Latest / Auto Collabs / Changing the Culture Through An Employee Stock Ownership Plan with Bethany Sobczak

Transcript

Changing the Culture Through An Employee Stock Ownership Plan with Bethany Sobczak · Auto Collabs

• 0:00
  Michael, I have a question for you. Yeah. Oh, boy. [upbeat music] This is Auto Collabs. [laughs] What is the... Uh, no, I'm not gonna- I was gonna ask him that question...
• 0:15
  I was gonna ask you what is the wor- I was gonna ask him what is the worst HR situation he's ever been in the middle of, but I have a feeling- And you don't, you also don't wanna ask that...
• 0:20
  that's probably the kind of thing you don't talk about. That's the wrong one. You don't talk about- You don't talk about the worst HR situations I will tell you, um, breaking up fistfights in Sunday school at church.
• 0:31
  That. There's no HR- I've never had that situation happen... guidebook for that. [laughs] There's no book for that right there. Well, can you tell us what it was over? Um, there were, so- The flannelgraph?
• 0:42
  I was living in Vancouver, Canada. [laughs] I was, my assignment was I was a youth pastor. I taught Sunday school for 12 and 13-year-olds. Oh, boy.
• 0:52
  And this particular Sunday, these two girls were go- like, just, you know, bickering. Like, "You, you're the one that..." And I'd be like, "Okay, come on guys." Was this a fistfight between two girls? "Cut it out.
• 1:02
  Cut it out," and, "Come on, guys. Cut it out." I turn around to the chalkboard, and I start writing something out u- 'cause, you know, we kinda got them to settle. I turn around to the chalkboard,
• 1:15
  I s- to, to write something, you know, like a Bible passage for them to look up or something. [laughs] And I hear these chairs. About peace. You know those metal folding chairs? Oh, yeah. Yes.
• 1:23
  [laughs] And I turn around, and these two girls... And I didn't know what else to do, so I put my hand in one of their face like, like a foot- Oh [laughs]... like a, like, like the, the Heisman Trophy.
• 1:34
  [laughs] And I don't know how it happened, but the other girl was in a headlock, and I was- [laughs] And they were both like this. They're... And I was like this, and I'm like, "Knock it... Ah, what is happening?"
• 1:46
  That feels like a Nacho Libre moment, honestly. Just as a note for all of the listeners- You gotta watch the-... this HR policy not approved for workplace environments. [laughs] No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
• 1:57
  This is the what not to do podcast, which is why we have an expert today. Yes. [laughs] That's right. We do have an expert. Her name is Beth- Bethany Sovzak. I believe I got that right. I think you got it right.
• 2:08
  Uh, and Bethany is an Automotive News 40 Under 40 winner this year. Woop. So we're excited. Uh, it's in, it's a bit of a miniseries that we're doing, uh, with a bunch of these winners- Yeah...
• 2:18
  because, hey, look, we should be talking to these people 'cause they're obviously doing really great work in and, in the dirt, on the ground, uh, in real dealerships.
• 2:27
  And so, uh, we really hope you enjoy the actual professional opinion- [laughs]... not the headlock, facepalm opinion- Stiff-arm headlock. [laughs]... on HR with Bethany. Enjoy this conversation.
• 2:41
  [upbeat music] All right, Bethany, thank you so much for joining us, uh, for a little conversation today here. Awesome. Thank you, guys, for having me.
• 2:50
  All right, I'm gonna go right in because, uh, a lot of people enter the car business, and they kinda like work into their, you know, their careers, and then they're like, "Fine, I find the car business."
• 3:00
  But we found out that, uh, you did, uh, found the car business right out of high school. Is that right? That is correct. Uh- All right, tell us how that happened, and then we'll get into it. Well,
• 3:12
  I was looking for a job that was not in fast food or, you know, not the typical teenager thing out of high school. Um, and I just so happened to come across an ad for car sales, and I was like, "You wanna know what?
• 3:24
  What the heck? That sounds like fun." Um, I'm, I'm, I'm an HR person trapped, or I'm a car guy trapped in an HR person's body, you know? Like- [laughs]... I love cars, my whole life, car family.
• 3:35
  So, uh, I walked into the dealership. I met with the general manager for all of 30 minutes, and he's like, "She's great. I love her, gotta have her. Get her on the floor." Uh, no training at all. Just...
• 3:46
  [laughs] That sounds about right. Yes. No training? I, I know. Everyone's shocked. Um, "Just get her out on the floor." Uh, and I was kind of a natural at it, you know? I, I love people.
• 3:56
  I was able to adapt my personality to the different types of customers that we had, and I ended up, you know, having pretty early success. Uh, ended up averaging 15 to 20 cars a month, uh, by, like, month three.
• 4:07
  So it was awesome. Whoa. Let's go.
• 4:10
  [laughs] So now you've gone all the way from, you know, getting out of high school, getting in the car business to now, uh, having the distinction of Automotive News 40 Under 40 winner this year, which congratulations by the way.
• 4:26
  Nice. It was. That's so cool.
• 4:28
  Um, you know, uh, how, uh, uh, what along the way u, uh, have been the shaping things to move you from, you know, you said, "I'm a, I'm a, I'm a car guy trapped in an HR body" or, or something like that I think you said.
• 4:43
  Like, what do you think has, uh, have maybe been a couple of the defining moments that have, that have led you to start to track toward that type of role? So
• 4:52
  being in car sales was my absolute favorite job to this day I've ever had in my life. Um, but at the time it just was not super woman-friendly, I suppose.
• 5:03
  Um, I was a new mom, uh, I was a new wife, and the hours just did not align with having a new family. So- Mm-hmm... I decided to, you know, trend towards HR. That was what, um, I was working on my education in.
• 5:16
  I got a Monday through Friday 9:00 to 5:00 job in the white collar corporate world. Um, it was very buttoned up. It was very strict. Uh, but, you know, it paid the bills. It was great.
• 5:27
  I kinda found a niche in getting to make positive impacts on people's lives at work.
• 5:33
  Um, my biggest thing was if you can work with me on a daily basis, and you can walk away from the conversation saying either, "That wasn't so bad" or, uh, you know, "Talking to you made my day a little bit better," that's all I try to do.
• 5:46
  Um, however, the corporate world was super boring. It was not- Yes... automotive. It wasn't automotive. [laughs] Your first day was a lot different at the HR job. Oh, yes. [laughs] You did get training, however.
• 5:58
  [laughs] I'm sure they gave you training. There was training. [laughs] But I will tell you, it, it was so stale. Um, and, you know- Mm... automotive called to me-Like the ocean calls to Moana. Um, so [laughs] Yes.
• 6:12
  I mean, so do I. I'm so happy you just made that reference. Are you excited for Moana 2? Of course I'm excited for Moana 2. I'm pumped.
• 6:20
  [laughs] You know, my kids think I'm taking them to go see it, but I'm really taking me- Mm-hmm... to go see it, so. [laughs] Yes, exactly. Um, but yeah. So, uh, I ended up getting a call from Kuhn's.
• 6:29
  I'd still maintained, you know, a lot of my contacts in the HR... or in the, uh, automotive world. And uh, they hit me up and was like, "Hey, we need somebody to take over our HR department here."
• 6:38
  I'm like, "Uh, you guys are pretty big." And uh, after my first meeting- What was the size, what was the size of the organization when they called? Between 4 and 5,000 people. A couple. Yeah, [laughs] just a few.
• 6:50
  You're like, "And you're gonna put me in charge of this?" [laughs] Yeah. "Have you met me? Are you sure?" Um, [laughs] so I ended up meeting with, uh, Mr.
• 6:57
  O'Connell, who's their president over there, and uh, he was wonderful. Absolutely great group of guys to this day. Best in the business, um, in some aspects.
• 7:05
  But they uh, they were like, "Hey, we want you to take it over. We think you're great. We think you can do it." And I'm like... I mean, at this point even I was questioning myself.
• 7:15
  [laughs] I was like, "This is a big task, guys." [laughs] And they were like, "Well, you, we believe in you. Why don't you believe in you?" And I was like, "Well, that's a fair point." Wow. "Let's do it. Let's go." Wow.
• 7:23
  Car business for the win. [laughs] Exactly. Different culture, right? Um- Yeah... so I took it over and I knocked it out of the park. Um, and then from there I met, uh, Rob Smith here at Fitzgerald, and Mr. Fitzgerald.
• 7:36
  And uh, you know, they really sold me on the concept of having a people-centric culture, um, as well as employee ownership. So that's when I, I made the jump. And uh, been the best thing I've ever done to date.
• 7:49
  So the employee- Wow... let me, let me drill in the employee ownership thing, 'cause that was a pretty recent transition, right? Mm-hmm. How, how recently did it, did it flip? We closed on it in February of 2023.
• 8:00
  Okay, so just a little over a year. Mm-hmm. Um, and you were part of that transition. Yes, sir. You prob- you were probably a really big component.
• 8:07
  Talk about that, because I think, um, ESOPs, the conversation in automotive has definitely been on the increase from, from... I mean, that's an anecdotal perception, just, like, the way I see and hear it.
• 8:17
  And obviously we're, we're good friends, and Liza Myer- Myers-Borches is a great friend and friend of Esota, so, like, sometimes I feel like we're, like, we feel like it's a bigger piece of the organization, but then I've he- heard it a few other places.
• 8:30
  Hearing it from you, talk about that transition. Like, why did they decide to do that, and how has it worked out?
• 8:35
  So, like a lot of groups, um, we didn't have a solid succession plan in place, um, as far as who was going to take over. Uh, and as you guys know, the big dogs are out there eating right now.
• 8:49
  Uh, they're eating up everybody. Uh, Mr. Fitzgerald, he's pretty much a legend in the industry, you know. He's not new to this. He's been true to this [laughs] since 1966.
• 8:59
  Um, and he wanted to preserve his philosophy on the auto business, which is transparency and trust. Um, so he was at the forefront of making pricing transparency, uh, to customers.
• 9:11
  He's been doing it for decades and decades at this point. Um, and he did not want that to be eaten alive, uh, by another group swooping in and buying us out.
• 9:23
  So he said, "To me, the best way to preserve my legacy and to preserve the culture that we've created at the company is to sell it back to the employees." So that's what we did.
• 9:32
  [laughs] And I mean, he didn't go just halfway. Uh, I know a lot of the other groups are not 100% employee-owned. I think we might be the only one that is 100% employee-owned. Wow. So yeah, we made that transition.
• 9:45
  It has been phenomenal. Um, I wouldn't say we're perfect at it. Obviously, we're a year in. We're still learning every day. But, uh, the shift in culture that it's changed has been phenomenal. Um- Explain that. Really?
• 9:59
  Like, what are some of the shifts? Yeah. Like, you say the shift in culture has been... You already had a great culture. Mm-hmm. And you're saying there's been another shift. What's the shift?
• 10:07
  So at the start of the ESOP, um, our shares were worth X amount of dollars, okay? Uh, one of the points of the ESOP was that employees now need to gain the ownership mentality.
• 10:23
  So they need to come in here, and they need to realize that the people who are working beside of them every single day, you guys are all now not only relate- or, um, uh, partners with them on the operational sense, but you're also partners with them financially.
• 10:39
  So their success affects your success and vice versa.
• 10:43
  Every single ounce of effort, whether it's me, whether it's a detail support staff, whoever that is, it makes the difference to every single person in this organization.
• 10:53
  Um, so knowing that you have to rely on the person beside you to be financially successful really created a shift of- Hmm...
• 11:00
  I guess getting, exuding that discretionary effort, uh, from employees that maybe wouldn't have been there before. Um, so just in the past year, our share value has doubled, close to tripled. Um- Whoa...
• 11:16
  and we're, yeah, and we're about to release that to the associates within the coming months, so that's gonna be a really big- It's gonna be a party... yeah, it's gonna be a really big thing for them.
• 11:23
  Um, but we're excited about it. How do you, uh, how do you manage ego in this ecosystem, right? Like,
• 11:34
  a- and I don't wanna sound like the Negative Nancy here, 'cause that's not the intention, but it's the car business, right? There's... We're, we're known to, like, have an ego or two somewhere in an organization.
• 11:42
  Per person. Per person. [laughs] Yeah. See? Look at that. We even offended Kyle. He's out. He's gone. [laughs] He's like, "Fine. Yes, we were." He's like, "I want nothing to do with this question."
• 11:50
  We were talking about you, Kyle. [laughs] Yeah, if you think we're talking about you and you're offended, that's because we were talking about you, Kyle.
• 11:58
  [laughs] [laughs] How do, how do you, how do you guys manage that across the board?
• 12:02
  Like, making sure expectations are there, where people don't, you know, have that bravado of, "Oh," like, "So-and-so's not pulling their weight, and if I was a owner, I would have never hired that person."
• 12:15
  Like, how do you, how do you navigate that in this ecosystem?That's a fantastic question, and I think you guys are correct that in the m- automotive business, there's always gonna be ego.
• 12:25
  I don't care what company you go to, there's ego. And quite frankly, I think the ego can work to our benefit to some degree. Yeah. I think it's great when salespeople have a bit of an ego about them, right?
• 12:37
  They go about their day-to-day like, "I'm the best to ever do it," you know, "I'm confident, and I know what I'm talking about, and I'm gonna close this deal."
• 12:44
  Um, but I wouldn't say we have a tremendous amount of people who would look at the person next to them and say, "You're not pulling your weight. You need to be doing more." Hmm.
• 12:55
  Um, it's very rare that I get circumstances like that. Um, so I, I just don't see it as a problem here. Have you always seen the silver lining- Amazing... in everything? [laughs] Yeah. She's like, "Ego? Psh."
• 13:09
  Well, but- Great. Bring it on. I love it... but it i- it is, I think it, it's such a critical piece. I mean, I was having a conversation this morning- Yeah...
• 13:15
  with a team member about the importance of mindset, how really mindset is the, the, the foundation of, of one's definition of success, or it could be the, the reason you catapult to higher levels of success.
• 13:28
  And the way I basically explained it was, like, like, a dragon could come out of the clouds and destroy everything around you, and your mindset needs to be such that you see the opportunity amidst all of it, right?
• 13:40
  And it sounds like, I mean, the, just the way you responded to that question, even with a smile on your face, I'm like, okay, has this optimism always been a part of who you are, or is that something that developed organically that, that looking back in hindsight you've developed within yourself?
• 13:59
  I certainly wouldn't say it's always been who I am. Uh, but when I got into human resources, I recognized that a lot of what I have to do is not good news. Um, especially in large organizations.
• 14:10
  [laughs] When people see me, a lot of times it's not for great reasons. Um, and I didn't like to have the perception of I'm the grim reaper when I walk in the door, you know?
• 14:18
  I don't want people to look at me and be like, "Oh, God, Bethany's here." Oh. Like, "Everyone hide." How they hit you with a piece of paper- "Don't look her in the eye. Oh, we're scum"...
• 14:23
  and they, like, dive under their desk. [laughs] Yeah, right. Like, like I'm Medusa or something. I'm about to read something to you. Yeah. [laughs] Oh, no, no.
• 14:33
  But, um, it more so became I realized I'm gonna have to relay a lot of bad information a lot of times.
• 14:40
  And if I can develop a way to put a positive spin on that and help people walk away from the conversation recognizing that it's not so bad, you know? Mm-hmm.
• 14:48
  The, the velvet hammer is what I've been referred to, um- Ah, the old velvet hammer Ooh. It's like- Velvet hammer... hey, you can't be here anymore. But on the positive side, you can sleep in tomorrow. Great news. Right.
• 15:01
  [laughs] Great news. Great news. Your ESOP benefit's being paid out a lot sooner than you thought. Yay. [laughs] Oh, it just isn't vested yet. [laughs] Yes.
• 15:10
  [laughs] So, uh, be- before the podcast started, we started having this conversation about HR needing a rebrand, right?
• 15:19
  And you were gonna start to talk about that, and then we're like, "Stop talking about it because we wanna talk about it on the podcast."
• 15:24
  [laughs] So, uh, when you think of how people perceive HR and then the, the difference between what it actually is on the inside and how you view the role, like, what is the rebrand that is needed?
• 15:33
  What do pe- what should people know about HR, and how should they lean into it? So, as I said, uh, earlier, you know, pre-show, I do not think that the brand we have been given is unearned.
• 15:46
  Um, I do think a lot of us have- Sounds familiar. [laughs] I believe a lot of this is kind of put it on ourselves. Mm-hmm. Um, because a lot of us have been...
• 15:55
  We've put our own self into a box of it's all about procedure, it's all about policy. [laughs] There's no gray area. Um, you know, we're just here to fire. It's, it's always such a negative, uh, cloud around us. Mm-hmm.
• 16:11
  And one of my missions has been to show people that, hey, we are not so bad. Like, we can actually be really fun, you know? Believe it or not, we can be fun.
• 16:20
  [laughs] Um, you know, you don't have to mince every single word around us. There is area, gray area that we learn to operate in.
• 16:28
  [laughs] And we can be strategic and positive partners, um, and not just here to fire people or to write people up or whatever that looks like.
• 16:36
  Um, but being in HR for about 10 years now, I've been to enough conferences, I've met enough people, and I'm like, "Wow, now I see why people are like, 'Oh, God, HR.'" like. [laughs] Oh. It's, it's a bit stiff.
• 16:49
  It's a bit stiff. [laughs] So I want people to recognize that, especially in this particular industry, in HR, you have to be loose. You have to be willing to go with the flow.
• 17:00
  The way we communicate with each other here is very different than how we communicate with each other, you know, in a more white collar setting. Um, but it is so much more fun here.
• 17:13
  Um, automotive is the best industry to ever be in HR 'cause you can be yourself. That's the biggest thing. Okay. You can be yourself. I, I feel like I need therapy right now.
• 17:23
  Are you, do you- [laughs] Do you know, do you know the team at Walzer? No. Oh, my goodness. I gotta make an intro. Do you know who Claude Silver is? I don't know who that is. Oh. Oh, shit.
• 17:33
  We're gonna, we're gonna make you some intros because, like- What other names can we-... you know people that you should know- [laughs]... is kind of my whole thought here. Wait. Do you know Victor Borg or Bing Crosby?
• 17:42
  [laughs] Oh. No. [laughs] Like, we're just throwing random names. [laughs] These aren't random, Michael. [laughs] I can't believe you don't know this random person I know. Okay. Therapy session.
• 17:53
  [laughs] What you just touched on... Hold on. I need to lay down for this. The, what you just touched on is probably why I think I'm awful at the HR side of things because, um, um, for example, I think I've... I- it's,
• 18:11
  oh, it's bitten me in the butt when I've tried to be, like, too kind or too nice or too whatever in the way that I've... 'Cause, like, I always, I always wanna soften the blow, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
• 18:25
  To the degree that there have been enough occasions where it's like-... been exploited, right- Yeah... on the backside. Yeah. And, and then all of a sudden it's caused problems for me.
• 18:33
  So, like, from your perspective in keeping it loose and fun and, and human and, and, like, re-injecting a soul back into, uh, this field or this discipline, how do you do that?
• 18:45
  For those that are listening and curious, how do you do that in a way that you're also protected, right?
• 18:50
  Obviously, everybody goes to extremes in the way they protect themselves as policy and procedure, and say this and don't say that, and never... So how do you, how do you, uh, balance that?
• 19:00
  So I think first and foremost it comes from keeping an open mind. So when we're talking to people and we go into these investigations, it's recognizing that people are flawed.
• 19:10
  Um, you know, from myself to support staff to managers, people are flawed.
• 19:15
  And I think at the end of the day, it's recognizing that innately most people are trying to be good people, and they're trying to do the right thing. Um, whether or not it turns out perfect, um, is another scenario.
• 19:29
  But I have always had a massive amount of leniency if a manager calls me and they're like, "Hey Bethany, I just fired somebody, and I think I said this that might get us in trouble."
• 19:41
  [laughs] [laughs] Or my favorite is the hypothetic- the hypothetical, "Hey, Bethany, uh-" What would you say, Beth? "... hypothetically-" [laughs] "... what if I said this to somebody when firing them?"
• 19:53
  [laughs] And I'm like, "Did it happen?" [laughs] Uh, just hypothetically- Ask it for a friend... did it happen, and with who? Just tell me- Yeah... so we can, so we can get it out. I'm gonna find out anyway, right?
• 20:03
  [laughs] So we can get this squared away, we can start planning. Just let me know.
• 20:07
  Um, but it really does come from recognizing that people are human, people make mistakes, and they really are trying to be good people at the end of the day.
• 20:15
  I will always, always, always err on the side of protecting somebody who is trying to be a good person. Mm.
• 20:22
  One of my first questions I ask when people call me, and they're like, "Hey Bethany, you know, I have this person, and they... I wanna let them go for X reason." I said, "Okay.
• 20:34
  You know, what, what could be the legal ramifications of that?" I'm like, "Before we get into the legal ramifications-" [laughs] "... is this something a good person would do?
• 20:43
  Is this something, are you thinking about the employee right now, or are you thinking about yourself?" Yeah.
• 20:48
  "Let's answer that question, and when you can provide me with that answer, then we can go down the legal ramifications rabbit hole."
• 20:54
  Um, and we usually don't have to get down to the legal ramifications rabbit hole because it's just making them- Once you get there, you're losing, right. [laughs] Yeah.
• 21:03
  It's, it's just making them pause and reflect on, "Okay, am I making the best decision for somebody else and for the company, or is this something I'm being selfish about?" All right. When does your book come out? Yeah.
• 21:16
  [laughs] I've always wanted to do, like, um, The Office but, like, the dealership. Ah, the, this place is the... It would be the best show. Nobody understands. It really would be. It really would be.
• 21:28
  Heard something about that. Hey, I've, uh, one last question, because we're almost out of time here.
• 21:33
  A lot of the things that we just talked about in HR, and I think by nature, whenever there are legalities involved, um, you tend to be reactive, right, to situations, right?
• 21:42
  When a, when an HR situation happens, right, like you just said, like, "I have questions to ask," talking about ramifications. We're gonna react to what just happened.
• 21:51
  What are some, what are one or two things that HR directors in automotive, um, very similar scenarios, what are one thing, one or two things they can do that are proactive, that kind of minimize the need for reactive?
• 22:04
  That's a good one. Well, I mean, our f- our favorite word and something we do so well, training.
• 22:08
  Um, so you need to be proactive about getting in front of these managers, and more importantly, forming the relationships with them to where they feel like they can come to you and talk to you openly about these things, whether they feel like they've already made a mistake, um, that has led to this situation.
• 22:27
  Once you show them that you're a safe person, that you can be human and make mistakes with, they will come to you beforehand and get your advice and say, "Hey Bethany, this is what I'm thinking about doing.
• 22:39
  What are your thoughts on this?" That is how I have been able to be very proactive in preventing a lot of these situations from happening.
• 22:47
  But if managers do not feel like they can talk to you, and they feel like the information they provide to you is gonna be weaponized against them, you will never succeed in this. You're gonna find out at the end.
• 22:57
  Yeah, you will never succeed. Sounds, sounds a lot more like, like loving people more than you love cars. Bethany, congratulations- Right... on your 40 Under 40. We love seeing HR represented on that list. Uh- Yes...
• 23:09
  just, and thank you for giving us a little bit of your time and your wisdom with us today. Michael is gonna go rethink his life. [laughs] Well, thank you guys so much.
• 23:17
  I sincerely enjoyed it, and I look forward to those introductions you're making for me. Absolutely. Done. [upbeat music] Can I just- Okay, look at, at, at the beginning- [laughs]... uh, we were like- [babbles] [laughs]
• 23:32
  We were like, "This is not the headlock conversation," but apparently she's got her own- Hey... little way of, like, headlocks, but not with the actual- Yes... like, physical piece of it, right? Yes. You know?
• 23:40
  I was gonna say. Yeah. I wanted to give you a compliment, Kyle. [laughs] Uh, because it, it happens so subtly.
• 23:47
  I mean, if you're listening to the audio version of this, you have to hop over to the YouTube channel, watch the, the video version of this. The, the, the movie Moana comes up. Dude.
• 23:58
  And the level of joy that I see in Kyle's face- [laughs] I saw it, too. I saw it, too... and this is only the joy, this is only... Th- this is the compliment. I mean this sincerely.
• 24:09
  [laughs] This is only the joy that a girl dad- That's right... can have. Last night, I'm not kidding you, my daughter- Oh...
• 24:17
  I'm, I'm, uh, putting her to bed, my 10-year-old daughter, and she goes, "Dad, what's your favorite kid movie?" And I was like, "What do you mean?"
• 24:23
  She was like, "You know, animated, like a Disney or something like that movie." And without even hesitating, Moana, period, end of story. [laughs] Oh, so I can see Ky- You're having one of those days. I'll be back...
• 24:32
  I can see Kyle just sitting on the couch crying like a little girl during Moana. Oh. Ironically. [laughs] Every time.
• 24:37
  The very end of that movie with the thing and the, you know- The dad and the, and the heart and the music and the- Who you are, you know, you just need- Lin-Manuel Miranda song- Oh, Lin-Manuel-... crushing in the back...
• 24:47
  is my boy. Yeah. [laughs] I love that you brought up, too, that the ocean calls to her and she answers, because ironically, I think Moana 2 is now she gets married and never answers her husband's phone calls.
• 24:58
  I just, I think- [laughs] Oh, my goodness... there's, there's a tie-in somewhere to not answering a phone. So again, now it's circling all the way back to something that's gonna violate an HR principle somewhere.
• 25:09
  [laughs] Right back to the beginning of this episode. Listen, we hope you enjoyed, uh, the conversation we had with Bethany. We hope you get to meet her.
• 25:15
  She's gonna be at NADA show because they all, the 40 Under 40, get their awards, and it is so fun to see the next generation carrying the torch, loving people more than cars, loving people more than policy.
• 25:25
  We'll have to get that shirt made for her. But on behalf of Kyle Mountserre, the crying Kyle, Michael Cirillo, the headlocks, stiff-arming Michael Cirillo, and myself, thanks for listening to Auto Collabs.
• 25:36
  Sign up for our free and fun-to-read daily email for a free shot of relevant news in automotive, retail, media, and pop culture. You can get it now at asotu.com. That's A-S-O-T-U dot com.
• 25:49
  If you love this podcast, please leave us a review and share it with a friend. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time.
• 25:58
  [upbeat music] Welcome to Auto Collabs. [laughs] [laughs] Why are we recording? [laughs] Are we rolling yet? Not yet.