I'm pretty sure this is the 500th blog I have written for FleetOwner’s IdeaXchange. Yes, wow. I started writing blogs in 2014 and have tried to write one every week since then. Although I haven't hit that target every week, I've come pretty darn close.
The first thing I can tell you is that without the assistance of Denise Rondini, NACFE’s communications director, there would be far fewer blogs. My blog writing is a collaborative effort with Denise. Thankfully, one of us is always able to come up with a topic after bouncing ideas off each other. Full disclosure, Denise normally writes the first draft of the blogs, and then I edit them. Sometimes I edit a little, sometimes a lot, and sometimes I reject a blog and we go back to the drawing board.
Other NACFE staff, board members, and others in NACFE’s circle may suggest ideas from time to time. In addition, we try to make our blogs relevant by reacting to things that are happening in trucking, whether it is new legislation, new technology, a new entrant, or at times, something that's a bit outside of mainstream trucking.
I am not the only one who regularly blogs for FleetOwner. There are other experts who blog as part of FleetOwner's IdeaXchange series. Today, we have so many ways to share our thoughts, ideas, and opinions, such as X (Twitter), Facebook, and LinkedIn. I encourage all of you to find an outlet for providing commentary on pressing issues in the trucking industry. Don’t underestimate the value of your voice when discussing a thorny issue that trucking is wrestling with.
See also: Roeth: Getting the unfiltered voice of the customer
The more diverse our viewpoints, the more likely we are to come up with creative solutions. I welcome comments on my blogs, and FleetOwner allows readers to comment on its articles and blog posts. You can also use your own social media channels to share your ideas.
There are, of course, best practices when it comes to getting your message out. That includes being professional and respectful. You can disagree with someone without name-calling or denigrating their opinion. It is important to remember that the purpose of sharing our ideas is to help the entire industry become better.
In NACFE’s case, the majority of our blogs focus on helping fleets improve their freight efficiency, but that is our mission. And we will continue to write on efficiency topics whether we are talking about diesel-powered vehicles or alternative-fueled ones. We will take on other topics that are tangentially related to efficiency.
I want to thank the editors and staff of FleetOwner for continuing to allow us to share our thoughts with all of you. While NACFE staff often presents at conferences and regularly posts on our own social media platforms, having access to the fleet readers of FleetOwner allows us to reach more fleets on a regular basis.
I am not sure I can commit to writing 500 more blogs, but I will keep writing them as long as FleetOwner keeps publishing them. For now, I am going to celebrate the milestone of having written 500 blogs. Hopefully, you have enjoyed some of them and learned something that you can apply to your own efforts related to efficiency and sustainability.
Now, I’m getting back to writing #501.
