handing off
to our young people and the prevailing attitudes of today. It’s very much every
person for themselves in a world where the social contract between business and
the individual has been severed or is on life support.
I am sure that many young people look at the world as a
fixer upper that has been neglected by the previous tenants. The structure is
sound but it needs gutting and retro-fitting. This is a metaphor that fits the
trucking industry perfectly.
Fully half of us that drive today are of the boomer
generation. Changes are being rained down on us on what feels like a daily
basis. Our expectation as young people was stability and growth. We would
commit to a job for life and in return for that sweat equity and loyalty there
was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Well, we never allowed for any
twists in the plot and here we are. It’s time we take off our rose coloured
glasses and recognize that young people today face a more difficult road than
we did at the same age.
My young friend that made that trip with me was filled with
the same passion for trucking as all of the old dogs on the road but he recognizes
that change is imminent. He is not looking at driving a truck for life to
provide for himself and a family. He recognizes that driving is just one of the
skills you need. Tomorrow’s trucker will need a skill set that extends far
beyond the inside of a truck’s cab. In fact a trucker up to this point has been
viewed as a lone wolf, independent and free from the constraints of a regular
“job”. Drivers of the future need to be connected, not isolated, if they want
to prosper.
I have no idea on what trucking in 2050 is going to look
like. I’m certain it will be very different from today. That’s a safe bet and
an understatement.
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