Everything I see and hear tells me the automobile business has gotten too easy.

Oh, I realize it’s never easy, but the unique set of circumstances over the last few years has either made a lot of dealers lazy, complacent and a few may have gone brain dead and have become incompetent.

Some may have developed amnesia and forgot how quickly this business can turn in another direction.

DON’T DO EASY:

It’s easy to do easy.
It’s easy to ignore.
It’s easy to look the other way.
Easy to let slide.
We all like easy.
Anybody can do easy.
Being easy causes you to say yes, when you should say no.
Being easy causes you to take your eye off the big picture.
When you take your eye off the big picture, everything around you becomes a little fuzzier.
The fuzzier things get, the more confused you and your staff get.
The more confused you and the staff get, the more little things begin to slide.
Easy now becomes habit.
Habit becomes the norm.
The norm becomes easy.
That’s when rinse and repeat occurs. The problem is that the water you’re rinsing with is murky and dirty.
Expectations begin to drop. Lower expectations become the norm.
The little things can be hard to measure, so they are ignored.
When you focus on the little things, the performance of the team improves.
Why would you want to do easy?

Don’t do easy. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs.

How long does it take to know if they can do it? Do what?

Do whatever it is you’ve hired someone to do.

Does it take a week?
Does it take a month?
Does it take 90 days?
Does it take 6 months?
Does it take 6 years?

How long does it take you to figure out if you’ve got the right person or the wrong person in the job?

Part of that decision-making process might depend on:

1. How much have you invested in the selection process of putting the right person in the right job?

2. Did you put someone in the job because they were the “next up?”

3. How much have you invested in their training and development?

4. How much have you invested of your own time coaching and teaching the person?

5. Does your organization give people the tools they need in order to be successful?

6. Do you make the effort to get legitimate feedback from those around you that “know” about how this person is performing?

How long does it take for you to figure out if they can or they can’t?

That’s all I’m gonna ask. Tommy Gibbs.

1. They can’t manage their personal lives
2. They can’t manage their money (If you are an employer and you have people working for you who can’t manage their money then they sure can’t manage yours.)
3. They can’t manage the truth
4. They can’t manage their time
5. They can’t manage their emotions
6. They can’t manage results
7. They can’t manage their flaws.
(We all have flaws. Successful people know what their flaws are and they manage and control their own flaws.)

I frequently hear CEOs of dealer groups talk about how hard it is to find GSMs & GMs for their stores. More often than not, the missing skill set for those that have failed them is they just aren’t very good leaders.

The moment they come on board, they have all these amazing things they want to change

and “make it better.” They do have skills, but they don’t have “leadership skills,” so from day one they tend to struggle.

A savvy CEO should be as much interested in how many people they have developed as they are in the number of units over the curb. If you focus on the numbers, you may get a little surge, but it’s not going to be consistent and it’s going to be a little short-term gain and a whole lot of long-term pain.

Far too often the strategy of new leadership is to unload in rapid fire a bunch of new ideas, bring some new rock stars in and drain the swamp.

That strategy will generally create hate and discontent, and put you that much further behind.

Soon you’ll be looking for a new GSM or GM and repeating the process of hoping the new one works out.

The first question that should be asked of your potential rock star is how do they intend to rally the troops?

The most important part of that answer is, “How do they intend to rally the individuals?”

You cannot rally the troops until you capture the hearts and minds of the individual team members.

If I were your new hire, here’s what I would do:

1. I’d meet with every team member one-on-one. During the course of these one-on-ones I would be asking questions, getting opinions, and asking every team member, “If this were your business, what would you do differently?”

The more I can learn about each team member’s family, hobbies, and their life’s journey, all the better. I’d get dialed in on the conversation by taking notes…lots and lots of notes.

2. I’d start every morning spending additional one-on-one time with as many people as I could come into contact with. These are casual conversations done on the fly. Building relationships is what is going to create profound change and a new direction.

3. Throughout the day I would look for opportunities to create “power moments.”

Moments to coach.
Moments that matter.
Moments to encourage.
Moments to pick people up.
Moments to push them forward.
Moments to guard the processes.

It’s a whole lot easier to implement change and solid strategies when you get the team on the same page.
My way is a better way, that’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs.

Woody Hayes’ (the legendary coach of Ohio State University) career was cut short because he punched a Clemson University player on the Ohio State sideline.

Coach Hayes once said, “Paralyze resistance with persistence.” Regardless of what you think about Coach Hayes, you have to give him credit for a powerful statement.

Change, continuous improvement, and daily disciplines are often met with resistance.

Resistance is not a generational thing, it’s just a thing. It’s a thing that’s always been present. It’s been around since the caveman.

There are always strange forces of nature at work. Resistance is the force of nature against persistence. We’ve all seen very talented people fall flat on their faces because of a lack of persistence. Talented people will often resist having to be accountable. They like doing their own thing. The lack of discipline is a close cousin of resistance.

Persistence can be a two-edged sword. We’ve all known salespeople who drove us nuts. They bug you to death and work you until your nerves are on edge. But the bottom line is they were persistent. Persistence wins over time and persistence will sell lots of cars.

There is always room for improvement, and you should never be satisfied…and you should never let them be satisfied. Becoming satisfied leads to complacency.

To keep the “boogie man of complacency” away, you as a leader must be persistent in all things that have been deemed to be important to the success of the organization. It is so easy to lose persistence. Being persistent is not something you do occasionally. It is something that has to be done every minute of every day.

Discipline is the twin brother of persistence. Discipline is what carries you through the down moments; those moments when you want to throw your hands in the air and say the heck with it.
I like to think of persistence as always staying after it regardless of your current state of mind. Being highly motivated can come and go. Even when you are not feeling all that motivated you can remain persistent.

Being persistent means have intestinal fortitude and a willingness to grind it out regardless of the obstacles that keep coming your way. Think of obstacles as just bugs on a windshield. Persistence is the windshield wiper. Wipe ’em off and keep digging.

The enemy is resistance. Your sword is persistence.

Fight the good fight. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs.

I’m going to be discussing and commenting on what’s commonly known as the “Four Stages Of Learning” plus two others that I know you have never heard of because I made them up. I don’t know where the first four originated, I just know I stole them

All 6 stages of learning apply regardless of the application. They can be applied in sports, business, social activities, and life in general.

1. Unconscious incompetence-The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. The individual must recognize their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage.

The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn. The more time they are willing to spend learning the skill or activity the faster they move to the next stage. Example: You decide to take up golf so you go out to the driving range, whack at a few balls. 1 out of 10 you make great contact, but you have no clue what you’re doing. You know you love the feeling and you know you want some more of it so you keep returning to the driving range and/or play a few rounds of awful golf.

2. Conscious incompetence-Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage. Example: After going to the driving range for a while and playing a few rounds you begin taking lessons with a golf pro and quickly realize how little you know. You observe others either at the golf course or on video, etc. and the realization of how much there is to this game starts to sink in.

3. Conscious competence-The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill. Example: More golf lessons, more golf rounds played and you are starting to understand the integral parts of the swing. You haven’t mastered the swing yet, but you are starting to strike the ball more consistently especially when you think it through.

It’s not automatic, but your skills are improving as your knowledge starts to grow. This can be the most frustrating stage of the first four. You still have to think about it. When you do, your results are much better, and when you don’t you want to throw your clubs in the lake.

4. Unconscious competence-The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become “second nature” and can be performed easily. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned. Example: You’ve now repeated your golf swing enough times, played enough rounds, attempted enough different types of shots that you can break par or better, and have reached a very competitive level. You no longer have to think about the elements of your swing, you just do it. The physical and mental muscle memory is locked in.

5. Competent Incompetence-is the most dangerous of the six. It’s when you have years of experience, know your stuff and have become convinced you have nothing else to learn. Your success has convinced you that you are “the man” (or woman) and you are done learning. Seeking more knowledge is the last thing on your mind. What got you to where you are today is what you think is going to keep you where you are and beyond.

6. Learning to be competent-this stage never stops. It’s a life long journey that keeps life interesting and challenging. You know that learning is a journey, not a destination. (That would be you and I.)

The most successful people at any skill, business, or activity are the ones who continue to do two things:

1. They keep going back to the basics
2. They continue searching for answers even when they think they already have many of them.

What stage are you in? I’m in the “Learning To Be Competent” stage and I hope it never ends. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I’ve never understood why some people in leadership positions want to make it all about “I.” Really good leaders will avoid the “I” word like the plague.

How hard is it to insert the words like we, us, they, our team, etc.?

Real leaders get it. They only use the word “I” when it’s absolutely necessary or when they are taking responsibility for something that hasn’t gone well.

It’s not unusual to hear a manager say something like, “I” sold 200 units last month or I had a record month or I’m going to sell 300 this month. Really? I don’t think so.

There are so many examples of the poor use of “I.”

You will often hear Presidents say things like “I” got Osama Bin Laden or I’m sending FEMA to help with the most recent hurricane. Or I’m going to send every American a check, blah, blah, blah.

There are some good uses for the word “I.”
I made a mistakeI can do betterI’m going on a dietI take full responsibility for our aged unitsI should have unloaded that used car in the first 10 daysI love you

That’s all me gonna say, Tommy Gibbs.

I think that a large percentage of successful people played a sport or two along the way. It’s not imperative for someone to have a sports background, but it sure does help. Here are some reasons why you should give consideration to hiring people with a sports background: They know how to win. They know how to lose. They love big moments. They want to learn more. They know how to compete. They always give their best. They understand preparation.T hey stay focused on the basics. They get up when knocked down. They coach and like to be coached. They will get down in the trenches. They know how to run the score up. They understand mental conditioning. They understand physical conditioning. They know they must maintain discipline. They like being on the team and understand teamwork. They have drive, determination and the will to win. They are eager to get off the bench and into the game. They think fast. They react fast. They can react on the fly. They have great peripheral vision, thus they always know what’s going on around them. Hire more people with a sports background, That’s all I’m gonna say,  Tommy Gibbs.

March Madness is here, and sports minded people will be tuned into the NCAA basketball tournament. If you know anything about basketball you know there are some fundamentals of the game that never change.

1. Pick and roll. Watch any game and you’ll see it’s an integral part of every team’s offensive scheme.

2. Baseline defense. The offense player is always forced to the middle where there’s help. If you let the offensive player go down the baseline, you’re either gonna commit a foul or give up a bucket.

Of course, the game has changed over the years, but that’s just two examples of things that stay the same.

Let’s take it a step further. Suppose you wake up one day as the head coach of a basketball team that has two guys that are 7′, two guys that are 6’7″ and a 6’5″ guard. They are all lighting fast and can shoot the eyes out. Because of your speed and height advantage you’re romping all your opponents.

Even when the subs come in, you just keep scoring and winning.

Run and gun has become the norm and basics have left town.

Then one day you wake up and your top players have left school and all you have is a bunch of six-footers that can’t do much of anything right.

Their lack of discipline and basics sends you into a tail-spin and pretty soon you’re out of a job.

I hope you see the analogy here of where we are in the automobile business.

Maybe you need to get back to basics before you have to get back to basics.

1. Do a trade walk and lot walk, daily and weekly.

2. Press your average cost down.

3. Don’t let crap age on you. (Your luck on this subject is getting ready to run out.)

4. Attack your 10 most expensive units.

5. Do a save-a-deal meeting every day. (There’s only definition for the word every.)

6. Improve your speed through recon. Speed wins. The lack of speed kills. MY RECON TOOL.

7. Be a student of the game. Great basketball coaches are always studying the game so they can find the competitive edge. You should do the same.

8. Hire slow. Fire fast.

9. Dealer Operators and GMs should review every wholesale deal once it’s billed. Ask questions such as “How did we make $1500 (or lose $1500) on this unit?”

10. Gross always hides mistakes. You may be making some mistakes these days such as letting cars sit, but at the end of the day, the overall grosses are so good that nobody is paying attention

Number 10 is akin to you playing an inferior team. You give up the baseline and they blow the layup, and you start to think you can give up the baseline, no big deal.

A lot of what I share with you is a baseline. If you keep giving up the baseline, you’re eventually gonna get your ass beat.

That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs.