(Originally published in the Fall 2020 edition of Tennessee Dealer News.) The 5 Things Dealers Can Do Today to Stay on Top In 2021 While the forecasts change almost daily, vehicle sales in 2021 are not expected to be like 2019. What I can predict is that 2021, like 2020, will be a weird year […]
Automotive Retail Disruption: How Process Would’ve Made a Difference We all know good habits are learned in bad times, and bad habits are learned in good times. For virtually every car dealer in America, the good times started sometime around 2011, and ended suddenly in mid-March 2020. An industry disruption no one could’ve predicted. So, […]
(Forgive the long post, but there are some important lessons in here. If you don’t have the patience to read 3,200+ words, then you’re going to have to learn to be happy with treading water this year. However, feel free to skip the first 300 or so words and jump to The Two “Secrets” … […]
Call Me Crazy, but if it Was My Dealership, I’d Want the Tail Wagging the Dog The biggest problem nearly every dealership faces today (as they did yesterday, ten years ago, and five decades ago) is turnover. Virtually every dealership I work with asks me about recruiting, hiring, and training good salespeople, service writers, and […]
It’s like… instantaneous! (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) The Fastest Way To Achieve Success Want to know the fastest way to achieve success? Define what you have right now as successful. Congratulations, you’ve achieved success! By the way, […]
Well, they will… (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Everyone Likes You… They Really Like You! Six simple things done every day, and done with a genuine desire to find the good in others, will ensure that everyone you […]
Most (Unfortunately) Choose Decay (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Grow or Decay: It’s Your Choice Whether you grow from right now or steadily decay is entirely up to you. Not surprisingly, your attitude subconsciously drives this decision; and […]
Best Reviewed Lesson in the Book… (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Changing a Little Changes a Lot Would you like to appear more confident and competent to everyone you meet? More than that, would you like to actually […]
The Big G Goal, That Is (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Forgetting the Goal: A Leadership Dilemma It seems everywhere we turn today we see examples of poor leadership. We experience bad customer service provided by an uncaring […]
The Goal is The Goal (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Shit Sandwiches Are Not The Goal Eating shit sandwiches is not the goal here. This is going to sound redundant: but, the goal is the goal. In fact, […]
ASAP (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) EOD FITB EOD = end of the day. FITB = fill in the blanks. Many times when we think we’re working steadfastly towards our goals, we find that we’re mostly completing a […]
…if you want top talent (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Stop Assuming; Start Asking Are you hoping to improve yourself by moving up or moving out? Are you a leader hoping to improve your team by adding someone […]
Shit sandwiches are not complicated (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Don’t Overthink This I’m hopeful by now you understand that eating a shit sandwich is not always about getting the promotion and does not always mean agreeing with […]
In Fact, No One Has To… (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Not Everyone Has to Eat Shit Sandwiches Does everyone have to eat shit sandwiches? As you can guess from the title of this lesson, the answer is, […]
From the Roth School of Management (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) This is the Business We’ve Chosen One of my favorite movie quotes of all time is delivered by Lee Strasberg’s character Hyman Roth in The Godfather: Part […]
Some advice for first-time managers (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Meet the New Boss… Looking for my advice for a new manager? Okay, here goes: If you’re the new boss, try to be really mean during your first […]
Anyone can be the Asshole (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Be The Expert; Not The Asshole Every business and every industry has experts. Not the “fake it ‘til you make it” variety, but genuine experts who have a […]
Needed when the boss can’t manage down (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) The Art of Managing Up Okay, you’re pretty sure your boss is an asshole, but you have no place else to go. Now what? Certainly, living […]
Aren’t they all? (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Help! My Boss is an Asshole! How can you attain business success when you work for a bona fide asshole? First, let’s take a breath and examine your situation as […]
Don’t be a Todd (One of the 83 quick and practical life & work lessons from Sh*t Sandwich: Quick & Practical Success Lessons for Practically Anyone.) Nobody Likes a Todd While the Trixies of the world can be incredibly annoying, they are actually not as destructive to a company as someone who complains about and […]