Brian Wolff signs off with his final column
By Brian Wolff
With deep appreciation for Parking Today, I want to let you know that this will be my last monthly installment of Authentic Concern. For those like me who believe time flies, you won’t be surprised to know I’ve had the honor and privilege to call this page my own for six years. My day job won’t change, but it’s time to yield this stage to inspire your thinking from a different perspective.
As I sit down to write this final column, I’m struck by how much has changed and how much has stayed the same. The industry has evolved immensely, but at its core, parking still comes down to people helping people, and leaders making choices that shape customer experiences for the better, mostly.
The pace of technological adoption has been staggering. Mobile-first payment, once a nice-to-have, is now the expectation. License plate recognition and digital permitting have streamlined enforcement and operations. Data analytics and artificial intelligence are beginning to creep into exception handling, forecasting, and even frontline customer service.
Of course, the pandemic reshaped everything. Parking demand evaporated almost overnight in 2020, and we all felt the whiplash of “essential service” versus “empty garages.” COVID-19 tested our resilience, but as I wrote in 2021, parking professionals answered the bell, weathered the storm, and came back stronger than ever. Just like they have for nearly 100 years. That’s what we do in parking.
At the same time, the boundaries of parking have expanded. We no longer just operate garages; we manage the curb, integrate with electric vehicle charging, think about micromobility, and wrestle with how rideshare and delivery services fit into the equation. Parking is no longer a silo: It’s a node in a broader mobility network. Parking is still fighting for a seat at the table, but it feels like we’re making more progress on that front than ever.
Behind the scenes, the business itself has been transformed. Private equity investment is reshaping the parking landscape. Startups have entered with new ideas and models. Consolidation has created larger players, even as municipalities and universities continue to demand tailored solutions.
Through all these changes, some truths have endured. In the spirit of taking advantage of the most consequential technological advancement of our time, I loaded every column I wrote into ChatGPT and asked for help to summarize six of the most often recurring themes of my articles. Here’s what it came up with.
Authentic concern
I’ve argued time and again that the best leadership begins and ends with genuine care for people. Authentic concern isn’t soft; it’s tough, when necessary, but always empathetic, compassionate, and caring. It builds trust, diffuses conflict, and turbo-charges relationships.
Humans as the killer app
Technology is wonderful, but people still make or break the experience. When a parker calls for help, or a frontline employee steps in to resolve a problem, it’s the human response that determines whether frustration turns into loyalty.
Love is in the details
Small touches matter. A well-placed sign, a clean facility, a respectful response — these are details that drive trust and satisfaction. Culture, too, is shaped by the details that leaders model every day.
Know the industry, know the company, know yourself
This framework has guided much of my thinking. Success comes when leaders have the determination to study the industry, the discipline to understand their own company deeply, and the courage to be self-aware in how they lead. Knowing oneself is the hardest of the three, but pays the largest return on investment by far, if you’re willing to go deep and be honest with yourself.
Trust as currency
One of my recurring messages has been that trust has real economic value. Lose it and the going gets tough. Earn it, and doors open. Whether between operator and city, vendor and client, or employee and employer, trust is the fuel that accelerates any worthwhile pursuit.
Innovation through collaboration
The most meaningful innovations often come not from technology alone but from partnerships between public and private, vendor and operator, university and city. Collaboration is no longer an option; it is table stakes for any successful parking enterprise.
As I close this chapter, I want to say thank you to Parking Today for giving me this opportunity and to you, the reader, for your encouragement through the years. Together we’ve endured a devastating pandemic and the loss of both of my parents, whom you allowed me to make “parking famous” in these pages. All along the way, I hope you’ve also witnessed me mature as a leader and as a writer. I started this journey terrified of the blank page and failure, but end hoping that I was successful in inspiring you to do better work because of reading these columns. All that’s left for me to say is, “Let’s keep going!”
BRIAN WOLFF is the president & CEO of Parker Technology. He can be reached at [email protected] or visit www.parkertechnology.com.
