January in Review
Connecting Purpose, Readiness, and Service Standards
As January comes to a close, I wanted to pause and reflect on the ideas that shaped the first month of Ground Transportation Insights.
Rather than introducing a new theme, January focused on a connected set of questions—questions that apply not just to ground transportation, but to leadership and service-driven businesses more broadly:
What signals are we sending—to passengers, teams, and the market—before pressure forces the conversation?
Below is a brief recap of January’s articles, with links to revisit or read them for the first time.
January 7
Every Ride Tells a Story — But You’re Not Just Selling the Ride
👉 Read the full article - https://www.groundtransportationinsights.com/p/every-ride-tells-a-story-but-youre
This article reframed ground transportation as a human-experience business, not just a logistics business. Behind every passenger is a reason that matters, and the ride—and the driver—become part of that story. Convenience, anticipation, trust, dignity, and care aren’t side effects of the service; they are what we ultimately deliver.
January 14
Uncertainty Has a Way of Coming Back
Why Readiness Matters More Than Confidence in 2026
👉 Read the full article - https://www.groundtransportationinsights.com/p/uncertainty-has-a-way-of-coming-back
This piece explored a familiar leadership pattern: discipline tightens when uncertainty rises, then quietly loosens when confidence returns—even if fundamentals haven’t improved. The core message was simple: readiness isn’t built when pressure arrives; it’s built while leaders still have runway.
January 21
We Eat First with Our Eyes — And Ride the Same Way
👉 Read the full article - https://www.groundtransportationinsights.com/p/we-eat-first-with-our-eyes-and-ride
This article focused on how trust is formed before the trip begins. Vehicle presentation, cleanliness, working amenities, and driver appearance all send powerful signals that shape perception long before performance has a chance to speak. Presentation isn’t cosmetic—it’s a proxy for standards, care, and professionalism.
The Throughline
Together, January’s articles reinforce a consistent idea:
Purpose defines what we deliver.
Readiness protects our ability to deliver it.
Standards determine whether people trust us to do it well.
Leadership shows up long before results force attention.
Looking Ahead to February
February begins with a reminder that applies far beyond transportation.
In the first article of the month, Courtesy Isn’t Optional: A Reminder About Service, Perspective, and Grace, I share a small but telling moment from an airline cabin—one that illustrates how quickly professionalism can erode when familiarity replaces empathy.
It explores:
How inconsistency creates friction for customers
Why tone matters just as much as policy
How “doing the job” and “doing it with grace” are not the same thing
Courtesy isn’t a premium feature.
It isn’t situational.
And it isn’t optional.
This piece connects frontline behavior, leadership expectations, and service culture through a lens shaped by both lived experience and lessons learned at Disney.
👉 The article will be published in early February.
A Closing Thought
As leaders, it’s easy to focus on outcomes—on numbers, forecasts, and performance metrics. But results are shaped long before they appear on a dashboard.
They’re shaped by how clearly we define purpose.
By how seriously we prepare before conditions change.
And by the standards we choose to uphold when no one is watching.
Those choices compound quietly over time. And when pressure returns—as it always does—they’re what determine whether an organization holds steady or starts to drift.
Thanks for reading and reflecting this month. I appreciate the opportunity to be part of your thinking as we move into February.