I was scrolling back through some of our coverage of past Leading Fleet winners to understand each team better. If you've been keeping track of our number one fleets, then you would see that each team is unique not only in the way they operate but also in what challenges they're facing and the goals they're working to achieve.

However, as I looked closer and scrolled back to later years, I started to find a common denominator: no fleet reached number one overnight. Start going through a winning fleet's journey, and you'll find a lot of trial and error and waiting.

The fleets that reached the top did not get there overnight, and their journeys rarely followed a direct path from setting a goal to achieving it. Their progress came from looking honestly at where their operations stood and remaining willing to adjust their approach as they learned what worked.

Again, what each fleet was doing differed, but looking back, whether a fleet was implementing alternative fuels or bringing in new technology,

We’re Not There Yet, But We Will Be

If you’ve ever filled out a Leading Fleets application, you know that the process itself is no small task. There are multiple metrics fleets are asked to highlight, including goals and the results, related to just about anything, whether that is fleet availability, PM compliance, or even parts demand fill rate.

There are four spaces where fleets can fill out metrics. There are even more questions about leadership, operational efficiency, fleet competitiveness, and more. Do you want to know how the top fleets fill those out? You might be thinking, “They had a goal and then achieved that goal.” Sometimes. Winning fleets fill out as much as they can, even if they’re just in the beginning stages of a goal or they didn’t achieve that goal and are now rolling out phase two.

The point here is that successful fleets are always working toward something. And it’s usually not just one “thing” but rather a multitude of goals and objectives with different timelines and needs.

These fleets are very aware of where they are in their operation’s journey, and they have set clear standards to reach the result. As many of you know, there’s not always a direct path, but there does need to be a path, even if there are a few, or more, twists and turns along the way.

Be Your Own Fleet’s Competition

If there’s one thing you’ll hear me harping on about, it’s for fleets to use the Leading Fleets application as a gauge to see where the operation is and where it should be. Even if you’re not applying for the award (though we hope you do), having the filled-out application on hand is one way to track the fleet’s progress and understand what could be done differently, if anything.

Much of this boils down to having some point of reference to measure your current success against past efforts. As I’ve seen with many fleets, meeting goals usually takes time, with progress coming in slow increments rather than one giant development.

Benchmark against past goals to make tweaks as needed, and use them as a reference when approaching a planned change. That also means knowing everyone’s role, especially when it’s time for people to wear different hats.

Again, I’ve observed these things by listening to fleets progress through their own journeys, and because I believe in the importance of inspiration, I encourage you to connect with other fleets and learn how they made the right changes to get where they needed to be.