One of my favorite things to do when working with dealers is to discuss their oldest used vehicles in stock.

If the oldest unit is 55 days old or 155 days old, 99.9% of the time they all have a storyline tied to them.

The conversation will often evolve to where the used car manager will say “We have it priced #1 in the market, it’s a nice car and I don’t know why it hasn’t sold.”

Some of you won’t like my response. But, my response is based on reality. And the reality is, if it’s priced #1 in the market and it still hasn’t sold…it’s not cheap enough.

We’re not talking about a fresh piece. We’re talking about your oldest unit in stock. And, it may have a flaw you failed to identify soon enough.

There’s a butt for every seat. That butt will show up when you make it cheap enough.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I’m not talking about turning your used cars faster. I’m talking about picking up how fast you walk. The tempo of your gait says a lot about you.

If you want to energize your team you first have to energize yourself.

If you know me, you know I’m not a very patient person. One of the things that drives me nuts is when people waddle along on a moving sidewalk.

If you’ve ever traveled through the Atlanta airport, I’m sure you’ve seen the moving sidewalks that come to an end, you get off, walk about 25 feet and get onto another one.

I was recently on one with a group walking like a buffalo herd that had just eaten a massive meal. After the exit, I decided to see if I could out-walk them on the side while they walked on the moving sidewalk. Of course, I won.

When you pick up your speed, you energize yourself. When you energize yourself, you energize your team. Speed and energy go together.

Slow walkers tend to think slow and move slow. Not only are they slow, but they are also slowing down everyone around them. By and large, they aren’t going anywhere. It’s obvious that wherever they are going isn’t important or they’d be in more of a hurry to get there.

People who walk fast want to get somewhere fast. But more than that, fast walkers are people that have high energy and are go-getters. Fast walkers are confident, courageous, and all about having a no-fuss in life.

They expect other people to keep up with them and they have a low tolerance for those not in a hurry to get things done.

They often don’t tolerate a lot of words, and if they do, they want you to spit it out fast and get on with it.

Think fast.
Talk fast.
Move fast.
Be fast.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

That’s different than not being prepared.

You’re never ready.

But, no one is ever ready for the next step.

You’re not ready for college.

You’re not ready for life.

You’re not ready for marriage.

You’re not ready for the next promotion.

You’re not ready for your next business venture.

Just because you’re not ready doesn’t mean you don’t prepare.

Not being prepared means you haven’t studied enough.

You haven’t read enough.

You haven’t sought the right mentors.

You haven’t listened enough.

You haven’t asked enough of the right questions.

You haven’t explored the Internet enough.

Not being prepared means you just haven’t done enough,

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

One of my favorite basketball drills as both a player and a coach was a drill where two players are lined up, side-by-side with the coach standing in between.

They are spaced about 10 feet apart all facing in the same direction. The coach will roll the ball on the floor and on the sound of the whistle the two players will scramble to see who can come up with the ball. Floor burns on the knees and arms are guaranteed.

One of the reasons my nose is crooked is the result of hitting someone’s head while going after the ball. But, I got the ball, broken nose and all. It’s not always about talent. It’s about wanting the ball.

In sports, business, and life you’ve got to want the ball. As a leader, one of your goals should be to have people on your team that want the ball with every ounce of their souls.

Far too often we have team members, including managers, who wouldn’t dare get a floor burn. They stand there and watch the ball roll.

You will often hear them complain that nobody will give them the ball.

If you want the ball, let it be known you want it, and then go get it.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs