The problem with management is they pit one department against another and then they wonder why the team doesn’t work together. You might be saying nah, but the reality is it’s more of an “oh yeah.”

Depending on how you want to count, most dealerships have 5 departments, maybe even 6 if you want to count F&I as a department. With the exception of F&I they all operate as a separate business on the statement.

Therefore they are all expected to generate a profit. In most cases, the pay plans for those that work in each department are designed to create the maximum performance of each of those profit centers. You know, the old adage of “you get the results you pay for.”

It’s not just pay plans that create this somewhat hostile environment that many dealerships operate in. It’s a lack of leadership at the top. Leadership will often allow stupid stuff to go on that most of us would recognize as power struggles.

Frequently it is management that’s been entrenched in their positions for years and years and they aren’t about to let go of the “power.” Having power becomes more important than the team winning.

But, I have good news for you. These issues aren’t just prevalent in the automobile business. They exist in just about every business you can think of, including the government.

They don’t exist, or at least exist very long, when you have real leaders at the top.

Hope it’s not a problem for you. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs