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Dear friends, today I would like to begin a very important process of creating our conscious corporate culture, of which we are a part.

About 9 hours a day, not counting the time allotted for travel and, of course, sleep, we spend most of it within the walls of the company and surrounded by colleagues.

First of all, the most fair internal question is the Big “Why”?

Answering it, I would answer first of all – love. Love of money, love of communicating with people, love of realizing one’s desires, love of one’s family to create stability and development, love of realizing oneself is involved in something larger, socially useful, love of creating new values and ideas.

In the classical paradigm - “I do what I do”, this certainly correlates with the theory of efficiency “Do what you know and do it well.” But a person who does not have deep goals and internal incentives is just a mechanism, like a robotic machine, performing certain functions.

A company, or “Society” in legal language, is a union of people to achieve commercial ideas, goals and results. Society members are parts of a single team. Like sports, it is very important for a team to know what it is doing: playing football or hockey, with what composition, with what distribution of roles, against which opponents and what forces it has to achieve the desired result.

We, the residents of Alliance Trucks, are playing our own game, scoring goals in the automotive business market tournament. We create strategies, define tactics, distribute roles according to skills and capabilities, and make sure it works.

All this is possible thanks to awareness and definition of yourself and your superpower. This is exactly why we need sincere questions into the depths of ourselves and an understanding of why, everything that surrounds us in reality.

Q: What is your superpower?
Q: Do you have an understanding of the big “Why” that goes beyond regular tasks?

Cars are repaired by someone who loves and knows how to work with cars, using tools and experience. Cars are sold by someone who loves and knows how to communicate and conclude contracts and also has an interest in the product.

If this is exactly the case, it’s ideal, because it means that you are happy and in harmony with yourself while engaging in professional activities.

It is impossible to be an economist and not love accounting, order, consistency, numbers and mathematics.

It is impossible to be an advertiser if you do not experience pleasure in creating creatives, if you do not anticipate how your actions influence the minds of consumers and are reflected in the life of the company.

At this stage, we move on to society, namely to the “Alliance Trucks” with its collective intelligence, immunity, energy and all those properties that a living organism has. We move, we make mistakes, we learn, we grow, we strive, we dream. But why?

At the 33rd year of my life, I was finally able to formulate my mission, understandable and tangible for myself, something that I not only can believe in, but certainly believe in.

Many people, unfortunately, live without self-awareness; sometimes they do not even have time to get to know themselves, their inner world and purpose, in order to fully paint their lives with bright colors and turn the plans conceived in the depths of their souls into reality.

It’s the same with a company: without awareness, without a formulated mission, without an answer to the question “Why?” This existence, like the life of a parasite, is nothing more than the use of resources for vitality, feeding and serving basic interests.

This will never fit into the model of something super new, amazing, innovative, progressive and truly useful to the world around us. For the consumer or the world, this phenomenon will remain a “LLC”, “company”, “office”, “service”, not inspired by a semantic load, not going beyond itself.

Several years ago we created a large “Open Dialogue” within the company, I asked questions about goal setting and mission, and we were able to conduct individual and group interviews among 50 or 80 people.

Some considered this a managerial whim and a consequence of my training in the basics of an MBA and events in Skolkovo, but many of my colleagues glowed with happiness at finding answers to questions that, lying on the surface, had been in the dust for so many years.

Shaking off this dust was truly magical, we were united by common thoughts and views, the opportunity to boldly and openly talk about important things and even not too important things, but with respect for each other; to realize every minute that our daily work, which inevitably and always turns into a routine, is, after all, endowed with something sacred.

One of the most clear and correct methods of perception is observation.

Observe yourself and those around you, customers and corporate life, what drives this whole process and if one and a half hundred people wake up in the morning to meet other people, make a fuss and contribute to the local market, to client relationships, to sell the right product, to lead getting the car in order at the service center - what kind of work are we doing that could truly be called great?

Speaking of the team, I would like this team to be the best. The best, because a team of like-minded people. Together, circumstances and changes are never scary; together, all goals are achievable. A stellar squad of winners, champions, wonderful people, creative and professional individuals.

To be honest, I would like alien people to be eliminated, peeled off as unnecessary. Uselessness drags you down, toxicity poisons the team. The tribe must protect collective interests, keep out and expel outsiders. Herd immunity must fight viruses and bacteria.

I only fire people when it crosses red lines and it doesn't bring any emotional gains, feelings of empowerment, dominance, or power. I say goodbye to people when “we are not on the same path” means an actual divergence in routes and it is no longer possible to return to the common path. I gladly accept the resignation of those people who sincerely admit that they are in a strange, foreign environment and this is mutually honest.

I once heard a comparison between a company and the human body and it seemed like complete nonsense to me. Now I’m finding more and more analogies, and this metaphor about “exfoliation” speaks of cell renewal. I talked about collective intelligence and immunity, but there is also collective memory. At the cellular level, tissues remember their routines and functions. But at the cellular level we have knowledge, as information carriers, about how everything works in our corporate body.

Our team must have radars, in military terminology “friend or foe”. This recognition helps prevent trouble from happening. The safety of the environment, the safety of the system are basic values and fundamental protection of the main asset - human capital.

Agree, it’s much better to answer the question “Who is that guy in the kitchen” to answer that he is “A very cool lawyer, a beast in his field, a father of three children and a musician” than “I don’t know, some jerk from the procurement department, he’s always on the phone and seems to be eating other people’s food from the refrigerator.”

What kind of environment do you want to live, work and develop in? One that doesn’t stop you from doing your job, helps you solve any problems, and serves as an example of a success story that you can, when inspired, reach for.

Perhaps some people have already asked the question: “Why is Alexey Alekseevich writing all this?”
Answering it, I’ll say it straight: of course, this is my selfish interest, I wrote this for my team “Alliance Trucks”, so that the employees work better.
A joke, although, as always, there is some truth in it. The thing is, I don't want good employees anymore, I want great ones.

I have a strong feeling that what I am doing is right and useful. This means there will be a positive impact and appropriate feedback.
Something like a dialogue is happening between you and me. And in a good dialogue, both interlocutors are happy with the result. There is such a phrase - do it simply, just do it. Like a snowball, a magnet, or whatever, something new and correct will stick to your consciousness. Now we are setting up the piano to play better than usual.

If corporate life becomes more interesting and enjoyable for someone, and an interest in a more vibrant professional life appears – that’s great.
If someone shakes off the dust from ideas that have long been put in a box signed “sometime later” and it becomes very important for him to implement this, including in a team, that’s also great.
If someone who has been with us for a long time decides to put on his old armor again and go with all his might into battle for a great cause - and that is excellent.

Those guys who have played computer games or whose children play computer games know what a “new level” is. I’m not talking about how old the company is, how many entries are in our client database, what figure shows the counter of sold cars, spare parts or serviced vehicles. I'm talking about experience and skills, a new level of ourselves, private and general. When we reach publication #100, we will experience a transformation. If, with each new publication, something that was difficult to understand before becomes clearer, then this process is similar to polishing a precious stone, which begins to shine brighter.

I am sure that each of you is that same diamond.

The most striking and explicit examples of missions are found in social services and issues related to life, health and safety.

Doctors save and treat people, veterinarians save animals, firefighters save from fire. The police catch scoundrels so that the population can live calmer, pharmacies sell medicines that improve well-being. Schools make children smarter and give them a brighter future, builders build reliable houses in which to live comfortably. Restaurants serve tasty and theatrical food. Cellular operators make the distance between people shorter. Travel companies open up new worlds for travelers and give them emotions, and clothing stores help them dress warmly, comfortably and have the opportunity to express themselves. Lawyers protect legal rights. Street cleaners make the city tidy, and IT specialists create programs to make life and work easier. The bar allows you to swell beautifully; barbershops turn monkeys into people. Banks provide money for purchases that are ahead of the possibilities. The photographer takes a photo “as a keepsake” of that moment that will never happen again.

What are we doing at Alliance Trucks?
— We go to work, that’s all clear.
— We’re doing our job, that’s all clear too.
— We work for a salary, everything is clear too.

If you look up, it will become obvious that in the chain of the world order, our function also stands out clearly.

By carrying out high-quality car repairs and providing advice on the condition of the car, wear of parts and the need for repairs, in addition to minimizing the client’s costs caused by the inability to deliver goods, we make operation safer for the real person - the driver.

One of the reasons why we check tire pressure and fill windshield washer fluid for free is because we care about traffic safety. Our simple concern, which our competitors don’t have, but we have, because we care.

At the same time, maintaining a car (as many car owners know) is a real hemorrhoid. We solve it. Or, in a medical way, we treat.

The result of this brings us real, tangible moral pleasure. Agree, the feeling that we are not fiddling around with pieces of paper and wrenches, but that we are making a real contribution to people’s lives is truly cool.

It would be a mistake to believe that goods are being sold. For sale - solutions. Solving problems, solving problems, solving needs.

Our consumer is an entrepreneur and business. When talking about businesses, it’s automatically about social purpose, because someone’s goods and services certainly bring smiles to the other end of this chain. We are an integral part of this chain.

Our sold vehicles carry food, veterinary supplies, medicines and construction materials. A huge logistics story, what ultimately breathes into the city and the whole country.

Classic client pains - long, unreliable, unprofessional. I can’t say about “expensive”, because “cheap” is not always good or of high quality. Otherwise, we have no right to allow ourselves to fail, because meeting expectations and a high level of responsibility is our direct responsibility.

Purchasing a product worth the price of a car is a bold investment for the client. Hard-earned money is entrusted to the supplier and, as an investor, I myself am wary of making the wrong decisions. Putting money in a bank deposit is much easier morally than paying for an expensive product.

I know many examples of very grateful clients for our high-quality work. Probably the reason for this is the fact that people have already been burned somewhere. Our goal is not to burn them and to enable our clients to calmly concentrate on their business and develop it.

In product sales, especially in the business segment, indifference is common. Our clients are pleased to be heard. We are pleased to witness the development of a client’s business and be participants in this journey.

I prefer good people than professionals.
I will prefer smart, sincere, sociable and capable - versus having specialized experience and qualifications.
Why?
— A great person can easily turn into an excellent professional.
- A professional will not always be a good person, not always a team player, not always full of internal ideology.
— Sometimes a toxic lone specialist can turn out to be a professional. It's horrible. Poison for the collective.
— Sometimes, forgive me, someone’s “shitiness” can sink an entire department or project.

There is such a term in HR: Soft Skills.
Essentially, these are personal qualities.
Efficiency, leadership, ability to work in a team, adaptability, time management, responsibility.

I don't care who you were.
It is important to me who you are.
And who you can become.

Driving through business centers in Moscow and looking into the windows, I often see people in the office. They complete things, complete projects.

There is such a wording as “deadline”, in work it means “deadline”, a deadline that cannot be exceeded. You can't pack up and leave without doing your part. Or someone else’s, but for which you feel a share of responsibility, your necessity, your potential that you can apply here and now.

What motivates these people? Most likely, concern comes first.

Working for a company you don't like is wrong.
Working in a team you don't like is wrong.
Burying your talents in the ground is wrong.
Doing things in such a way that you are not admired and you are not proud of yourself is deadly for professionalism.

Frankly speaking, I am proud of those people who walk around their offices at midnight. They have a great future, they know what they are doing. They want to be better tomorrow than they are today. They watch YouTube, but not funny videos. They read articles, but not news ones.

I sadly accept things like teaching people Excel. After all, in fact, this has been a school program for a long time. They are already programming in schools. If a person does not want to degrade to the level of “the grandson will tune in the channels on the TV,” then he needs to learn. Otherwise, it's the bottom.

In the past, you needed a teacher to learn something. Later, foreign books were translated into Russian; they were boring and not always applicable, but they were there. Now we have the Internet. But, of course, liking cats in it is easier than absorbing the benefits.

One must be able to take responsibility.
For what you are doing.
For what you are.

We talked about unindifference. But what is at its core? At the tip of this iceberg is the life approach. The ability and desire to take responsibility for one’s life, for loved ones and relatives, for parents or children.

If this setting is not initially embedded in the mind, most likely in everyday life and at work you will often encounter a certain amount of slackness. This will disturb the company and colleagues. This is why questions about education and family status are often asked at interviews - often these indicators highlight the fact of the absence of this responsibility, although sometimes they can be false. After all, the candidate’s entire family may suffer from frivolity, which the employer cannot find out about.

By doing their job poorly, doing it partially or out of date, a person exposes the company that has set up a huge number of processes and his colleagues, who need to provide for their families and, preferably, a stable and good level of income.

If a company operates ineffectively, it does not expand, does not invest in advertising and training, does not enter new markets for goods, and does not expand its product line. In other words, the Good that would be broadcast to one and a half hundred people, and with their families - to a thousand, indirectly dependent on the result of the work of this unit of society - the Company, does not become.

Positive events create a whirlwind of positive new events - office renovations, salary increases, corporate events, as well as expansion, marketing and improving skills and competencies. Life becomes more interesting, better and more enjoyable.

Having decided to leave the company, it is better to voice the reasons for your dissatisfaction as early as possible.

There is a good chance that the cause may be unsolved problems in relationships with colleagues, a missing stapler, or the fact that your lemons were eaten in the common refrigerator.

Many things can be solved. If you do not have the necessary skills, you can master them and learn them. If you feel that your powers are limited, expand them. If the office furniture layout is uncomfortable, even adjust it. It is important to speak honestly and openly about what you don't like. This is much better than accumulating it in yourself until you reach the “X” moment - the boiling point. There is a chance to roll everything back, improve it.

If the difficulties that arose during the work process are unsolvable, then inform management of your desire to change jobs, so that the Company can smoothly find a new employee to replace him, who will take over all the affairs of the departing one.

Firing abruptly is irresponsible to the Company and colleagues. Leaving your work unfinished is just like taking a gear out of a mechanism and letting everyone around you down.

For example, we consider dismissal without proper work, including unexpected sick leave, as desertion. And the whole company treats such a person as an asshole.

Remember, in life it’s always like this: as you do, so to you.
How it manifests itself is a mystery.

The first thing an employee should know is the Company.
Some orientation to the area.
What does the Company do, what is its history.
How the work model is built, who is responsible for what and why they do what they do.

Knowing the benefits makes selling easier.
Knowing the structure simplifies the work itself.

Having no trump cards and not knowing the rules of the game, it is better not to sit down at the gaming table.

Using the example of Alliance Trucks, a multi-brand trade and service complex, the largest network of commercial vehicle dealerships with four authorized truck service stations in Moscow.

Repeatedly recognized as the leader of the Russian market in terms of sales results and service quality assessment. The most recognizable, innovative and progressive company among automobile dealers of commercial cargo vehicles. Strong trump cards, right?

But this cannot be limited either. As a metaphor, it is very important to know the inner kitchen: how we prepare “food”, where we order and store food, how we serve ready-made dishes to customers and other nuances. This is the only way to achieve coordinated and effective work that will satisfy the client.

The company is a lot of things. Accounting. Cashiers. Record keeping. Staff. Lawyers. Financiers. Logistics specialists. Marketing specialists IT people. Buyers. Warehouse keepers. Car mechanics. Sellers. Auto-delivery driver. Managers. Call center. Managers

This huge set of professions includes specific specializations and functions. The order of interaction and touchpoints make the overall effectiveness holistic. This is knowledge of your allies.

“I just came to work to do my job” - this is not about us.

When representing a company, it is important to know about the product. They say that in business you need to explain things in a way that your child can easily understand.

Let's look at an example of our product - a truck (B2B):
It is purchased for business, not personal use. Mainly companies. They pay mostly by bank transfer. Non-cash payments - mainly from leasing companies.
It is purchased to perform specific tasks, namely, the transportation of specific client goods. The type of goods determines the type of our product.

When communicating with an employee, the client should not have a feeling of low competence and insufficient qualifications. This nullifies conversion (the effectiveness of negotiations) and negates efficiency and profit.

Without knowing the answer to the required question, you need to, without being misleading, take a short pause, obtain or clarify all the necessary information from an expert, and then re-contact the buyer.
It is very important to know the basics, types of products and their purposes.

I don't require my employees to know the frame thickness, gear ratios and other unpopular details. But listening, hearing and understanding the client is a must.

It is clear that our specificity has many of its own characteristics. The formula for calculating the number of pallets that will fit in a van. Types of body design and temperature conditions of refrigeration equipment, crane lifting capacity at a certain reach. Capacity and number of sections of tank trucks. And much more. But, perhaps, any job has its differences and this is absolutely normal.

I strongly believe that a cool TV salesman can be very effective at selling trucks. TVs also have differences in picture quality, number of pixels, matrix, sizes, functions, warranties, and promotions from the manufacturer.

Those who want and know how to sell will sell. You don't need to work for many years to become great in our field. The important thing is that you like it. There is nothing complicated here, it is not a hadron collider. Knowing the company with its processes, the product with its features and having sales and communications skills - all the cards are in hand.

There are several distinct evolutionary stages of leadership in corporate governance.
1) I will fire you if you don’t do what needs to be done;
2) I will fine you if you don’t do what you need to do;
3) I will reward you with money if you do what you need;
4) Your salary will change depending on whether you do what is needed or vice versa;
5) I will help you in everything so that you can do what you need and you can do it.

I'm for option #5. Also, for sharing knowledge and experience. A samurai sharpens his sword in battle. Sensei, by teaching, learns himself and strengthens his knowledge. Believe me, with every publication I become smarter. Sometimes it seems that I am helping myself more in order to continue to grow.

I don’t understand how you can hide your knowledge and skills among your colleagues. This won't make it worse, will it? Mutual assistance and mutual assistance are the key to any victory.

Colleagues are often like hedgehogs hiding behind their needles. The best defense is an attack, they think. Comfort zone and independence are the best distance. This is not true. Openness and trust provide much more benefits, ease of being and, perhaps, healthy self-affirmation as a person with a capital “H”.

The leader is often not the one who is appointed as the leader. A leader is someone who is followed. And not only at work, but also in everyday life. As an experienced and gifted person, whose moral guidelines are an example of a correct and quality life. You want to be closer to such people, to open up and get advice, to become a better person.

A leader is one who gathers people around him.
Not on purpose, it happens on its own.
Mostly not with words, but with actions.

Be better.
You are already better than you might think.
And you can do more than it seems.

Four years ago, during an MBA course at Ernst & Young, I heard from an entrepreneur classmate that they in their company began to provide women with a free day every month upon request. Due to health or urgent matters that may arise for the mother of children.

I immediately wanted to do the same here at Alliance Trucks. Implementing this rule every year, now not only as a son and husband, but also as a father, I understand that in a family this extra day per month can mean a lot.

This day does not count as vacation; it is a kind of time off without specifying the reasons for the forced absence. Fully paid day by the company.

You don't have to take it if there is no real need for it. It is wrong to take it regularly, like a coupon for a free lunch, simply because it is there. “Binding” him to vacation, public holidays or weekends is ethically wrong in relation to colleagues and the company.

But it can and should be taken if it is required for objective reasons for the woman and family. You just need to warn your immediate manager about this necessary measure in order to plan the tasks that are relevant to the company. For registration, there is a special group on the corporate portal in Bitrix24, which, according to internal provisions, is an integral part of the labor regulations and agreement, according to which, without bureaucracy and statements, absence from the workplace is automatically considered agreed upon when writing one simple sentence in an agreed form.

Take care of women :)

An employee is always a representative of the company. This is both the face of the company and an element of the overall image. This is what the client sees. They greet you by their clothes.

Let's be honest.
No one would want to purchase goods in a company with homeless people. In the company of beautiful women and handsome men, you want to be, work and enjoy receiving services and goods. Maybe you don’t want to leave. Clearly, I categorically described categorical contrasts. But think about where you leave your money and what is around you at that moment.

This does not mean that only a tailcoat or an evening dress is welcome, although, of course, this is cool. At Alliance Trucks, we are pleased to read customer reviews on the Internet that we have beautiful and friendly reception girls. They are great fellows! This is an objective and warm evaluation.

According to statistics, men in shirts sell more and sign lucrative contracts. Solidity, representativeness, status are not empty words. Cheap or expensive - in commercial relationships it is often a question of perception and financial trust.

Also, we have an Executive Director. He is always in a suit and dressed to the nines. Every partner knows who he is. Status, image, trust are integral parts of business relationships. A solid and strong company, a respectable and strong leader. Moreover, it’s not his suit that makes him look good, but he makes it. But this is about what most people need to strive for: professionalism, leadership and authority.

Cool clothes don't always have to be expensive. It's about "searching". We do not have strict rules on dress code, heel height and shirt color. There is a general understanding that it should be beautiful and elegant. And in Business casual style. This means that a shirt and jeans go well together for guys.

It's not just about the clients.
It's nice to work in a beautiful environment.
And formal clothing accompanies serious achievements. Few people in a suit hang out on instant messengers, news reports and on a smoke break. Somehow it seems frivolous, even to himself.

I want the company to be beautiful.
In every sense of the word.
Be handsome and beautiful.
First of all for yourself :)

Fear of mistakes | Fear of shame | Fear of Losing

Perhaps everyone has found themselves in situations that are unpleasant to remember. Where it was possible to do differently by rewinding time. I’m not talking about bad actions, offending someone, harming someone in some way, committing social immorality or sin.

Now - about business, changes and decisions. And mostly about finances, stability, career and development.

If in a casino the chance of wasting money prevails over the chance of leaving with money, then in ordinary life outside its walls it is significantly less. Most cases and decisions of a regular nature do not have a life-changing or significant impact on a person’s life that is worth fearing. It turns out that it is better to do and regret than not to do and regret what you missed. Don't be afraid of what doesn't matter. More often than not, almost everything is unimportant.

For example, in 2022, I bought 16 cars that went up in price by 50% for a total of 130 million rubles in credit money at a rate of 28.5% per annum. And they hung in the warehouse for more than six months, and I paid this wild interest every month. But then, in a panicked market, it seemed that they would go away as if at an auction to the highest bidder.

It turned out that, firstly, there were many cheaper cars on the market that had settled. Secondly, the key rate of the Central Bank began to decrease regularly, while in our loan it was fixed at that level. It seemed like we were financial slaves with these machines. All of them were sold at a loss, and about 15,000,000 rubles were paid to the bank in interest.

Do you feel sorry for the money? Certainly. Mistake? Quite a sad one.
Should I focus on this or never buy goods or take out loans again?
- Of course, you don’t need to get hung up on it, you need to move on with your life. Moreover, in those months, the profit from sales covered these costs with a margin; it was not to say “by one tooth,” but within reach.

We often give in to something. We are afraid of condemnation.
It’s as if those around you give an assessment and decide who is great and who is not.
The truth is that life, as well as the responsibility for it, is ours alone.
And you need to live it here and now. Take on new projects, even if they are outside your comfort zone. Create working groups, not be afraid to open up to colleagues, and boldly discuss ideas. This turns out to be a much more beautiful movie, you will agree.

In general, fear does not exist as a matter.
This is a mental interpretation of non-existent or non-happening circumstances that are accompanied by hormonal releases. It's up to us to decide whether to be afraid or not.

:) And for dessert there is folk wisdom:

Не that fears every bush must never go a-birding.
You never know what you can do till you try.
Constant dropping wears away a stone.
Nothing venture, nothing win.
Strike while the iron is hot.

Everything I write is posted on our corporate portal “Alliance Trucks”.
I hope many colleagues share my rhetorical question: “How did we live without him?”

The fact that all civilized companies have been using the functionality of CRM systems and cloud file exchangers for a long time is understandable. Now about communication.

Let's start with the fact that everything that unites is good.
The fact that I regularly write something useful and people read it is also good.
Here employees can also share news and discuss anything, in any group, through a chat or forum format. Colleagues, when they come to the company, say hello and talk about their competencies, and when they go on vacation, they hand over their work and introduce their temporary deputy.

When you need to puzzle someone with something, or for someone to puzzle themselves and draw others into their idea, there is the “CREATE TASK” function. Very convenient because office paper is lost, but electronic records are not. Including, you can regulate the dates for completing something and involve colleagues.

Employee Profiles. The team changes - this is normal, it’s bad when it doesn’t change at all, then it’s not a river of life, but a stagnant lake or swamp. But not about that. To know “Who is who”, or in Russian: “Who is who here”, just go to your profile. I strongly recommend that everyone always have an up-to-date photo (avatar) and contact information. Someday we will supplement the profile functionality with the abilities of everyone who can be useful in some way. It will be great.

And someday, in addition to classic integrations, we will add Artificial Intelligence (AI).
But for now, like the ancient people, we will use our own.

And strength lies in learning to get out. Survival is the biggest motivation.

It is necessary to quickly prepare for the subject during the break. To copy off your homework, you need to reach an agreement with your classmates at school or classmates at the university. To reach an agreement, you need to give something in return, or be able to persuade, or have human empathy. You have to be liked as a person.

Slow-performing students are better able to survive in harsh environments. Walking “on the edge”, you have to learn to balance. Learn to assess risks. By no means, this is not necessarily a deception. You must have thicker skin so that you can win your place without losing self-esteem, even if there is strong pressure around you, including among “your own.”

I had a lot of bad marks. I changed 4 schools. But I was smart enough to become one of the best 16 years ago in 2007, when the Unified State Exam (USE) was first launched. And I stayed at the university exactly until my 5th year and almost until I defended my diploma, without bribes and, moreover, already working for all these 5 years from the very first year.

Studying mainly teaches you how to learn, but you still need to be able to solve any problems.
By any means available and, if necessary, cut corners.
When the question is about survival, difficulties do not exist.

At some point, our company adopted the practice of regularly reporting news.
It was more than just scheduling birthdays or summarizing sales results.
These were vivid events from the real lives of real people, personal achievements.

In the case of Alliance Trucks, this is indeed a very rich and eventful corporate life. We have our own football team, we go kayaking, participate in the Hero Race, ice skate, and organize informal picnics and charity events. We even have corporate songs and anthems.

When I look at some companies and teams of competitors, I feel terrible sadness.
I would never want to be among them.

Often, to-do lists only get added to and little is crossed off from completion. Someone distracted you, you got distracted by something, it seems like you don’t have time to do anything. There is a whole direction, one might say a science, called “time management”. This is about time management, but it seems to me that focus and depth of attention, the ability to focus well, are no less important.

They often say that with the birth of a child, you need to forget about plans and the very idea that you can do anything. I can say yes and no. A young family is the best simulator for doing the most useful things in a short period of time. And being in balance with family, work and yourself is one of the most important topics in a person’s life, so as not to go crazy and be a happy person, but more on that later.

I wouldn't separate professional and home time management. In both cases, you can get too caught up in something and waste more time than necessary. For example, when cleaning an apartment, you decide that cleaning the oven is a matter of life, when during this time you could have sorted out your entire wardrobe. Or vacuuming an already fairly clean floor in a circle, when it’s high time to sit down and deal with old papers, documents that it’s time to throw out of the box with the ever-accumulating waste paper.

Also at work. Useless things should be completely crossed out. Do the useful ones first, because they are the ones that lead to results. It is better to gather strength and do the most difficult things, otherwise, as often happens, they will be postponed until some unknown “special moment”. Sometimes it’s good to do similar things in bulk. For example, calling the client base or drawing up commercial proposals, it is better to allocate separate hours for this.

Otherwise, it’s like cleaning the house: I washed a plate, went to vacuum the room, came back to wash another plate, went again to vacuum another room. This diverse work will consume a colossal amount of time on mental switching and indirect functions: for example, between dirty and clean cleaning you must always wash your hands. Vacuum the whole apartment and do the dishes, it’s better that way. The same is true in business.

To be honest, I never liked studying.

At school I was a champion in twos, they even wanted to expel me from the preschool class. The teachers didn’t believe in me, I changed 4 schools, where out of two I was expelled. I didn’t like homework and distracted my classmates from studying.

Despite this, I had better grades in the first stream of the Unified State Exam in Russian language and mathematics. Honest grades. Although learning to “get out”, “copy off a task”, and get answers is a very cool life ability - during the training period and after. I started working at the age of 17. In a year, it will be a fact that I am already halfway through my current life journey.

In my first year at university, my “home-work-study-work-home” journey took about 5-6 hours a day, since everything was on different ends of the city. I tried to go to lectures and seminars. From the second year - only to seminars. From the third - to very important seminars. On the fourth - only for tests and exams. In my fifth year, on my second attempt, I was expelled just before state exams and a diploma.

This was unpleasant, because during the learning process I never gave money to teachers. It so happened that I studied at the Faculty of Commerce and Marketing with a specialization in Advertising. And I worked as a PR specialist, marketer and marketing director. I could explain many topics to the teachers through my practical experience and knowledge that I took from everywhere. Of course, I understood that with my knowledge base, nothing and no one would throw me overboard. I will apply them anyway and be successful.

Over time, I understand that learning teaches you how to learn. The ability to perceive information, pass it through your brain and leave the most valuable and important in it.

We learn every day. Communicating with people, reading books and the Internet, watching movies, living life. On your own and others' mistakes. Even animals learn through experience - this is a daily process for any creature, including microorganisms.

Teaching is light. Because if you are stupid, not because of a lack of ability, but because of your approach to life, this is complete rock bottom.

When I was invited to head the company back in 2013, I literally had no management experience at all. I was a marketing director and knew how to do advertising well.

They say you have to eat an elephant in parts. I would say that it doesn’t matter which way you approach it, the main thing is to start. And if the goal is to plow the entire field, then you can also start from any edge.

I started by improving all advertising campaigns. Day and night I polished advertisements, came up with unique trading conditions, promotions and special offers.

Together with my mother’s advertising agency, we redrawn all the websites, invented customer-friendly configurators that allow you to select a car by brand, model, type of add-on, and select additional options. Looking ahead, the Alliance Trucks logo, created a year later for my company and still retaining its original form, is also her work.

So, it has become easier for clients to fill out an application, and it has become more convenient for managers to process it. At the first contact, there was already a fairly clear understanding of the need, there were details, often the price was known and a commercial proposal was drawn up.

Then I was able to formalize price lists for services and lists of routine maintenance for maintenance in the normal way. Pieces of paper and clumsy Word files began to turn into neatly designed tables with convenient formulas for employees, conversion to PDF for clients, and printing capabilities for the client area.

I started having ideas day and night. I held planning meetings, set goals, but we still talked a lot about everything and nothing at the same time, taking up each other’s time.

There was a need to separate roles—distribute responsibilities. Together with the heads of our departments, we began to write responsibilities and regulations for each position in the most understandable language. To do this, we did not take anything from the Internet, but collected the harvest from the fields - we asked the employees themselves what they did, what they wanted to do, and what functions they expected from their colleagues. On the one hand, all processes were described exactly as they occurred. On the other hand, thinking about how to make them even better, they were supplemented with new rational requirements. The company structure began to emerge, I created a map of departments, interactions with each other and subordination.

For a long time, the words “balance sheet”, “receivable”, “creditor”, “assets”, “liabilities” remained mysterious curses. In general, all accounting and financial accounting were a complete dark forest. Since I can’t count money, I’ll at least earn it. I found the opportunity to use any knowledge and experience I had to make anything better than it was before. This does not require qualifications or special competencies, you just need a desire for change.
The next conclusion I made was that the place where clients leave money should be comfortable, pleasant, where you don’t want to leave quickly. From the concept of “an old table and an old chair,” a civilized waiting area for clients began to emerge. There were soft sofas, a large TV, a water cooler, live plants, tea, free unlimited coffee beans, the latest magazines and board games.

To ensure that safety precautions were not violated and that customers did not have the opportunity to “agree” with the mechanics, access to the repair area was closed. Instead, video surveillance was organized with a displayed image in the client area.

I've never understood why some companies don't accept Visa/MasterCard. Customers may not have enough cash, but may be willing to make a purchase in excess of it. I organized a payment terminal and, considering the actions of other organizations to be a complete collective farm, did not transfer my bank commission to the client on the invoice amount. The more pleasant the stay and the more comfortable the payment, the greater the trading revenue.

Cosmetic renovations began in the offices, clients began to write positive reviews about the quality and speed of repairs on the Internet, which at some point prompted competitors to order anti-advertising for us from bad reviews. To correct this and return the rating to Yandex, we organized a free distribution of antifreeze liquid for any honest review on the Internet. A month later, the company’s rating became even better than it was, and the reviews themselves were full of compliments to the craftsmen and girls at the reception.

Later, having founded my own company “ALLIANCE TRUCKS” in 2014, in addition to high attention to the quality of customer service and polishing internal processes, a period of very intensive marketing began for the development of an unknown brand. Every vehicle sold or called in for service left with our advertising identification - a branded frame and sticker on the cab of the truck. Day after day, the Alliance Trucks brand became more and more famous and now every day on the roads of Moscow I see a huge number of vehicles sold or serviced over these 10 years.

The total volume of future transformations, which made it possible to grow 10 times, open 4 branches in Moscow, win many awards at international competitions, become an importer and an international company, is certainly a very long, complex and full of various situations path. But at any beginning of the journey there are first steps.

You need to be not indifferent, but responsible and open to new things. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and look for new opportunities for development every day. Continue to learn and gain practical experience. And never stop.

A long time ago, having become a car enthusiast and later a car owner in 2008, I learned the hard way what car maintenance is. The four-year-old BMW-3 with a mileage of about 100,000 kilometers fell like a Christmas tree after the holidays, in other words, all of it.

At first I planned to get service from an official dealer, since it is prestigious and supposedly only there is high quality. Realizing that I couldn’t afford it, I started going to UNIT AUTO on Dmitrovka, this is a specialized BMW & Mercedes service. I understood that this was worse than the dealer, but it was not the bottom yet. When once, during a full diagnostic, I was offered to change the “floor of the car”, both in terms of the volume of spare parts offered and in the amount, which actually corresponded to half the cost of the car, I moved to the garage in a service format.

Moreover, some of the garage services were in Moscow on the recommendation of forum members from the club of E46 model enthusiasts, while others were located all the way to Obninsk. Then I got my first credit card, the limit on which was inexorably growing, and to cover operating expenses, such as repairs and insurance, I borrowed money from friends in my circle.

I loved my “third”, I often washed it myself, treated the body and interior, vacuumed the air filters so that I could change them less often. Moreover, spare parts had to be collected from different places. For example, I bought oil cans and pads at the market in Kuntsevo, and more serious spare parts in the Exist online store with a long delivery time because they were cheaper.

At some point, the car sucked so much money out of me that in the summer I had three types of tires on my wheels - Nokian studded rear tires, front ones - the only unbroken Continental cylinder in the pits of the Moscow region and, on the other hand, Dunlop, at least of the same dimensions. Later, the car was sold with a wide smile and, as it turned out, a broken trunk during the previous owner's time.

The moral of this story is that maintaining a car (car owners will understand) is an adventure. Every time you replace something, you are looking for the acquired advantage: the car brakes better, accelerates faster - in fact, you are trying to justify your costs so as not to be distracted by the thought that you could have bought something useful with this money, for example TV.

Spare parts are expensive, difficult, and sometimes time consuming. Often you lack the availability of everything you need in one place, nor normal consultation, nor the level of service. You just scurry back and forth in search of a budget-friendly price.

Returning to business, in particular, understanding the mission of our online spare parts store “Alliance Parts”. We have already talked about “making life easier for the client” and providing “human care”. Let's add accessibility and saving of already invaluable time to this treasury of ideas. Simplicity in everything is an important argument for an easy life.

When I rented a Lamborghini Urus in Sochi for a wedding in 2020, it seemed to me that this was a non-existent service in the form of “deception” in Sochi.

But, to my surprise, they actually brought me a car worth over 20 million at that time. Frankly, the emotions from my involvement in something so expensive, beautiful, powerful, causing masses of attention from others, went off scale. After a couple of days, I didn’t want to give the key back at all.

Having registered a commercial account alliance_rental on Instagram on the wedding day, I decided that if there is no such money at the moment to buy such an expensive car, then I need to transfer this share to the clients and, on a residual basis, when the car is free, use it and enjoy it.

Upon returning to Moscow, I immediately sold my BMW X6M50D and ordered a Lamborghini Urus from the dealer. Since the planned delivery in 6 months due to the European coronavirus crisis was delayed for the whole year, during this time a lot has changed.

We bought a Bentley Continental GT II and a Lamborghini Gallardo from friends and acquaintances. Rental turned out to be an interesting topic, from 5-10 days, depending on the car, it pays off the costs on itself: credit, transport tax, insurance, and with the following sales of rental services, it begins to earn money on infrastructure: office, parking, team, car washes, fuel, repairs, and then redeem yourself. Then the rental seemed quite banal to us and, having bought 3 Rolls-Royce (2 Ghost and 1 Phantom), on the recommendation of one automobile blogger, we launched a service for traveling around Moscow with a driver.

Initially, the concept involved driver-bodyguards, but realizing that this is not so important for clients and even scares them off, we canceled this nuance. Especially after the next order turned out to be a financial fraudster being tracked by the police and investigators as a client, and when the car was detained by special services, they saw our driver had a gun on him and twisted it on the hood.

The concept moved towards first-class service; the drivers were pleasant young men in suits who evoked sympathy. And we came up with the idea of ​​creating Luxury Uber. Similar to the interfaces of GetTaxi, Whelly, Yandex, but an aggregator of orders in the luxury segment. We did it. Clients came from all sides, weddings, birthdays, dates, trips to expensive clubs, photo shoots, filming and video clips, transfers to the airport and helipads, bloggers, parties, business meetings and just trips.

A taxi service with luxury and unusual cars is something that has never existed before.
The ability to choose a car to suit your occasion and mood.
A lot of pleasant events happen in life when the request for a luxurious pastime is justified.
We have made luxury accessible.
We gave us the opportunity to touch a dream that seemed very distant.
This is a great motivation for people.
We have learned to give people delight and emotions.
Our cars have been to hundreds of weddings.
We have witnessed the most pleasant moments in a person's life and share them with pride.

What to say. Businesses have a soul inside.

What is best to do in business in the moment is what brings in the most money right at this moment. If something works out well (let’s call it monetized in a fashionable word), do exactly that. It's like harvesting. As they say: cut the cabbage.

Having returned to my homeland from the United Arab Emirates, I felt that my literary abilities had disappeared and I simply sat down in the sales department. Simple and profitable: for employees, the company and for me. Win, win, win.

Because switching to grand strategies, corporate culture, brand packaging or repackaging, analysis or planning would be a minus. In each specific case, you need to choose the closest and most understandable window of opportunity that life or the situation opens. And it’s better to open it to its full width!

It is not always important how perfectly everything works; some processes may be completely crooked, but the main indicator that everything is normal or even good is the financial result. A focus on perfection can create a whole chasm between business and results, which can be overcome simply by becoming simpler.

You should ask yourself a simple question:

- Will this bring money? And which of these will bring more?

Sometimes it's better to do simple things that are profitable. Even if, as the owner or general director, you make deals yourself.

I remember a quote from a joke: “You do everything right, but in vain.”

It was fucked up.
I know what to do when the economy crashes. When the company undergoes complex organizational changes. With plasticine on the table you can sculpt anything. Been through a lot many times.

April 2020. On TV there are European news reports about mass graves and cremations. They say goodbye to people with the lid closed. A “lockdown” has been introduced in Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church cancels the Easter service. The feeling of complete apocalypse and the extinction of humanity.

I went to hide in a village near Moscow so as not to be a prisoner of four walls, where the brain works purely and can control any situation that occurs from the outside. I remember they brought me three boxes of documents for signature with the comment: “I don’t know if they are contagious or not.”

Masks from the black market, a shortage of antiseptics, oxolinic ointment for the nose and the feeling of footage from the film “Resident Evil”. Patients with Covid were treated worse than... patients with any other shameful disease.

Companies everywhere began to go into quarantine. We at Alliance Trucks never closed for a single day. We opened a new branch at the peak of the coronavirus crisis, with completely empty roads. The moment when traffic jams in Moscow were canceled.

There is no income, there are expenses. For some time we froze the salary fund, after which I sold my apartment and decided that it was better and more correct to pay everyone. So fair, it's my responsibility.

Liters of tinctures and days on end with a working laptop, trying to do something useful for the company. I never wanted to put a lock on my office door. With obesity and intoxication, it was difficult to even move.

If I imposed restrictions, I would not close public places for an hour. Distance - yes. Anyone who is obviously sick should be escorted out safely, even by the ear. But it’s not like, for example, that on the plane everyone wears masks (rules), but on the bus that takes you to the plane - everyone is crowded together without them and coughing on each other, this is insanity! But not about that.

The one who launched this virus into the world is a rare asshole. But it seems to me that the pandemic is a global world experience in population control, digitalization of all personal personal data, QR codes. Suppression of will: do not leave home, do not fly out of the country, register on government portals, wear masks. Another step towards chipping the population under the word “necessary” or “it’s safer.” The world experience is successful. Under fear, the will is suppressed.

We rode through this period on a tightrope.
Nerves were torn like ropes.
Saving is one of our main values.
We were fighting for corporate life.
Apparently, we have immunity.

Fatherhood is cool!

I do not know how it happens when it is too early, how it happens if I do not want to, I have no idea how it happens when there are many children, I cannot imagine how it happens if the children are already adults.

I know for sure that when a child turns one and goes through his first journey in all endeavors with you, it's amazing.

Fatherhood is a conscious responsibility, it is the greatest care, it is sincere feelings, it is the basic model of love. Childhood is the purity of emotions.

Of course, children are masters of manipulation and can eat up 120% of your time. When I feel like I'm missing out on at least an hour for myself, I realize that if I'm given that 25th hour a day, I'll spend it with my family too.

It is very important to know yourself. Be honest and frank with yourself. You can’t build relationships not only with others, but also with yourself, on lies.

It is not necessary to go to psychologists and business coaches to find out your strengths, weaknesses and fears. It is normal to analyze your old and new dreams and aspirations. Accept fully the position you are in and determine the point you want to reach. This is the standard of living, status, opportunities or financial capital expressed in understandable numbers.

A person who says that he is not afraid of anything or that he has no weaknesses is a liar and a closed person. You have to work with yourself, you have to work on yourself first. You will apply all your intellectual and personal capital to any business that you do.

Cowardice in life will be indecision in decisions made in work. Distrust in people will prevent you from getting close to the team and being effective. All mistakes of the past will give rise to other mistakes or block achievements if you do not let them go emotionally and do not draw exactly the right conclusions.

It is very important to erase the word “no” from your vocabulary. In life you are often denied and this is normal.

A little immaturity often saves the day.

Don't turn around, don't leave.

Just ask like a naive child: “Why?”

Very often, after a dialogue has begun and a different argument has been given, the opponent’s defense weakens and he says: “Okay.”

It’s always like this in life; the weak rarely take the bull by the horns. Moreover, you don’t always need to be strong; sometimes courage and cunning are quite enough.

If you've run out of sausage in your refrigerator, you can make a sandwich with cheese. If there is no bread, just eat cheese. Sometimes the main thing is to have a snack, and not to make a delicious dish worthy of an international award.

At the everyday level, small alternatives are the regular practice of reaching the goal. When the situation is more complicated, everyone gives up, “It’s not a sandwich after all.” In fact, almost all situations around us are like sandwiches. We're just making things very complicated.

Anyone who takes money from a bank, if they don’t give it to him, can turn to another, or find a professional financial broker, negotiate with the seller on installments, or even borrow from a neighbor.

Goals don't like to be devalued. When they realize that they are not so needed, not in demand, they turn away. It is very important not to let them out of your sight. Have a plan “A, B, C, D”, there can be an infinite number of these plans.

Remember the back of the Nesquik box? There the rabbit always had a way out. But for this you need to turn right and left.

Most often, those around you are not happy about your success.

Firstly, the distance in common interests increases, including those that cost money, and there are fewer topics for discussion.

Secondly, their own dignity whispers that this is unfair. In this competition of life, fate does not choose them. Quiet envy says through gritted teeth: “I’m very happy for you.”

There are very few sincere and honest people. Most often, behind your back there is a constant discussion about what you are wearing, where you are and how much it costs. Moreover, it is discussed with great pleasure if some kind of failure occurred, rather than an achievement. In general, negative news is more popular than positive news, follow the news feeds in the media, the popular stuff is terrible.

The only one who shares everything with you is the one who shares everything with you. Spouse or spouse. Because there is one boat for two and the dependence on success and failure is absolute. Everything positive has a positive effect on the standard of living and status of both. Everything negative drowns both of them.

The best support you can get is next to you and at home. These are selfless and bright relationships. But even if they are selfish, believe me, they are no less happy for you and your professional and financial successes.

A person is critical of someone else’s work, but is recklessly satisfied with his own, even dubious, result, justifying it by saying that “I tried,” “I wasted my time,” “I know better,” even if in fact he doesn’t know better at all.

The second option is to blame everything on third parties and unforeseen circumstances. “Well, who could know?”

Protecting one’s own self-esteem is a natural reaction of mental immunity, otherwise a person would drive himself into deep depression, bringing self-esteem to zero or even to the negative value of a “loser” who does not succeed.

There is no need to justify anything at all; this pulling by the ears distorts the real state of affairs. Objectivity is the best reference point.

In order for horse blinders not to interfere with seeing the whole picture, you need to be able to look at everything from the outside. If this is a business, then it is best to do it through the eyes of the client. You can try to put yourself in his place, or openly ask others for their opinions.

For example, when opening a restaurant: no one may even like your favorite dish, but you think it’s delicious because it reminds you of your childhood and grandmother’s recipes. There are many such illusions in life.

A significant part of us consists of the people around us, their thoughts involuntarily become ours, the scale of thinking adapts to each other. As they say, tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are.

Someone who does nothing but watch stupid TV shows from the couch and read the tabloids will definitely not bring either confidence or a progressive outlook into your life.

It's not just about social status, power or financial capabilities. The question is education, upbringing, decency, lifestyle.
The environment is developing, it is not a degrading environment. As you know, drowning people drag others down with them. We are not talking about those who should be helped, we are talking about those who drown themselves and their potential.
Of course, if you have the opportunity to surround yourself with people who have achieved a lot in life, can be an example for inspiration and a source of the most important information - life experience, then this is a gift of fate.

Once you get to a party of oligarchs, you still won’t immediately understand anything. They don't give out money, connections or free advice. Nobody gives presentations of their business with a formula for success. Moreover, the contrast can be so uncomfortable for both parties that there will be a feeling of being “out of place.”

People who are on a different rung of the social ladder should either find it useful or interesting to be around. Or fun. Nobody likes dummies.

Sometimes, relatives and children are drawn into the circle. But when this happens against the will of the latter, no magical changes, naturally, will happen. To “grab” one must want to “grab”

Remember, the brain develops under load.

This does not mean that you are being “loaded”. This means that you are constantly discovering something new, sometimes difficult, but correct and necessary.

In a confined space, a person, of course, orients himself better. But it remains in this space, sometimes forever.

Sometimes a person sets limits for himself: “I can’t do this,” “This is not about me,” “Where am I and where...”

And sometimes evil friends and even relatives program for a negative result: “Well, who needs you there,” “Come on, where are you and where...”, “Your father (or whoever else) tried that, and how did it end.”

Broken wings do not allow you to fly, your eyes do not want to look up. Most billionaires did not have a rich inheritance; they came, like everyone else, into this world, naked and with zero knowledge.

Push the limits, break the limits, destroy them.

No one is responsible for your life except you, and there is no point in blaming anyone but yourself for inaction.

In the end, these frameworks are virtual and very conditional. No one is physically holding your hand or foot.

Firstly, the size of the elephant depends on how close we get to it. Not dry figures of mass and dimensions, but perception, of course.

That is why, at times, the problem seems like a huge mountain that hangs over us and is about to crush us. We climb under it ourselves, but we need to move away and calmly examine it. Viewing angle is one of the most important topics in life and career.

The phrase “difficult” does not mean “impossible.” It’s also difficult to lift new weights in the gym, but each time you lift even more. Not a problem, is it?

The brain refuses to believe in an experience that has not yet been received. He believes any other experience, even third-party and unsuccessful ones. This is wrong, this is an illusion. The more of this peel you throw off, the better it will be.

You can implement a strategy for the execution of commercial activities related to the sale of banana products.

Or you can sell bananas. Agree, the second one is simpler. And somehow it’s clearer. Perception, viewing angle. With clients, by the way, this is the only way to do it.

Sometimes colleagues clog each other’s brains so much that no one understands anything. It seems that everyone is doing ultra-complex things, no one even wants to delve into them. If you are not able to explain your affairs in a way that a child can understand, most likely you are doing garbage that no one needs.

The more simple, easy and primitive you can approach the upcoming tasks, the easier they will be for you. Keep it simple, it's easier this way.

One of my favorite phrases:

“Keep it simple. Just do it."

Decency, norms of behavior, manners of communication are laid down by upbringing and polished by society in each of us.

I am disgusted by bullies who talk insultingly to their wives, mothers or children. But the more life boomerangs at them, the more angry, like a dog, they become.

Individuals who suppress others by having material superiority or influence also cause rejection. For self-realization there are a huge number of pious opportunities.

The Creator gave men the opportunity to create families, build houses and surroundings of like-minded people. Many, neglecting this gift, live with a program of self-destruction, with the goal of destroying everything sacred.

The consumer attitude of men and women, in both directions, in marriage and relationships, also leaves much to be desired if everything is based on the words “give”, “you must/should”, “you are bad/bad”.

Some behavior and morality are regulated by the criminal and administrative codes, almost everything is described in religion, I would especially note the following:

Nobody forces you to love, but I urge nothing less than to be tolerant and respectful of others, no matter who they are.
There is no problem with psychological help, there are problems with its absence. Strong is not the one who neglects it, but the one who accepts it.
Life always hits back in a big way.

I sincerely wish everyone to surround themselves with bright and decent people. At work, at home, in this big wonderful world.

Both in work and in life, in your affairs and achievements, it is important to draw a line and evaluate the results. This helps to stay on course and find a connection between the time spent and effort in relation to the actual result.

In the gym, the measure is weight lost, muscle tone, endurance or well-being. Coming to work hard at the gym again sometimes motivates you to do the same action, but again.

In personal credit obligations, the percentage of closed debt, consumer credit or mortgage is important.

In cooking at home, an indicator of a successful result will be increasing admiration and praise from loved ones, family and friends. You cook better and better, it’s as if they love you more and more. You look for recipes, improvise, and make mistakes less often, overcooking a piece of meat until dry and tasteless.

In raising children - their objective progress of development. Their new “version” is a response to your efforts.

In work, the index of the quality of actions will be the satisfaction and recognition of colleagues, management, clients, and partners. Roughly speaking, it’s good and comfortable with you and they say to you: “Thank you.” And clients return. But the most objective indicators in work are the results, which can be measured mathematically. This is an increase in the customer base, the percentage of loyalty. Using Alliance Trucks as an example, this is the number of vehicle arrivals, the volume of sales of spare parts, the number of cars sold with a certain income. Return rate from satisfied customers. And, of course, profit.

What is all this for? The result is what came out.
This is necessary to understand and evaluate how your actions affect the result. It needs to be measured by something, but not by effort. And then you can objectively influence him. Understand which methods worked and which did not. What works and what doesn't.
After all, what goes around comes around. You need to understand how much to sow where and how to do it correctly.

Gym, numbers, new weight.
Let's hang another plate.
We can do it, let's continue.

The Japanese, well, they are just that Japanese, they believe that you need to move through life “ippo ippo”, step by step. Fortunately, I am quite young and quite daring. Ippo ippo, we're not going.

Nursing something for years, stretching it out like rubber is not my format.
Time is a very spatial matter, but this does not mean that you have to wander around and get lost in it.

You just need to set goals and go straight towards them. Boldly, surrounded by like-minded people and with complete confidence not knowing the word “no”. It is very important not to know the word “no” in business.

Quantum leaps towards new achievements and results, teleports to a new future. Fasten seat belts :)

For some reason, I wanted to raise a topic that most people, like all of humanity, avoid - the environment.

We won’t talk about global warming, the extinction of whales and the ozone hole, especially since no one gives a damn about the living conditions of those great-great-grandchildren who won’t be there anyway. Although in vain, and still.

Also, I’m not going to bother you about separate garbage collection. In our country, in fact, then these separate containers are most often dumped stupidly into one garbage truck. Although, if there are separate ones, there is no reason to throw everything into General Waste.

Countries that terrorize the population about separate waste collection and impose taxes on cars with low environmental standards are either producing toxic products or producing batteries. They harm the environment more in the production of electric vehicles than they do by reducing emissions during operation, or generally increasing the capacity of nuclear power plants due to a shortage of environmental fuels such as hydroelectric power plants, windmills or solar panels. And yet.

I want to talk about the obvious, which is less debatable. For example, it irritates me when cigarette butts litter the roads. When plastic bottles are thrown away in parks or those ecological zones (for example, on the Volga) where the janitor will not clean up. Against chewing gum that is thrown out of a car window. I am against it when a bag of garbage is thrown into the forest. Against, so to speak, the everyday mess of the planet, which you can simply not do.

For me, “shit where you eat” is an animal concept, but not a human one. And by the way, on the topic of animals. I believe that if an animal is unloved, or there is no way to care for it at the proper level, just give it away, for free. There will be such people and they (there is nothing wrong with that) may, as owners, turn out to be better. I have never understood those who take an animal into the forest or tie it to a tree, this is a very sick social bottom.

As a company, we strive and encourage people to eliminate plastic utensils from the office. You can buy yourself a plate with a fork and wash it in the kitchen.

At one time we bought employees motivational mugs with our values. Also, we regularly place branded paper glasses in customer areas near the cooler. The waste oil from our workshops is mainly used for heating the production areas of Mytishchi, which we organized in this way.

Take care of the world.
Someday it will be cleared of the main pests.
Of people.
But for now he endures.

A very important skill in life is to tell everything to go to hell.

Very often an overestimated problem unnecessarily worries the soul and has a detrimental effect.

Humans themselves are very emotional creatures. Making a mountain out of a molehill is a common thing for them. There is a phrase “Take it to heart.” Sometimes you don't need to do this. Especially where it is not at all useful.

There are times in life when tricks like “the glass is half full” or “look at things from the other side” don’t work. And we get so upset that we wasted time, effort or money and something begins to greatly upset us and have a destructive effect on us. Here you need super focus, a prize sector, an ace in the hole - just send it all. And let go.

You can’t stagnate in one place, get stuck on one page, you need to boldly turn them over. After all, the world may be small, but it is huge :)

I see it as the presence or absence of vitality for a specific action or result. Often this is influenced by surrounding circumstances that feed energy or take it away. For example, achievements in various areas of life, at home or at work, can give you the feeling that you are generally “on the wave” and you are doing well. From this it starts to work out more and more easily, sometimes it seems that it happens by itself. A series of failures leads to giving up.

Sometimes these circumstances can be motivating and inspiring people nearby, or those who drain these forces. Environment and its cleanliness are very important factors in the effectiveness and development of a person.

In addition to mental (mental, spiritual forces) there is also simple physiology. Bad habits and alcohol drain vitality, but a healthy routine, sleep, lack of stress, and sports make the day more active and productive. When you run instead of crawl, you can get a lot more done and do it really well.

Sometimes it is very important to jump out of a rut and reboot. Live a fulfilling life, and not survive from a lack of vitality. The longer you are in decline, alone with apathy, the more difficult it is to regain your personal effectiveness.

Set your priorities right and you will achieve much more.

Some people earn money with their labor, intelligence and time, while others prefer to simply steal.

If you do not take into account the classic theft, then scammers offer to obtain a product, this or that benefit, or a solution to the “client’s” problems for money, without actually doing anything for it.

Typically these are the following steps:

Sell: take money for a product or service.
Imitate: stay in touch, send photos or videos, pretend that efforts are being made to fulfill agreements, set some deadlines for results.
Brainwash: create artificial complexity, for example a problem with their supplier of goods, some unforeseen and insurmountable circumstances.
Disappear: disappear or continue mediocre unpromising communication so that interest in returning the money is lost.

How to protect yourself?

Study the area and find a reliable supplier of goods or services, preferably a large company with reviews, or use recommendations.
Draw up a contract and request a performer’s passport.
Agree to pay “per result” or upon delivery of the goods.
If an advance is required, pay the minimum possible amount.

I despise those individuals who encroach on someone else's property.
Protect your time and money. Both of these are very important resources.

The history of Alliance Trucks dates back to 2013, when, at the invitation of my relative, I became the director of the company DM ISUZU, which suffered devastatingly from the sabotage of the former top management.

The former CEO, together with the commercial director and the head of the sales department, founded the company in the name of their wives. The scheme was simple - first sell cars to it at a price close to cost, declaring the actual “layout” as a regular corporate client, and then from this company sell the car to actual clients, leaving the entire margin on it.

Despite the goodwill of the business owner and good salaries, the scammers stole both clients and profits. After several years of such “successful” work, the company not only had no equity capital left, but the loans were used up, in other words, the company was drained of blood, and the owner explained this by a difficult market, competition and imaginary internal problems of an organizational nature.

At some point, this was not enough for the villains, and they decided to seize the company’s assets. Under the pretext of optimizing costs by reducing rental costs, the company's move from the southwest of Moscow to the north was initiated. To put it mildly, the decision made to change the location was wrong. At first it turned out that most of the service’s clients were not ready to travel to the opposite part of the city for service. For most of the employees who moved, the long journey also turned out to be a significant obstacle, and they quit.

Almost immediately, the same Trojan horse moved into the previous place, absorbing the accumulated customer base, employees and, in addition to intellectual capital, real spare parts and tools, which also did not magically move. The icing on the cake was the phone number left there, which all clients of the service called.

As it turned out, this company has already applied to become an official dealer of Japanese truck brands. Of course, the distributors provided dealer status in favor of the warm personal relationships formed over the years.

Since trips to the forest were not practiced for humanitarian reasons, a statement was filed with the police. It is unlikely that the stars were aligned this way, but this statement was not given any traction. The newly created competitor began its work by calling each client and offering to continue servicing and buying cars in the usual place, only with a different sign. About “DM ISUZU” from the other shore they shouted to the whole world that she would not last long and would soon die.

Looking ahead, their company never reached the leading position and later collapsed altogether. And then, as fate would have it, the entire auto plant was sold and demolished by an apartment building developer.

So, since May 2013, in ruins with the wreckage of client bases, pieces of the team, zero relationships with distributors, I materialized as a new director, with zero knowledge of corporate management in the concept of “you win a rifle in battle.”

Fighting for survival, working well. The main thing is to have something to work with, to have material, to have plasticine from which you can sculpt. Under this pressure, the distributor had to prove that we could do a lot. This resulted in a stack of our diplomas from the best dealer in the country.

Unfortunately or fortunately, the history of DM-ISUZU was completed. The leaky ship sank because the company was financially dependent on a circle of guarantees from other legal entities that failed.

Believing in the future with an advance on success, I decided to use the intellectual potential accumulated over the year, the team formed and the emerging warm relationships with suppliers and clients to start with a clean slate.

Having founded ALLIANCE TRUCKS on June 2, 2014, we began to work without capital and credit money. It’s incredibly difficult to exist on other people’s money, when all property, from furniture and computers to spare parts and tools, is maintained with working capital, or rather with clients’ money.

Working capital was formed due to the influx of client money and the absence of the need to pay for goods immediately, which was called a trade credit. At any time, with a decrease in the number of sales and advance payments, there was a risk of not paying for the goods according to deferred financial obligations to suppliers. For distributors, this could lead to a stop in shipments and the loss of a dealer agreement, and therefore, it would stop the entire business.

In inevitability mode, we worked with the feeling of an abyss behind us. Not wanting to fall there, we gnawed at the earth for our place in the sun.

Then my former colleague from my previous job joined the existing team. Do or die was our daily motto. The sales department was full of swearing and screaming. Many times we walked, to put it mildly, on thin ice.

In 2014, without raising our heads like the Vietnamese in a rice field, we became the best ISUZU dealer in Russia for selling both cars and spare parts, without knowing it.

Having won the main award for the main brand, we did not stop. Just as labor made a man out of a monkey, so it ennobled our company from all sides.

As I remember now, in order to feel the balance between income and expenses, we put a board in my office with lined cells for the days of the week. A green tick was given if the daily income plan was met, and a red cross if the day was a failure. We wanted to be better, more efficient, stronger, more stable so that we would not be blown away by the wind.

In the fall, fate brought me together with one outstanding person. At the moment when the subsidiary dealer of the former HYUNDAI distributor, located next to us in the north of Moscow, unexpectedly closed, the entire team of the best professionals in Russia was disbanded one day. It would be incredibly stupid not to open the door for them and Alliance Trucks became the new home for the star team. We became one big family, sharing with each other diverse experiences, knowledge and secrets of success. Our company became a Japanese-Korean company, but without the status of an official dealer, due to the fact that our neighbors were ahead of us. Along the way, we again received the diploma of the best ISUZU dealer for the highest results in sales of spare parts in Russia for the year.

It would be false to say that that meeting was not fateful. It was definitely destiny. From salvation in 2015, we moved to development.

Over the first three years, the following phrase consisting of values was fixed in my and the collective consciousness: “Preserve, increase and be useful to society.”

“Preserve” is a tribute to what has already been created and the foundation on which everything rests.
The main and sacred meaning of conservation is that nothing, under any circumstances, should wash away, destroy or cause irreparable harm. This is defense, struggle and defense.

“Multiplying” is a matter of development.
I would even say that in our case we are preserved through development.
The world does not stand still, the country, the market, businesses and competitors do not stand still.
Everyone is doing something for some reason, writing down their plans, trying to achieve their goals and develop. If you don't get ahead of others, you will lose the race.
Standing firmly on your feet, you must always move forward.

“Be useful to society” is our start for charity campaigns.
We started helping churches and looking closely at funds.
This is our responsibility, even a small one, for a better world order.
Making money is good, but trading companies do not produce anything in terms of the original product and in this food chain they speculatively earn on trade margins.
We felt like sharing and giving. It was the start of a smart business.

At the same time, in addition to being the best dealer for the sale of ISUZU spare parts in Russia in 2016, Alliance Trucks became the best service center in the country in terms of service level, for which we thank the professionals and team.

It’s very cool to finally feel the strength and possibilities within yourself.
In 2017, we felt cramped in our own skin, and we decided to open a second service center, a car dealership, a technical center, whatever you want to say, in general, a branch.

The search led to Mytishchi, where there was an old and abandoned Soviet-style building. The owner of the building promised to put the building in order at his own expense, and we, in turn, will invest in the changes that we need. We paid extra for a service inspection pit, a reinforced cash register, an individual layout, a sandwich panel façade, and a poured workshop floor.

The very next day after our advance payment, about 20 people, like the Chinese, were building, plastering, and renovating the building we needed. Everything would have been fine, but he went bankrupt, the builders left, and the fate of the entire project to open a new outlet was in question.

As luck would have it, we recently held the “ROAD SHOW” event together with ISUZU RUS, where, during the reception of the ISUZU motor rally, I announced to all journalists from leading specialized publications that we were becoming the first company among commercial vehicle dealers to have as many as two full-fledged trade and service enterprises of the 3S dealer standard: Sales, Service, Spare Parts (Sales, Service, Spare Parts). I didn’t want to give up, which meant there was nowhere to retreat.

The building, mortgaged to the bank by the owner, went to open online auction for a reduction in order to be sold under the hammer. Being interested, we even took part in these auctions, where, by some unusual coincidence, our bid was outbid by other people. For almost two months there were no bidders, but as soon as we placed an application, a second offer appeared with a difference of one million rubles. Either they were hackers, or someone has well-developed intuition, but in any case, it’s good that they interrupted.

At this moment, our partner bank’s license was revoked, 3,600,000 rubles of our money were burned there, but most importantly, the bank guarantee that allowed us to purchase cars from the distributor on trade credit was canceled and our free money in the current account began to melt. Such a financial burden on purchasing a property would ruin us.

So that everyone understands, at the time of bidding, we already invested money at our own peril and risk and completed the repairs at our own expense, recruited staff and agreed with the bankruptcy trustee that we would have a lease agreement for several months without guarantees and obligations to extend it .

If our occupied territory were bought by someone with plans that diverge from ours, we would be kicked out of there like stray dogs. Even during business hours, potential buyers of the property came to our office, this terribly demotivated our team.

After the bidding, the most important circumstance for concluding an agreement with us was the fact that we built an independent heating system using waste oil, which remains in large quantities when changing oil in truck engines. We heated ourselves and did it environmentally. As a result, Alliance Trucks became the flagship tenant for the future partner.

Is this intuition?
We just believed, hoped and moved on.

In 2018, we received the long-awaited status of an official HYUNDAI dealer.
I understand that it was not easy for our team, who previously worked at the flagship dealership in Russia, to work in the new environment. No official supplies of spare parts, no guarantee, no fashionable “official” status in the eyes of clients. But we survived it.

After the owner of a truck parking lot in Dolgoprudny quietly decided to sell it, Mytishchi became the main point of storage, pre-sale preparation and delivery of cars.

Mytishchi turned out to be a very convenient location. Not very far from the main decision-making center, but with its own client potential in the north-east of Moscow. When the first building became crowded, a second one, similar in size, was prepared and rented to us. Now it sells used cars and installs additional equipment on new trucks.

In parallel with these events, Alliance Trucks in 2018 became the best dealer for the sale of HINO spare parts in Russia and entered the top three most effective dealers.

2019 for Alliance Trucks became the most manic year in terms of the number of titles, titles, nominations, awards and certificates. You sow, you will reap: we reaped the harvest. Team, well-coordinated work is effective. When you are the best, victories stick to you.

• ISUZU Dealer of the Year 2019;
• Victory at the ISUZU auto mechanics competition - 1st place in the Russian Federation;
• Victory at the auto mechanics competition in Japan ISUZU - II in the World;
• Victory at the ISUZU - HYUNDAI - I auto mechanics competition in Russia.

At some point, I became somewhat arrogant and, going on stage, from the podium I said one phrase to the assembled audience of dealers from all over the country: “Another one. It's well deserved. It’s a common thing for us.”

The time has come for structural change.
I decided that I would stop chasing only diplomas.
Working for the number of nominations does not mean the real quality of the business.

I began to study a lot, took a dozen courses and trainings from business forums in Skolkovo, MBA from Ernst & Young to thematic programs on cognitive perception and professional team effectiveness. I wanted a new version of both myself and the company.

We made a lot of changes:
A strategic map of our mission, corporate values, vision for the future and specific tactical goals;
Created dynamic motivation for employees;
Monthly free “Free Day” for the women's team;
Corporate social showcase focused on health with free meals, health insurance and gym memberships
We started helping foundations, hospitals, and orphanages.

2019 changed me. I wanted to be a new version of myself.
And as a result - a new projection of oneself on business.

I was sure that from this moment on, in a world of chaos, I would bring the best possible order.

It wasn't meant to be! The next year prepared surprises that were amazing in every sense of the word.

2020 was especially difficult for me and the company.
The well-known COVID-19 pandemic began in the spring.

We were so unprepared for this experience that there was a feeling of an inevitable abyss. Most of our competitors have closed their businesses.

I remember a meeting at a regional country club, where, together with top management, we decided how to live next. We did not close based on the government decree on the need to support the activities of systemically important enterprises. After all, we served both pharmaceutical companies and food chains. There was a cash gap, and in order to pay all my employees on time, I sold my apartment.

At the same time, we were in full swing preparing for the opening of a third branch in the south of Moscow. I always dreamed of opening on the Moscow Ring Road; for me it was an element of prestige. On the day of completely empty roads, we cut the ribbon. For this, many thanks to the executive director of Alliance Trucks. The project was implemented regardless of any circumstances, entirely on his shoulders. In the same year, our commercial director turned out to be too loyal to competitors and, despite my colossally large amount of time and effort invested in him, I had to say goodbye to him. The processes of the enterprise's commercial activities returned to my full control.

Without roller coasters, rides aren't rides. We went through all of them with particular enthusiasm. But as usual, it was effective.

In 2021, Alliance Trucks heads east.

First of all, the eastern direction of Moscow is the route to Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Naberezhnye Chelny, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Chita, Blagoveshchensk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, if you go in a straight line. Roughly speaking, this highway is of very federal importance. In addition, the east of Moscow is an industrial zone. There are many production facilities and warehouses of various product groups here. We always wanted to open here, and ISUZU distribution also asked a lot about it.

Since the east was the only free spot on the map among competitors, who else if not us? It's no secret that our goal is to keep all of Moscow in a ring. The East is our No. 4. No one has anything like this.

In one of our companies I had a partner whom I did not allow into the east. Behind my back, a lover of intrigue was busy preparing for the opening of a competitive company and had to part with him due to a conflict of interest. But our knightly company, perhaps because of our values and principles, was given the opportunity to open there. We have received a technical center in Balashikha with huge potential for possible efficiency.

In 2022, for reasons known to all, in Russia the exchange rate flew into distant distances.

The availability of cars, limited to dealers by special quotas introduced as a result of the pandemic and the disruption of global supply chains, has become even more limited.

Due to a 50% increase in prices, we received a cornucopia of refusals and terminations from clients, at one point the total amount due for the return of advance payments was 200 million rubles.

From the very beginning of March, banks began to critically view the automotive business as a high risk category, based on massive statements from automobile manufacturers, representative offices and distributors about the suspension of both supplies and their activities in Russia. I gave multiple interviews to representatives of lending banks, filled out special questionnaires and provided explanatory notes about the current state of affairs in the market and in our business. Nevertheless, even modest tranches were issued with a wild creak, which forced the temporary transfer of all trading proceeds to a non-financing bank for prompt and effective cash flow management.

The course did its job and a number of cars for which we managed to maintain the old purchase prices allowed us to stabilize and continue our development. We navigated this terrible storm perfectly in an ocean of new opportunities.

In parallel with this, our focus on e-commerce and digital marketing was implemented in our e-commerce project “Alliance Parts”. The world is heading online. All processes are being digitized, technologies, algorithms, neural networks and integrations are developing every day. Alliance Parts required a physical point of service and order pick-up. We organized a store in a boutique format in the south of Moscow, in the TRACT shopping complex, where our southern technical center Alliance Trucks is located next to it. By the way, we do not want to limit ourselves to cargo spare parts and are confident in this project and the prospects for its space growth.

Hello 2023.

Although our usual distributors have not officially closed, the cars and most of the stock of spare parts have run out. At some point, there was a feeling of abandonment due to long and diligent years of developing specific brands. The concept was forced to transform: there is no longer a Japanese-Korean big brother. But since we benefit from every crisis and emerge victorious, why should it be different? Exactly at the moment when competitors fold, you need to become much more active.

Initially, we were pessimistic about the products of the Chinese automotive industry, which appeared in Russia, continuing to provide maximum support to our customers in the field of service and the supply of spare parts and components.

Taking a closer look at the cars and trucks that appeared on the market, it became clear that this is a new reality for modern business. Now this is a new optimal combination of price and quality with components from such world-famous manufacturers as Cummins, ZF, Bosh. We signed dealer agreements for the automobile brands of Korean Daewoo, Chinese DongFeng and Shacman and launched our own parallel import program of Japanese ISUZU and HINO trucks from China.

This year, with the start of foreign economic activity, our business became international. We opened a company in the United Arab Emirates and, having become an importer, we use the full potential of logistics and trade routes. Sky and sea.

Now this is our independence, our sovereignty.
I really love our company. It contains my, our DNA and our meanings.