Tony Bennett and Customs Brokerage

Tony Bennett and Customs Brokerage

I recently had the privilege of checking something off my bucket list. I travelled to Dallas, Texas to see Tony Bennett perform at the grand Winspear Opera House. He is 92 years old, still preforming and doing it well. As I soaked in his performance, I wondered how someone who started singing after returning from WWII in 1946 could still perform. In his earlier years, he was taught a certain technique which allowed him to have a strong voice. Seventy years later, his performance still displays strength, discipline and beauty. As I researched his career, I learned that he had his share of ups and downs. He dealt with challenges such as addiction, financial struggles and broken marriages, and subsequently tried to reinvent himself. Several of his reinventions did not go well, but he never quit...

His revival can be credited to going back to the discipline he learned in the 40’s. At the same time, he modernized some of his music by inviting new young singers to perform with him, such as Lady Gaga. Still, his core and what he learned remained from 1940.

How does this connect to Customs Brokerage? The industry has been around for many, many years and has changed tremendously. Running paper packages to Customs evolved into electronic communications. Changes such as complex trade agreements, faster moving freight, increased client demands, constantly changing government processes, and increased need for secure borders are constantly creating new challenges for Customs Brokers.

How should we respond? As Tony did, we go back to our original disciplines:

• Detail oriented vs processors of transaction: There was a time when a person had to physically sign their name to an entry, now we simply press a button to send. There is something to having to physically sign your name to a document. It means more. We need to have the same pride in pressing a button, as placing a physical signature on a document, and ‘stand behind what we do’.
• Strong client relationships, teaching and engaging our customers in what we do. I believe we need to make Customs Brokers professional again.
• Engage young people to embrace a profession which requires thought, and challenges people.
• Be as proud as Tony of what we do. We are professionals, and we do much more than push transactions. Tony is an artist, we are professionals.

General Eric Shinseki, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army said, “If you don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less.”

Like the music industry, brokerage is ever changing. We can learn from people like Tony Bennett - stick to your core and be professional, but also accept and welcome change.