Wayne Gretzky, the legendary hockey star, was once asked what separated him from other top players in the National Hockey League. "They go where the puck is," he said. "I go where the puck is going to be."

Max Carey, CEO/chairman of Corporate Resource Development, used the Gretzky example as the way for companies to examine their own strategies and adapt to rapidly changing market conditions. Carey made these remarks during his presentation at the recent American Machine Tool Distributors Assn. meeting, held in Bermuda last month.

Carey says the successful companies of the future will be those that are flexible and adaptable, not necessarily those that are the biggest and oldest.

Are you selling your products to the same industrial customers you were five years ago? Look at the automotive and aerospace sectors. Ten years ago, most distributors were selling primarily to those industries. When margins dropped significantly as these customers demanded more services for fewer dollars, distributors were forced to look for other markets. Many found they could make much more money by focusing on other industries.

A fluid power distributor in Michigan, for example, had been selling to the automotive market for many years. He decided to walk away from it, however, and put his efforts elsewhere. "I found out that I had spent too much time servicing that account and was getting few dollars for it. I've done much better just going into other sectors," he said.

Ted Levitt, author of Marketing Myopia, notes that "you know what business you are in, what business should you be in?" Distributors today aren't selling products; they're selling solutions and providing value-added services to an ever-changing market.

Carey pointed out that every company, regardless of size, needs to establish a brand identity, which he defines as "that which is connoted in the hearts and minds of your prospects when they hear your name. It is the business your prospects and clients think that you are in."

Carey also warned that distributors should "never create demand for your product or service, lest you be replaced down the road by a cheaper, faster competitor. Always create demand for your brand identity."

Use the expertise you've developed as a distributor and expand into areas you may have overlooked. The results may surprise you.