The Little Engine That Could and the Lessons We Learned

In times of adversity we rely on our past experiences to get us through to the other side.  There is no doubt that businesses have had to grasp at history and lessons of our past to try to survive the current economic climate of the present.  We also have to believe in the goodness of mankind that there can be a fairytale ending.  Yes, business, especially small businesses have to continue to navigate the unknown as they have faced adversity from mainstream media misinformation and lies, power hungry politicians at the Federal, State and Local Levels and a majority of compliant citizens who were scared into believing the overhyped myths about a seasonal virus that history will show us that it was not much different than the annual flu.  Businesses are faced with trying to survive an unjust government shutdown, rebuild with irrational regulations and ultimately thrive by identifying and adapting to new opportunities.

In 1930 Arnold Munk with the pen name of Watty Piper wrote and published, “The Little Engine That Could.”  It was a story that many of our parents or elementary teachers had read to us.  The classical story is a helpful reminder about the importance of perspective, optimism and hard work.

For those of you that have forgotten the story, a train breaks down with a cargo full of toys.  It will not get over the mountain where it was supposed to deliver the exciting goods to the boys and girls by the morning.  There were several trains that opted not to help giving an excuse as why they didn’t want to give some assistance.

The first train, “A Shiny New Engine” came by and quickly dismissed the plea for help from the small broken down train.  It said it was a passenger train that only helped the rich and powerful.  Next, came the “Big and Strong Engine”.  It could easily help the small broke down train, but it only wanted to help the strong and didn’t have time for such an insignificant train like the one carrying toys.  Finally, a “Little Blue Engine” that was small and hadn’t even been over the mountain before came by and saw all of the distress the small broken down train was in.  It knew the troubles it might face, but armed with hope and a desire to help it accepted the challenge.  “I think I can, I think I can” became the mantra and the “Little Blue Engine” despite facing insurmountable odds was able to deliver the toys to the boys and girls by the next morning.

Our businesses have been challenged with “types of trains” that dismissed our needs.  Whether it was banks like Wells Fargo, politicians like the local County Judges or Mayors and the news media that sensationalized stories to scare the public into submission; business owners and their employees have had to keep thinking positive working harder than ever just to survive.  Now we are faced with rebuilding as States are slowly opening back up despite the forces from the opposition.

Businesses will still have to adapt to the new regulations that have been unjustly put in place.  One learning we can take away is that our society ingest its information from bold sensationalized headlines, innovative memes and 15-30 second videos.  Therefore, leaders will need to make sure their business is able to reach, communicate and provide goods and services using today’s technology.  This includes marketing, advertising, e-commerce and informing your customers and potential customers in the digital arena.  Digital Advertising is less expensive than traditional advertisement, but it has to be done right to be effective.

A day will come for the small business that adapts where instead of saying, “I think I can” we will be saying, “I thought I could.”

DeliveryMaxx has been the leader in this arena over the last decade and continues to help businesses in all sectors reach their potential customers through the most innovative digital strategy utilizing common sense and today’s technology.  Our clients experience positive Online Reputation, stronger SEO, concise content management, increase in social media engagement and advertisement and higher customer retention.  We are able to customize and create a strategy for any entity that is trying to gain more exposure on the web.  With clients in multiple industries and across the country such as Automotive Dealerships, Real-Estate Brokers & Agents, Churches, Service Industry, Sports Teams, Non-Profit Organizations and more; we utilize our Patent-Pending Program to develop a digital strategy that will meet the needs of sales, service and messaging to the masses.  For more information about DeliveryMaxx contact (888) 938-6299 or watch the DeliveryMaxx Introduction Video!