Over the last five years the world of transportation has completely changed. In 2019, we had a robust growth pipeline and were growing and scaling at a remarkable pace in our industry. Then the pandemic hit, and things came to a grinding halt.??
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Corporate commute programs were shut down almost entirely. Demand for hospitality and valet services were nonexistent. And opportunities that we signed and sealed for delivery died instantly.??
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I faced the most challenging time of my life, not only as a founder and business leader, but as a father, with four kiddos thrust into remote learning overnight.?So, like any scrappy entrepreneur, I went back to what I knew best. Finding creative ways to solve new problems, relentlessly.??
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During this time, I felt it was necessary to identify the core attributes that were the soul of TransWest. We worked on a 2.0 exercise of our core values. We documented not only the values, but defined the associated attributes to ensure everyone could understand and deliver on these values.??
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We celebrated our wins to Enjoy the Ride.??
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We found new opportunities by Serving with Humility.??
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We Gave a $%*! about every client and together we developed creative ways to take care of people.?
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We were Relentless in Our Pursuit, finding new types of programs, clients and markets.??
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And we found ways to Go the Extra Mile in our day-to-day that shored up operational gaps.??
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We’ve grown TransWest the hard way. We didn’t bring in outside investors. Instead, we found ways to grow sustainably using creativity, innovation, and agility.?
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We took a big picture approach to solving real-world problems.?
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We said yes when others said no.??
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And we built true partnerships.??
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These same partners were key to our growth today. They recognized that we were different, and we cared about their success.?
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Together we found ways to navigate a completely new world of mobility. We opened lines of communication that fostered service-level innovation. And in chaos, we opened new markets, integrated business lines, combated a national labor shortage, and transformed our fleet with EVs.??
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There was no silver bullet. It was hard work and a relentless pursuit to deliver exceptional service no matter what the circumstance. Uniting all facets of the organization, we started to move differently than we had previously. We broke down our own silos, became more efficient, and found a new operational rhythm. We documented the attributes and refined our values. And clarified our promise to deliver a lasting impression.?
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I’ve struggled with investing time in brand and core values. The last five years have taught me that this is one of the most critical investments you can make for sustainable growth.
