Always putting out fires? Such a shame. So much time wasted. Non-productive time on those darn fires.

Think about a real fire. Most fires are started due to carelessness. The fires you fight are the same way. 

Someone is careless and thus, you get to fight the fire.

Fighting fires takes away from time that could be so much more productive. Productive building your team. Productive building your business. Productive building your bottom line. If you’re to be more productive you have to eliminate the fires.

The fires you fight are more often than not a result of someone either not knowing or not doing.

If someone doesn’t know, that’s your fault. If someone isn’t doing what they know how to do, that’s also your fault.

You’re creating your own fires. I’m thinking that’s called arson. It’s not about putting out the fires. It’s about fire prevention so that the fire alarm never goes off.

That’s not going to happen until you take responsibility for fire prevention training.

Fire prevention is about coaching and teaching your team on the “why and the how” and then setting expectations.

Anything less puts you in the fire. Enjoy the heat. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs 

University of Alabama’s head football coach, Nick Saban, is part owner of Mercedes-Benz of Birmingham and Infiniti of Birmingham in Birmingham, AL.

I don’t know what he knows about the car business but he’s a pretty darn good football coach. At this point, he’s won four national titles at two different schools, which is unheard of.

Based on the team’s current status there’s a good chance he’s going to get a shot at a fifth one.

The company’s mantra for his dealerships is, “We will trip, fall and skin our knees trying to delight our customers.”

I’m thinking that’s the kind of mantra a great football coach would have, so there’s no surprise there. What I am surprised at is that more people in business don’t
have that same mindset.

Just think of the possibilities, if you could instill that thinking in your team. Advertising expenses would go way down. CSI scores and profits would go way up.

That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

Rob O’Neill is the Navy Seal who claims credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden.

In a recent interview on Fox News he discussed some of the key points to being a member of Team Seal 6.

Turns out, whether you’re hunting down enemy insurgents or running a successful business, the same principles apply.

The message can be summarized in O’Neill’s four keys to success:

1. People skills matter-“Believe it or not, as a Navy SEAL, it’s important to get along with other people. People work harder when they believe in each other and they get along.”

Tommy Says-It’s no different in your business. If you have people in your organization that don’t have good people skills, they will drag you and the team to the bottom of the pile.

2. Prepare, but don’t over-plan-“People tend to sit in a room and do nothing and say, ‘We’re going to plan and plan and plan until we have the perfect plan.’ But they’re not doing anything. We learned that the only time the perfect plan exists is in the planning room.”

Tommy Says-In business you have to stay flexible. It’s important to have a plan but don’t get married to the plan. Everything we do has a moving target. Yes, give it time to work, but be ready to adjust and move on. Don’t look back. Keep digging.

3. Take emotion out of professional decision-making-“Your initial reaction to anything is the wrong reaction. That’s true whether you’re taking fire from a mountaintop in Afghanistan, or you’re the man or woman landing a jet on an aircraft carrier on the high seas at night, or you’re the person who makes lattes at 7 a.m. on a Monday at Starbucks and there’s a line around the corner.”

Tommy Says-Far too often we let emotions, relationships and loyalty affect our decision making process. If you do what’s best for the company, in the long run you’re doing what’s best for the people in question.

4. No matter what, never quit-A message from his SEAL training instructor applies to other life challenges: “You’re about to go to war for the first time, and the enemy is all your doubts, all your fears, and everyone back home who told you you couldn’t do this. Keep your head down. Keep moving forward. No matter what, never quit.”

Tommy Says-Don’t give up. Never, ever give up. There are people who want to see you fail. Keep pushing forward and you will drive them crazy with your grit, determination and intestinal fortitude. And, in the end you win.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

If you’ve ever ridden a bus, it’s likely you stood at a bus stop waiting and looking for the bus. Even if you’ve never ridden a bus for sure you have observed others waiting for a bus.

Have you noticed how those standing at the bus stop are always looking for the bus?

For most people it’s human nature to look for the bus. The bus is more than likely going to show up, and when it does there are some things to keep in mind:

1. The bus might be running late.
2. The bus might be full.
3. The seat choices once you get on the bus might not be very good.
4. You could end up sitting beside someone you don’t know or don’t like.
5. Most buses don’t have seat belts so if it has an accident you might get hurt.
6. The bus is going to make a lot of inconvenient stops along the way.
7. If traffic is heavy the bus will not take an alternate route.
8. Riding a bus can be a very rough ride.
9. You have very little control when you’re waiting and/or riding ‘da bus.

The bottom line is waiting for a bus has lots of flaws. When it comes to your business are you waiting for the bus or are you driving your own bus?

Driving your own bus means making something happen rather than waiting for something to happen.

Far too often I observe dealers and managers sitting back and waiting to see if someone else is going to come up with the next great thing so they can board the bus and ride along.

If you happen to be the Dealer or GM I cannot imagine how you can be in the automobile business today and not be in a 20 group. How are you going to get the latest greatest ideas by sitting inside a parked bus in your driveway?

Having your own bus is one thing; going somewhere in it is another.

It doesn’t matter if you’re the Dealer, GM, Used Car Manager, Salesperson or in some other type of business; what you have to ask yourself is are you driving the bus or are you letting someone else do the driving?

As long as someone else is doing the driving the scenery is going to be very limited and your success even more so. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Being a leader is often a challenge because of the workplace environment we find ourselves in.

Being a leader is like being a parent. For example, if one parent stays at home, it can be more difficult to discipline the children due to being around them all the time.

Most of my readers are in the automobile business and are often around the same people for 12 plus hours a day.

Most dealerships have systems and processes in place designed to create focus and discipline. Even under the best of circumstances processes are constantly breaking down which contributes to poor performance and a poor bottom line.

The reality is that it’s much easier to run a large dealership than a small one. As a leader in a large dealership, you can delegate much more and separate yourself from some of the personalities that can cause the breakdown of discipline.

Do not take that to mean that you don’t need to be involved, friendly or whatever. It just means you have to separate yourself from the emotional side of the equation.

If you are in a smaller dealership the task of separating yourself from the staff is even more daunting. I’m often amazed that leaders feel that they can socialize with staff members and still be able to properly manage and lead them.

How can you:

1. Have lunch with the same people all the time?
2. Have dinner with spouses and members of your team on a regular basis?
3. Have after work drinks with staff members?
4. Party with staff members?
5. Attend sporting events with staff members?
6. Play golf on weekends with staff members?

Any of these in and of themselves is not a bad thing. But, to do any of this with the same person on a consistent basis does nothing but create problems for you and them.

Aside from the fact it makes it difficult for you to manage them (let alone fire them) it creates a perception of favoritism that will destroy morale and team spirit.

Never forget, perception is reality. If you perceive that I’m a jerk, then I’m a jerk. The only way for that to change is for me to work toward changing your perception of me.

The burden is on me, not you. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs