One of my favorite statements when people come to me seeking guidance on making specific decisions is, “I trust your good judgment.”

Granted they will sometimes make decisions I might not agree with, and that’s the best part. Why? Because it gives me a chance to coach them in a positive way.

I don’t have to tell them they were wrong. I simply ask them if they considered coming to a different conclusion by doing whatever? I might say next time it might be better to blah, blah, blah.

Only in a rare set of circumstances would I bust them over a decision they have made.

If you want to build a powerful team of leaders look for opportunities to say, “I trust your good judgment.” That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

When I was in the Marine Corps, we often referred to “that 10%,” meaning there are those in the platoon who can’t run, can’t march, can’t shoot straight. They can’t and won’t do much of anything right.

In the Marine Corps they work hard to run those people off.

These are the people influencing what goes on in your business in a negative way. Regardless of all the good things you’re trying to do they will find something wrong and speak ill of it. They are the poop stirrers and agitators.

When I did cultural training in our dealerships I would speak about “that 10%.” I would tell the staff to be aware of “that 10%” and to help us run them away.

Of course you don’t want to have all “yes people” working in your organization. There’s a difference between “that 10%” and those genuinely interesting in serving up valid suggestions and ideas.

Keep an eye out for “that 10%.” Running them off improves everything you’re doing by at least 10%. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Yep, it’s okay to be wrong. If you’re never wrong then you’re never learning. If you’re never learning then you’re going to be wrong a lot more than you’re right.

The key is to admit you’re wrong, learn and move on. As a dealer, I was ok with people making mistakes, being wrong.

What I wasn’t ok with, and you shouldn’t be either, is you or your staff repeating the same mistakes.

If the same mistakes keep getting made, it’s an even bigger mistake to keep rewarding those people by keeping them around.

When there’s too much “wrong” happening it may be time to replace someone. Sometimes the person that needs to be fired is you. If for no other reason than putting up with too much wrong.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

We’re talking about your job. Yes, your job. We know it’s not easy, that’s why you’re asked to do it. If it were easy, we’d put someone in it with a lot less talent. Less drive. Less enthusiasm. Less moxie. Less grit. Less get up and go.

Your job was never designed to be easy. If it were easy no one would care. And if it were easy, you’d be paid a lot less.

Sure, you’re not paid enough. But, it’s not always about what you’re being paid. It’s about what you’re paying to the big picture.

Sometimes it takes some serious grinding it out to get the pay to match. You will eventually get to the point where you’re being paid for more than you are actually doing.

Never forget that you’re contributing. You’re contributing in a big way. A way that others can’t contribute. We need you to keep doing what’s not easy.

Just stay the course. Of course, the course is not always easy, but needed. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I’ve always been a morning person. I’ve never been able to sleep in. I’m not sure when it all started, but it seems that as far back as I can remember I’ve been an early riser.

My favorite day of the week to be up early is Sunday. Sunday has a totally different feel for me than any other day. There are times when I have to get up at 4:30 on a Sunday morning to catch a flight.

The thought of getting up that early is never all that appealing, but once it happens, once I’m out the door, I absolutely love it. It just seems so awesome, so pure, so mind awakening.

I do my best thinking early in the morning. For those of you who get to work early every day, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I believe getting up early on a Sunday morning and using that time to think or work can be the most productive time you will ever have. Two solid hours on a Sunday morning is probably more productive than 6 or 8 hours at work.

Got an issue you’re trying to solve? Looking for creative ideas to set you apart from the competition? Still trying to solve that recon problem? Can’t figure out the structure of your management team? Looking for ways to hold people accountable? Need a new sales pay plan?

Got questions? Need answers? Give yourself 2 hours on Sunday mornings.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I travel a lot. I travel an awful lot. Big cities, small cities, big towns, small towns and all sizes in between.

In most cases if I closed my eyes I could be in any city. They all look the same. With the exception of the terrain if I didn’t know where I was, I wouldn’t know where I am.

They all have Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Target, Home Depot, Applebee’s and the other familiar places. There’s not much difference in any of the cities I go to except some are bigger, some are smaller. Same thing with dealerships.

As I think about your dealership, I’m wondering what makes you different. What’s your defining proposition? Why should people want to do business with you?

Price? Nah. Better service? Nah. Nicer people? Nah. Better facilities? Maybe…

But somehow, someway you have to figure out how to be different. It’s easy to be like everyone else. When you’re like everyone else you become average and to some degree, even boring.

Who wants to be average? You may not want to be average, but you will continue to be so until you figure out how to be different.

I’m pulling for you. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

On Saturday Feb. 7, 2015, Dean Smith, one of the all time greatest coaches in college basketball history passed away. It wasn’t so much that he was a great basketball coach as it was about how he coached young men along the road of life.

As many of you know, I was an NCAA college basketball referee for 17 years. My first experience with Coach Smith was somewhere around 1983 when I was assigned to work a scrimmage game at UNC. It has always stuck in my mind as to how everything during that scrimmage/practice session was timed, precise and disciplined. Outstanding processes to say the least.

When a player was corrected or coached by any of the members of the coaching staff, the comments were always followed with a “Yes sir, no sir.” Not a lot of discussion from the player’s side.

The previous week I had worked a similar scrimmage at the University of Maryland coached by Lefty Driesell. The environment was totally the opposite. Lefty never achieved the type of success that Dean had. There’s a lot to be said about running a disciplined organization.

Dean Smith coached from 1961 to 1997 and retired with 879 victories. His teams won two national championships and appeared in 11 Final Fours.

Even greater than all his wins is that 96.6% of his athletes received their degrees! Coach Smith recruited the university’s first African-American basketball player, Charlie Scott.

Though Dean Smith didn’t actually invent the four corners offensive tactic, he made it famous. Today’s shot clock is a result of Coach Smith’s utilization of the four corners.

Coach Smith also instituted the practice of starting all his team’s seniors on the last home game of the season (“Senior Day”) as a way of honoring the contributions of the subs as well as the stars. In a season when the team included six seniors, he put all six on the floor at the beginning of the game – drawing a technical foul rather than leave one of them out. (I bet you didn’t know that one.)

Perhaps his most famous player was Michael Jordan. It’s often stated in a joking manner that Dean Smith is the only person to hold Michael Jordan under 20 points. Coach Smith’s teams were all about teamwork. Even Michael Jordan had to pass the ball under Coach Smith’s offense.

Michael stated: “Other than my parents, no one had a bigger influence on my life than Coach Smith. He was more than a coach – he was my mentor, my teacher, my second father. Coach was always there for me whenever I needed him and I loved him for it. In teaching me the game of basketball, he taught me about life. My heart goes out to Linnea and their kids. We’ve lost a great man who had an incredible impact on his players, his staff and the entire UNC family.”

What will they say about you? That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs

You’re not ready. That’s different than being not prepared. You’re never ready. But, no one is ever ready for the next step. You’re not ready for the next promotion. You’re not ready for your next store. 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 so different than not being ready. Because you’re prepared I’d give you a chance. I’d say yes. I’d say let’s go, we can do this. That’s all I’m gonna say,Tommy Gibbs

 

Would you like to have a more productive day? Are you willing to try a little experiment?

Steal the chairs. Hide the chairs. Yep, hide them. Take them away. Put them in the back room. If someone needs a rest, send them to the “chair room.”

You and your staff will have a very productive day when you can’t sit.

If you’re not sitting, then you’re gonna be moving. Moving around is a good thing. It creates action. It creates energy. It creates production. It creates sales.

Get rid of the chairs. Do it. Do it now. Get moving. You’re gonna have your best day of the year.

That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

Many years ago we had a CFO in our organization that I like to refer to as the “Great Ponderer.”

Any decision, including how he was going to arrange the vegetable on his salad plate, was an exercise in pondering. He had to ponder anything and everything in his life.

Without a doubt, you have to think things through and analyze the risk involved. But far too often we humans tend to over-think.

Any decision you make has an element of risk tied to it. Nothing is perfect. If you’re hitting 100%, you’re pondering things too much. If you’re hitting 100%, you’re not taking enough risk.

It’s ok not to be right all the time. As a matter of fact, it is better to be wrong once in a while.

Think about that statement, but don’t ponder it too long.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs