I had great mentors when I first got in the car business. One of the first things I learned was that when a salesman was working a deal the whole world stopped.

Most of us are familiar with the tower or desk concept, the area where deals are worked, which can at times be like Grand Central station. It’s the nerve center. It’s the airplane control tower. It’s the emergency room and ICU all rolled into one.

What it’s not is a place to socialize, but socialization does happen there. With that being the reality, the management staff has to have the discipline that all silly activity stops when a sales person walks in the room. To this day when I’m in a dealership and a sales person walks in the tower I want to say “Whatcha got?”

Sometimes they have a deal. Sometimes they have a question. Sometimes they need encouragement. Sometimes they are looking for a little push. Sometimes they are just lost. But at all times I want them to know I care about them and I’m there to help them do business.

If you’re not already using the term “Whatcha got,” maybe you should. By saying “Whatcha got,” you will get a lot. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I’m a big fan of making the team inclusive of what’s going on. I’m a big fan of educating the team. I’m a big fan of getting insight from those who are in the trenches. I’m a big fan of listening to the troops.

But, I’m not a big fan of rule by committee. Ruling by committee is an easy way to avoid accountability. Ruling by committee allows us to blame no one when it fails. Ruling by committee is a sickness designed to allow those in charge to accept responsibility for nothing.

Ruling by committee is a way to hide in the back room. Ruling by committee is peeking through the closet door.

Step out of the closet, come into the room and be counted. If you’re ruling by committee, stop it! You’re not running a democracy, you’re running a business.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

This past weekend I had the honor of being inducted into the Ferrum College Football Hall of Fame. Actually it was the entire team from the 1965 National Championship team. Ferrum is now a four year school, but at the time we won the Championship it was a Junior College. Can you say “bad student Tommy?”

I was a defensive safety. Fast and mean. Imagine that. If you have an appreciation for football you can probably appreciate the fact that we went 10-0, had 7 shutouts and only gave up 18 points the entire year. That’s strong as goat’s breath. I (We) might have been better than I thought.

I’m not writing this to tell you about my accomplishments, as much as to tell you about a couple of observations.

First, I hadn’t seen my teammates for 47 years. Though most sounded the same, none even came close to looking the same. Many are overweight. All are aging just like me. When I look at the original team photos I sorta gasp. What the heck happened?

In a sense it seems just like yesterday we were beating and banging on each other and in a flash we’re all as old as dirt. I don’t get it. What happened to all the time? Where did it go? How did this all happen so fast?

The message here, whether it’s business or your personal lives and regardless of where you are in the cycle of life, enjoy it, try to understand that if things are good or bad that where you are today will not last forever. Enjoy where you are.

I had another great take away from the ceremonies I want to share with you.

One of the other items on the agenda was the presentation of the “Distinguished Alumni Award.”

As the master of ceremonies was going over a former tennis player’s list of accomplishments he mentioned she had won an annual “sportsmanship award” presented by the NCAA.

When she got up to speak, she told the story behind the award. She stated that her coach had always warned her to make sure she took two tennis rackets with her to every match just in case one broke. The way she put it is, “he had beat it into her head.”

In the middle of a regional NCAA tournament match her opponent broke her racket. And guess what? Her opponent didn’t have a spare. Apparently there is an amount of time they give you to come up with another racket. The other player’s coach was not present to help her find one and time was running out. She was going to have to forfeit the match. The young lady who won the award gave her opponent her spare. And guess what? You guessed it didn’t you? Her opponent beat her with her own racket.

The school’s motto is, “Not self, but others.” She obviously learned well. When you put others first, you always win. The game of life (and the game of business) is short. Putting others first always makes you and the team winners. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I’d like to think when major decisions are made that affect your team that you are included in the decision. And that once the decision is made it’s full steam ahead to make it happen by you and the team.

Years ago at my Toyota dealership I had a parts and service director who was a retired Master Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corps. Since I’m a former Marine, you just know I had to love that guy. If you don’t understand military rank, just understand even though it’s an enlisted rank, officers don’t generally mess with a Master Gunnery Sergeant. A Master Gunnery Sergeant is one of the most respected ranks in the military. 

He & I would often have meetings on Parts & Service issues and we did not always agree. I knew enough about parts and service to be dangerous. Even when we did not agree, once it was all said and done and I had won, when he left that meeting with his marching orders you can be assured the mission was going to be carried out.

Far too often those in business shake their heads “yes,” as if to say “I’m all in,” and then do their best to circumvent the mission just so they can be right. It’s not about being right. It’s about carrying out the plan at hand.

Your job should be to do everything you can to make the plan work, not the opposite. You and the team will never be all they can be unless you do so.

Semper Fi is all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs.

Just in case: Semper Fi means always faithful.

I don’t know if you follow pro football and it doesn’t matter all that much if you do or don’t. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have lost their first two games on field goals at the end of the game.

There’s been a bit of controversy about their quarterback Josh Freeman. Last year Freeman was also the team Captain. This year his teammates chose not to elect him back to that position. There’s been a rumor that the coach rigged the voting because the coaching staff has lost confidence in Freeman’s play and leadership skills. I doubt that’s true. Or at least the part about rigging the votes.

A week ago this lack of confidence was further magnified when Freeman overslept and miss the team picture.

I want this to be as simple as I can make it. Regardless of your skill level, regardless of your talent, regardless of your position, regardless of how much money you make, you cannot be a leader if you can’t show up on time. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Are you giving good stuff, bad stuff, outstanding stuff, worthless stuff, amazing stuff, same old stuff? Are you giving your best stuff?

So really, what is it?

Great leaders understand the power of giving. They give their best performance everyday and they give back to others. They don’t hide their stuff. They put their best stuff on the table to share with others. They share stuff that makes others have better stuff. Then they teach others to share their stuff.

It’s full circle. Someone gave to you. Now it’s time for you to do the same. Just make sure you’re giving your very best stuff everyday. I’m always trying to give you great stuff. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs.

 

 

 

“The two hardest things to handle in life are failure and success.” Anonymous 

Have you ever noticed that when some people get behind the wheel of a car, truck or SUV that they lose their minds? It’s not unusual to see someone driving really nutty, doing something really stupid and you pull up beside them and they look like normal people. They don’t have two heads, fangs, or horns sticking out of their heads.  

What is it with people when they get behind the wheel of a car? They sorta lose their minds. Good people, nice people seem to go a bit postal.  As I’ve mentioned in the past at one time I drove race cars. I always found it interesting that some of the nicest guys outside of a race car were nuts once they got in the car.

It was as if their helmets squeezed their brains until stupid flowed out. I’m not excluding myself from that equation, as I was no different than the rest when I strapped mine on.  I believe it’s the power of the engine that makes them go off the deep end.

I see the same thing in business every day. Someone gets promoted and whamo, they get the “king of the hill” mentality. “I’m ‘da king, you ‘da peasants, and you will do as I say.” That type of mentality will soon be their downfall.

One of my father’s favorite sayings is, “Be nice to people on the way to the top because you never know who you will meet on your way down.”

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Leaders like you make decisions. That’s why you get to be the leader. You are a decision maker. That’s why you get paid the big bucks. Embrace it, love it, groove on it.  Be cool about it.

How many people in leadership positions have you observed over the years that can’t make a decision? They have to ponder every little detail. Every little “what if?” There are very few decisions that you should have to do that with. 

Your training, your knowledge and your confidence should be such that you do it, get on with it and if you screw it up, you fix it and move on.

Not being able to make quick decisions would be like a quarterback walking up to the line of scrimmage and thinking, “Now let me see, what could go wrong here, maybe I should do an audible, no maybe I shouldn’t, no maybe I should, or darn I really shouldn’t, not this time, oh pooh I’ll just run the play I started out with.”

By the time a decision gets made a penalty would be called. If the quarterback did this with consistency pretty soon the entire team would lose confidence in him.

That’s what goes on when the team knows you can’t or won’t make decisions. And when you do make a decision they have no confidence in you and the failure rate goes way up.

Knock it off. Make some decisions. Know your limits, and know when to ponder the few that need pondering.

In most cases,  just “get it on,” as in “I got this.” I’ve got this and that’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Great leadership requires leaders to have inclusiveness with the right people at the right time. Far too often those in leadership positions are either not utilizing the inclusive concept or they are including the wrong people in their planning and strategy sessions. 

If you’re the dealer and you’re not including the General Manager in the decision making process, you need to rethink it.

If you’re the General Manager and you’re not including the GSM and/or the Parts and Service Managers in your decision making process, you need to rethink it.

If you’re the General Sales Manager and you’re not including the Sales and F&I Managers in your decision making process, you need to rethink it.

As an example, for the dealer or GM to hire an F&I manager that will ultimately answer to the GSM is not a good strategy.

Yes, you have the power to do whatever you want, but you could very well be making the wrong match. If the GSM is going to be in charge of the sales department then the GSM needs to be involved in the decision making process, which would include, but not be limited to, decisions such as hiring and advertising. Sure, you should give it your blessing, but not dictate what decision should be made.

This inclusion works both ways. If you’re the GSM you should be smart enough to run key hiring and other important decisions by the GM. To do anything less is just plain stupid.

You’re not stupid. You read my newsletters, so that makes you very smart. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

“I Have Great People Skills…”  Famous last words, “I have great people skills.” How many times have you interviewed someone and you ask them to name something they are really good at and they say, “I have great people skills.” I often ask that question ask of people I meet and then I’m amazed to learn they can barely spell “people skills,” much less execute them. Leaders understand that having great people skills requires them to grow those skills daily by building relationships of trust, respect and productive interactions. Steven Covey stated it best when he said, “Trust is the glue of life. It’s the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships.” Having people skills means building relationships. You may think you are a great people person, but if you can’t be trusted then you’re a long way from having people skills. Having great people skills involves the ability to communicate effectively with people in a friendly, positive and uplifting way. President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “You do not lead by hitting people over the head – that’s assault, not leadership.” That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs   Watch This 20 Second People Skills Training Video I have people skills