Most of us understand the concept of muscle memory. An example of typical muscle memory is when you throw a ball you don’t think about all the mechanics of doing so. Your body, mind and arm just make it happen.

"Mental muscle memory" works much the same way. Whenever we need to make any decision in our personal or business life, our brain will go into what we have stored in its "hard drive" to decide what to do. The brain is going to go where we have the most experience and where we are the most comfortable. This dated information becomes what we rely on because it’s what we know.

I like to refer to this as actually "Bad Mental Muscle Memory." Relying on "Bad Mental Muscle Memory" is like a drug. The more you rely on it the more you want to do it.

Some of your mental muscle memory is probably very good because it did get you to where you are today. But, when you allow "Bad Mental Muscle Memory" to control your thinking it tends to shut down your ability to move forward and be able to attack the future.

"Bad Mental Muscle Memory" is the future on hold. Opening up your thinking is the future on steroids. It grows and grows.

Tips for dealing with "Bad Mental Muscle Memory:"

Invest more time, energy and resources in the training and development of you and your staff. The dividends are beyond huge. Quit being penny wise and pound foolish. Take some of that money you are spending in advertising and put it in training and education for yourself and your staff.

Look for greatness and ideas in others. Instead of showing up to let everyone know how great you are, show up to find out how great everyone else is. You don’t have all the answers and even if you’ve had some good ones in the past, maybe it’s time to let others help you tweak them up a notch or two.

Set up an Executive Committee. A very good friend of mine recently came back into the automobile business full time due to some re-organizing of his group of stores. The first thing he did was to set up an Executive Committee to help guide the team toward the future. He knew, that the team knew, he had a lot to get his arms around. What a brilliant move to get the team involved in the decision making process.

Add some fear to your diet. Fear is a great motivator. You should be fearful of falling behind. You should be fearful of the competition getting ahead. You should be fearful of what’s around the corner. Fear will force you to get out of your box and get on with it.

Read and study about the best. Apple, Starbucks, CarMax. Do you understand what they do? Do you understand how they do it? Have you spent any time studying these top performers? Being a leader is like being a great football coach. To be a great football coach you have to have a great scouting report. If you’ve not studied these top players then you should.

Inspire those around you. You may think this is overplayed but it’s not. The more you inspire others the more it creates enthusiasm for change and growth.

Avoid the easy. Go after the impossible. My good friend, great author and speaker, Dave Anderson often speaks of stretching yourself and stretching your organization. You can’t stretch if you don’t reach for the impossible. You will soon find out that what you thought was impossible is very doable. And then you will say "next."

Eliminate what you think are obstacles. Sometimes it’s people, sometimes it’s stinky thinking. The only thing in life you have total control over is your thinking. If you think you can you are right. If you think you can’t you are right.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." I’m going to add to his quote. "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm for change" Now, that’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

I don’t get it. I really don’t get it. Why do some of you get with it and most of you just sit on your hands? Is change really that hard? I’ve been where you are and I know the challenges you face every day, but for the life of me I don’t know what you are afraid of.

Are you somehow convinced that the old fashioned way will make a comeback and you want to be ready for it? (Like some of those ugly ties in your closet.) Are you afraid if you implement change that some of your old cronies will quit? Is it the fear of rejection by those who have been with you for so long? Do you think if you make changes that your business will be worse than it is now?

I’ve tried my best to run all kinds of scenarios through my mind as to why you won’t do what’s necessary to improve your business and I’ll be darned if I can figure it out. I realize what you see every day and what I see as an outsider are two different things, but the part I also get to see, that you don’t, is there are people doing it every day. They are getting with it, making changes and making things happen.

I believe the core of your problem is your “mental anchor.” You have a “mental anchor” of FEAR.

The FEAR Anchor:

1. If I change I will be in a situation I’m uncomfortable with thus feeling a sense of inadequacy.
2. If I change I’m setting myself up for failure.
3. If I change I give up my core beliefs.
4. If I make changes others will think I’m creating an unstable environment.
5. If I change I will create more problems than I will fix.
6. If I change I’m creating unnecessary pain and aggravation for myself.

How do you free yourself from this “mental anchor” and move forward?

1. You have to become a believer in yourself and your God given talent to make it happen.
2. Become confident by doing as much research as possible but on the other hand don’t over analyze things. Talk to others who have made successful changes. Listen and learn.
3. Create your game plan.
4. Develop “buy in” from your key players before you launch your plan. The more you can make them think it’s their idea the greater your chances for success.
5. Set Target Goals.
6. Once “buy in” is created then you have to set up accountability standards to ensure the team is moving forward on the plan and accomplishing the target goals.
7. Don’t let minor setbacks throw you off. Be flexible with your plan and keep pushing forward.

Fear is not a bad thing, but when you let fear become the anchor to your progress it carries a heavy weight that will eventually sink you. So cut the line to the “mental anchor” and sail away to the best year you’ve ever had in the car business. Thanks all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

Ok, I lied that’s not all I’m gonna say. I went to the gym this morning after writing the first part of this. My gym is located right beside a marina. As I was running on the treadmill (ok, lied again, I was walking) I was looking out the window watching a duck swim around. Suddenly he swam towards the dock, looked up, flapped his wings and attempted to get up on the dock. His attempt was not successful and he fell back in the water. He then swam around in a circle, approached another part of the dock, attempted to fly on it and again fell back into the water. I watched him do this 10 times before he ever made it on to the dock, each time attacking a different part of the dock. Once on the dock he stood up very straight and poked his chest out and just stood there as if to say “see me, I can do it, I’m not a quitter, I keep trying until I figure it out” So, you can be a duck or a cluck. The choice is yours.

Tommy’s Tips:

Cut the “mental fear anchor” loose.

2. Believe in yourself and develop game plan.
3. Don’t give up, keep trying, you can do it!

The current economic conditions compounded by the decisions in Washington over the last few weeks have no doubt had a negative impact on the stock market and the market which you are operating in. These wacky market fluctuations can be a bit unnerving. 

It’s times like these when you’re not sure if you should turn left, turn right or keep running in a straight line.Sometimes the best way to fight pressure is to apply pressure. Not in a negative way, but in a way that says "We’re gonna get after it." This may be the time for you to put on a "full court press."

A full-court press is a basketball term that refers to a defensive style in which the defense applies man-to-man or zone defense to pressure the offensive team the entire length of the court before and after the inbound pass. Some presses attempt to deny the initial inbound pass and trap ball handlers either in the backcourt or at midcourt.

A full-court press takes a great deal of effort, but can be an effective tactic. Often when teams are behind late in a game, they will apply full-court pressure as a means of attempting to produce turnovers as well as tire opponents.

A solid strategy to consider when you feel pressured by the market is to go into the attack mode by scratching and clawing your way to profits. With the summer selling season almost over and the market being unstable it may be an opportune time to put the press on.

This time of the year is like being in the semi-finals of the NCAA tournament. It’s win or go home. Your best choice is a full court press. Every minute of every day needs to be an "in your face" approach. From an offensive standpoint it’s a fact that when good shooters are in a slump they shoot and shoot some more. They don’t go and hide in a corner.

The first step in putting on a full court press is to make a list of all the basic things you know about this business. Things you now do, things you used to do and things you’ve heard that others do. Once you make the list, make a commitment to go into a full court press for a minimum of the next 21 days.

Why 21 days? Research has proven it takes 21 days to create a new habit. The reality is that if you will focus on this list for the next 21 days good things will happen. You have no control over the past. You have total control over what you do today. 

Can you control the economy? Can you control the stock market? Of course not, but you can control your efforts and your full court press.

Press on. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Do you remember the movie “A Few Good Men” and the part where Jack Nicholson says in the courtroom, “You can’t handle the truth.”  I often feel in that predicament. Many times when I’m working with dealers and/or groups I find that they “just can’t handle the truth.” Dealers ask me what the problem is and how to fix it, and then when I tell them, they want to poo poo or make excuses as to why it’s the way it is and the way it will always be because that’s the way it’s always been.

Have you ever had a friend or relative ask your opinion on something? When you give it to them “straight up” they want to debate or argue with you over what you just told them.  I mean really, if they didn’t want your opinion why the heck did they ask in the first place?

I understand part of this is human nature but that doesn’t stop me from trying to figure it out in order to be as helpful as I can to my clients. I’ve reached that point with my age and career that I’m going to say it like it is and you can suck it up, delete me or just tell me to go away. I’ve never been in this for the money alone, (anybody that says it’s not about the money is a liar,) but certainly to give something back to a business that’s been so good to me and my family.

I think it’s easy to discount people in my profession as we aren’t dealing with what you deal with in your business and your market. Let me bust your bubble on a little something right here and now. There is very little difference between your market and any other market in the country. The fundamentals, the basics, the solid processes work regardless of where you might be located.  The real difference is some “get it” and some don’t.

What’s different is you. Yep, you and your willingness to open your mind and get out of the rut you’re in. You keep jerking around with the same old excuses of why you can’t do whatever. You are a very good salesman because you keep selling yourself and your staff that the road you’ve taken is correct yet your numbers are still in the tank.

You’d rather have someone like me lie to you and tell you that you’ve got it right. Well you don’t and the numbers prove it. You want a lie? I’m gonna give it to you. Santa Claus is coming to see you. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

The chatter from a lot of dealers I have spoken with over the last few weeks is the potential glut of new cars coming from the Asian carmakers over the next 60 to 90 days.

When that happens the law of supply and demand will kick in with the supply side taking over. If the predictions are correct then the pressure will be put on with lots of incentives coming from both Asian and Domestic producers; the Asians because they have inventory sitting and want to gain back market share and the Domestics because they want to keep pace.

Such movement in the marketplace will impact the value of used cars; especially the higher priced used cars.

Along with that fact we are also moving quickly toward the fall of the year. It’s smart to evaluate what your real used car inventory needs are for the fall and the holiday season.

History would tell you that there is a large drop in the value of used cars right after Labor Day. With that fact in mind and the potential for a flood of new cars and new car incentives then you have to get your house in order right now. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month, but right now. Most dealers wait way too long and they wake up in December with a mess on their hands.

You can take control of your situation by focusing on "Life Cycle Management." "Life Cycle Management" requires you to assign each unit an expiration date on the date it comes into stock. Each unit gets a different expiration date depending on "life cycle factors."

Next, make sure you focus really hard on turning all those units under 30 days old just as fast as you can. They will be your best gross opportunities. Then make sure you find a retail buyer on anything over 45 days old by pricing it at a price point that creates immediate activity.

Your ability to maximize your potential between now and the first of the year is going to be determined by the strength of your used car department. Strength will come from having your house in order, which will enable you to acquire inventory as the market moves in your favor with lower prices.

Doesn’t it stand to reason that when the incentives come that your higher priced used cars are going to take the biggest hit? Thus, my process of focusing on driving your average cost down is a "Super Duper" strategy for you. If you drive your average cost down you will sell more used cars with fewer dollars tied up. That means you have some cash sitting on the sidelines to buy more used as the values start to fall. Dealers who are not as savvy as you will start to dump units in the wholesale market as they panic moving into December and January. You will be sitting in the catbird’s seat.

If I was sitting in your seat I would re-read what you just read and then I would sit down and put in writing an inventory strategy that I’m totally committed to. Once you write it down have a meeting with your key players, then review the plan every three days to make sure you are moving in the right direction.

By doing so the only glut you will have to worry about is a glut of cash on hand and a sweet bottom line. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

The reason you have to get serious about used cars is because of the letters many dealers received in 2009 that terminated their new car franchises. Dealers have allowed themselves to be at the mercy of the new car manufacturer in good times and bad.

Think about it: We don’t get to make decisions on what’s being produced by the factory. How did we let the viability of the family business become dependent on the new car franchises? We should have learned our lesson over the past years. All franchises go up and down. We know that, because in many cases we collect new car franchises to hedge our bets.

Many of the dealers who received those letters of termination in 2009 decided to turn those beautiful vacant facilities they were stuck with into a used car operation. Most of them have failed miserably. Why? It’s pretty simple. It’s because they had always treated their used car franchise like the red-headed stepchild and didn’t take the time to learn the used car business.

They had become so dependent on their new car franchises all those years that they just couldn’t make the switch. They tried and tried but most have failed. Now they are stuck with properties they will either lose in foreclosure or sell at a bargain basement price in order to unload the debt and taxes.

Dealers should never allow themselves to be put in that position again. Take care of the new car franchise but don’t allow your survival to be dependent on that alone.

The upside to “getting it” as in getting in the used car business is it makes you stronger in all departments. When the used car business is rocking it feeds all the other departments. If you are strong in used cars you can step up on new car trades. The more new cars you sell the more parts and service business you generate. If used cars are turning and burning you are running more internal tickets through the service department.

Used cars are the biggest no brainer since the invention of the wheel. So, you have a choice either to develop it as your best franchise or risk your entire investment on one day getting that letter that says, “Sorry, we’ve decided to terminate your franchise, thanks for all the new cars you’ve sold for us over the years, but we don’t need you anymore.”

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Often times dealers and managers are baffled when a certain used car just can’t seem to find a retail buyer. In the "Life Cycle Management Section" of my workshop I go into great detail as to why some vehicles have not sold and the correct strategy to get them sold without loss of income and brain damage.

The easiest thing to get your head around should be the fact that there’s something about certain vehicles that just isn’t right. It wasn’t right on day one, now it’s day 70 and it’s still not right. There’s a whole list of items that are factors in it not being right. Four of the simplest are color, miles, equipment and most importantly, price point, which leads me into today’s discussion involving a recent email conversation.

A dealer had a 2011 Kia Sorrento with 25,000 miles on it ranked number 4 in the market on price and could not understand why it had not sold. According to the dealer it is a really nice vehicle, great color, etc. (Has 25,000 miles on it, hmmm.) All the data lined up really well including the positioning on Auto Trader.

For whatever reason the dealer actually raised the price on the vehicle to an even $20,000 around day 70. Which put him 4 of 20 in his immediate market. The dealer further stated that since he had raised the price he wanted to wait a bit longer before reducing it and moving it to the number 1 position.

I’m trying to rationalize the strategy of raising the price in the first place. I’m guessing the dealer felt that if the vehicle had not sold at a lower price that it would sell faster if he raised the price? Really?

Like many of you reading this I’m pretty strong on my opinions, especially on certain things. I have a really strong opinion on this one. Let me add as a disclaimer that I don’t really know all the details of this particular unit. I would really love to know if it was a trade or purchase, but given the facts on the surface here’s my take:

There isn’t much of a market for a 2011 used vehicle with 25,000 on it. Pure and simple, there just isn’t. As always the law of supply and demand comes into play. There may not be that many used 2011 Kia Sorrentos in the marketplace to compete against in terms of pricing, however, there are lots and lots of new 2011s, 2012s of many brands and makes, which really clouds the issue.

I just pulled up on Edmonds.com incentives for new 2011 Kia Sorrentos and it shows up to $1000 rebate and as low as 0.9 % APR. If I can pull that information up, the average consumer is doing it.

Clearly understand that any consumer with half a brain knows they can get better terms on a new car than a used. If they don’t know that piece of information the first sales person they run into is going to tell them.

It’s a given that over 80% of people who buy a used car shop the Internet, so what in the world would attract someone to buy this 25,000 mile, 2011 Kia Sorrento for $20,000? Nothing, absolutely nothing!

It’s doesn’t matter if your price rank on this vehicle is number 1 or number 10 they ain’t showing up. Price rank has nothing to do with this vehicle getting sold today. (Ok, the higher your rank the worse your odds do get.) If this vehicle was a trade in, it should have been aggressively priced on day one. If it was a purchased vehicle someone needs to re-examine their purchasing policy.

The only way this unit will get sold with its current pricing is if Lady Luck shows up. The reality is that this unit is going to get sold when the price is so attractive that someone can look past the miles and go, "WOW, I’m all in."

I have a bad habit of repeating myself. But this bears repeating. This unit will only get sold when one of two things happens:

1. Lady Luck shows up.
2. It’s priced so darn low that someone falls in love with the price.

Lady Luck or price. It’s your choice. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

This may be the simplest and easiest way to get out of the NEWSCAR business and into the used car business. Most new car dealers are not in the used car business. Most are in the NEWSCAR business. That’s when the average cost per unit in your inventory keeps creeping up and up and before you know it you are too close in price points to your new car inventory.

That’s not to say there is not a market for program cars or certified cars.  There certainly is, but those segments of your inventory really have to be controlled. What happens is when the average cost of your inventory moves up and up and the factory comes out with rebates, incentives, low interest rates, employee purchase plans, or if the government comes out with programs like Cash for Clunkers you get crushed because you are sitting there with all that high dollar inventory.

If you don’t believe what I’m saying is true I have two easy experiments for you to do. Take out your financial statement and go to the used car page. To do this correctly you will need to chart out each month for the entire year. On that page you will see a column that has used car sales dollars in it. Simply put that’s as if you sold one car for $10,000 and one for $20,000, thus you had $30,000 in Sales Dollars. That in and of itself doesn’t mean much to you. Now, subtract your total gross profit from that sales dollar number for each month. That will give you your cost of sales. Divide the cost of sales by the number of units each month. That will give you the average cost per unit sold for each of the twelve months. I know, I know pretty simple stuff. Hang on…

When we do this little experiment here is what we generally find: the month in which you had your greatest retail sales is the month in which your average cost per unit sold was the lowest for the entire year. And, the month in which you had your worst retail sales your cost per unit was the highest for the entire year.  So, the bottom line is the more you press your average cost down, the more used you will sell and the better off you will be. You end up getting in the used car business and out of the NEWSCAR business. You end up selling more units with fewer dollars tied up. Oddly enough most of your problem cars go away. Your ability to get on a 45 to 60 day aged inventory goes way up.

The easiest way to manage this from the Dealer’s standpoint is to drive your used car manager nuts about what their average cost per unit is in stock each day. Surely you have some way of pulling what your average cost is per unit every day? There is no set of circumstances you can lay out that negates this concept. So, if you were to say any of the following, you would be wrong:

1. We do a great job with highline cars. (Irrelevant.)
2. We do a great job with high dollar pick-up trucks (Irrelevant.)
3. We do a great job with high dollar SUVs (Irrelevant.)
4. We don’t have software that can separate our inventory by Cars, Trucks, SUVs and Wholesale Pieces (Irrelevant.)

None of this matters. It’s like your “up log.” It’s consistently inconsistent. It’s ok as long as you are always using the same measuring tool. So how do you drive your used car manager nuts about this number and make it work for you?

First, require that your used car manager print the report every morning, circle today’s average cost, and put his/her initials inside the circle and lay it on your desk. I like to take this page and tape it and the previous day’s page to the wall in my office. What happens is anytime someone walks in my office they look at the number to see where we are today. It creates peer pressure and accountability of the used car department and especially the used car manager.

Every time I see the used car manager in the hallway I will ask them “what’s your average cost?” If I see him 10 times, I’ll ask him10 times. The more you aggravate your used car manager about this number the better off you will be. For me in the past it’s gotten to the point where all I had to do was just wink at them and they will spit it out.

So, what’s the magic number to get to? There is no magic number. Every dealer’s number will be different. If you are at $14,500 today your mindset should be how do you get to $14,000, then $13,500, then $13,000 and so on. The more you press your average cost down the better off you will be. I find it interesting that when I’m speaking to a group, they think they are hearing me say go out and buy cheaper cars. No, that’s not what I’m saying. I fully realize how hard it is to buy cheap cars. But, what I am saying is it’s not so much about what you buy, but what you don’t buy. If you are buying a high dollar car you have to buy it with great caution. You need to either have it sold, or have data to back up that it’s going to move fast. 

One of the most important things you can do is to quit letting “Bubba and the gang” have your cheaper cars. There is absolutely no reason to not retail any vehicle that has a piece of life left in it. You can present all the excuses you want, and they are just like the rear anatomy that we all have. Don’t say well, we don’t want to be in that business because it creates customer issues. That’s all a bunch of bull. Don’t say it’s because we spend too much money on them in service. That’s a bunch of bull.

There is no question that if you just pay closer attention to what you are buying and what you are keeping to retail that your average cost will go down. Only good things end up happening. As you monitor your average cost it is going to bump up from time to time. There are two reasons for this. First, it’s because you traded in some high dollar stuff, which you will naturally have to do and second it’s because you got goofy and went to the auction and bought some high dollar cars. In both cases it’s a matter of paying attention to it daily and getting back on track.

I’m often asked two questions:

1. What should my target goal be? There is no target, just try to get it lower than the day before.

2. Can I press my average cost too low. The answer is no. Don’t be concerned with that. If you do a good job with $25,000 SUVs, you will still sell $25,000 SUVs, but by pressing your average cost down it just makes you that much better.

The other thing you should look at each month is what your average cost in stock is today, vs. your average cost of what you sold last month. Nine times out of 10, what you are actually selling is not reflected in your inventory. You might find that your average cost in stock is $14,500, but your average cost per units sold last month was $12,500. What’s happening is you are selling the cheaper stuff and the more expensive stuff is sticking around and you have too much of it. Imagine that?

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I’m not sure if you’re a football fan or not, but it really doesn’t matter. There are some real lessons to be learned with the recent loss by the Indianapolis Colts to the New York Jets. This past Sunday, December 27, 2009 the Colts lost to the New York Jets by a score of 29 to 15 and blew a chance for a perfect season.

Peyton Manning, the colts MVP quarterback had been told by head coach Jim Cardwell prior to the game that he might pull Peyton and some of the starters out. Let’s set the record straight, the Colts were on the verge of history. The history of overcoming the Miami Dolphins record of perfection in 1972 when the Dolphins achieved an undefeated season of 17 wins and 0 losses.

Cardwell’s logic is he wanted to rest his key players in order to be ready to make a run at the Super Bowl. You’ve got to be kidding! You have a chance to be the best ever and you’re going to rest your best players?  That would be like saying we have a chance to set an all time record in our sales department, but we want everyone to be rested for next month so let’s take a couple of days off to get ready. 

Please tell me who out there would do that? If you said you would then you should be booed out of the dealership just like the Colts fans booed the Colts on Sunday.

If you have a chance to win, why would you not do everything in your power to make it happen?

You’re sitting there agreeing with me on the Colts laying down this past Sunday, but yet you just kind of plod along thinking let’s take a few days off it will be better next month. Next month comes and you’ve still done nothing. Next year will soon be here and you’ve done nothing. You’re playing with second string players or a lousy game plan and think it’s going to get better.

Look Einstein it’s not. It’s really not. It’s not going to get better until you develop that killer instinct of take no prisoners, pay the price to win, study the game and kick some butt each and every day.

It’s really very simple. The New Year is upon us. It’s that time when we make resolutions to change and be better.  A small percentage of people will make resolutions and achieve their goals. They will see the finish line in front of them, go for it and make it.

Most will be like the Colts. They will start out with a goal, get off track and the next thing you know the chance for history (for a great bottom line) has escaped them. The only thing you have control over is what you do today. Today is the first day of your quest for historical greatness. You can choose to be a winner…or you can choose to be a loser. You can swim like a Dolphin or you can buck along like a Colt. If you take the Colt approach you’re going to get bucked off, hit your head and come this time next year wonder what happened. Enjoy the ride.

That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

There are two ways to sell more cars.

The first is to crank up the advertising. TV, Radio, Print, Billboards, Internet and Social Media. There is no doubt that if you spend enough money, traffic will eventually show up. Even if you have a lousy sales department, you will still sell cars because the odds are that lots of potential customers will show up and some of those "ups" are going to make you sell them a car.

Another way to sell more cars is to invest money in developing your organization. Investing in your staff and the culture of your business has the potential to give you long term results. This is a slower process, but one that allows you to build a solid organization that will not only take you well into the future, but will make your daily life a lot easier to deal with.

If your advertising budget exceeds your sales then just because you sold a bunch of cars doesn’t mean you made any money. Loading up on advertising gives you short term results, which isn’t always a bad thing, but when you begin to rely on short term results you may be jeopardizing your long term successes.

Advertising is short term spending. Think about how many times in your career that you have started an advertising campaign only to pull the plug after a week or two because you didn’t see immediate results. You end up with a knee jerk mentality.

Why is it easier to spend short term money than long term money? The spending of long term money requires greater discipline and planning, which is much harder to do. Spending long term money requires strategic planning, which is something that most people do not have a lot of experience with.

Many successful people in the car business have succeeded in part because of their ability to make something happen right now. They are action people. It’s a big part of who they are and how they got to where they are today.

The automotive business, like all businesses, is becoming much more complex than it was 10, 15, or 20 years ago. Just because you’ve achieved success in the past doing it "your way" doesn’t guarantee you will be successful in the future.

Strategic planning is an organization’s process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including the allocation of capital and people.

Of course advertising is big part of any strategic plan, but when you allocate more of your resources to advertising than you are allocating toward developing your staff and the culture of your organization then you end up fighting with the same old problems from month to month, year to year.

Developing a strategic plan requires time and resources. Don’t wait until your December planning meeting to get it going. Do it now, start it today, right this minute, don’t hesitate. 

Confucius says "He who hesitates gets run over by a truck." I made that up, that’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs