Latest / Crossroad Conversations with the Lewis Brothers / Ep 90 "Yesterday's Boss Won't Work Today: Leadership Styles Then, Now, and Next"

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Ep 90 "Yesterday's Boss Won't Work Today: Leadership Styles Then, Now, and Next" · Crossroad Conversations with the Lewis Brothers

0:00
SPEAKER_02: Here is the research.
0:01
SPEAKER_02: It says 75% of employees leave because of bad leadership.
0:07
SPEAKER_02: So I'm telling you right now, as you start in this program, if you'll develop good habits as a leader and leadership that others want to follow, you'll beat 75% of everybody else.
0:20
SPEAKER_02: And I said, I just want you to think about that as you go through this program.
0:23
SPEAKER_02: So about two or three weeks ago, um, we were graduating this class at the at the Fayetteville Library, and there's almost 40 um students in this in this program.
0:36
SPEAKER_02: Hey everyone, welcome to Crossroad Conversations with the Lewis Brothers, where we aim to share real stories about running a successful family business, working through adversity, and pouring back into the community that keeps our door open.
0:48
SPEAKER_02: We're your host, Matt, Shelby, and Taylor, and we bring you relevant local business advice and automotive insights that are sure to change the way you look at running a business.
0:57
SPEAKER_01: And maybe even throw in a plug for you to do business with us.
1:01
SPEAKER_01: Hey, welcome to the Lewis Brothers Podcast.
1:04
SPEAKER_01: It is episode 90, and we have a fun one.
1:07
SPEAKER_01: We're talking about today, the evolution of we keep going through the whole business world, but starting from the top, yesterday's boss won't work today.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: Leadership styles, then, now, and next.
1:19
SPEAKER_02: Man, that's gonna be a good one.
1:21
SPEAKER_01: Yes, going in, every leader has a style, whether they know it or not.
1:25
SPEAKER_01: Most leaders never stop to define theirs name and check to see, hey, if it's working or if they should even change.
1:32
SPEAKER_02: Hey, what a what a checkup that's gonna be.
1:34
SPEAKER_02: And it's gonna be a great conversation today.
1:36
SPEAKER_02: But before we dive into it, let's talk about last week's episode, episode 89, Eating Crow, the leadership skill nobody wants to practice.
1:45
SPEAKER_02: No.
1:45
SPEAKER_02: And man, is this a tough one?
1:47
SPEAKER_02: I'll say to get over the hump.
1:49
SPEAKER_02: Now, once you get over the hump and the worry and the anxiety that you have of the lack of credibility, which is a myth, of going, hey, I was wrong.
2:03
SPEAKER_02: Hey, I messed up here, even though I'm the leader.
2:06
SPEAKER_02: It's very freeing.
2:08
SPEAKER_02: And you see a whole different style and a whole different um where your team is following you because you've admitted to being wrong.
2:17
SPEAKER_02: And then it trickles down, and you see people start taking ownership within your organization when a mistake has been made.
2:23
SPEAKER_02: So go check out that uh episode 89, along with all of our great podcasts at Crossroad Conversation Podcast.com.
2:31
SPEAKER_02: And always check out our inventory at Lewis Superstore.com.
2:35
SPEAKER_02: And speaking of that, today, Taylor, I just thought, hey, let's talk half tons.
2:39
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
2:39
SPEAKER_02: Let's talk 1500s, let's talk Ram 1500, let's talk F-150.
2:43
SPEAKER_02: You know, those are the number one, F-150 is the number one selling vehicle in America.
2:47
SPEAKER_02: A half-ton truck is in the top umteen spots.
2:51
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
2:52
SPEAKER_02: And it's just the go-to vehicle.
2:53
SPEAKER_02: It's not your 1990s pickup.
2:55
SPEAKER_02: It's the pickup that you use in your family vehicle.
2:58
SPEAKER_01: You can work out of, you can tow out of, and the drivability is amazing.
3:02
SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's it is absolutely amazing.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: And they have it starting, you know, we've got them starting in the upper 30s.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: It's a full threshold from being from all the way entry-level worker all the way up to platinum plus or uh, you know, the top of Ram's side of being a longhorn, limited, all the creature comforts on it.
3:25
SPEAKER_01: We have such a good supply right now.
3:27
SPEAKER_02: We really do.
3:28
SPEAKER_02: And and Ram even went where they had the limited, they had the longhorn, they have the Tuscan now.
3:33
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
3:33
SPEAKER_02: And that's some sort of high-end material.
3:36
SPEAKER_02: But I think Taylor's point there is no matter what you're looking for, if you're looking for something that works really well or that has luxury, they all have the same, let's call it bones in frame and engine capability.
3:48
SPEAKER_02: But that crew cab truck has more room in the second row, really, than most, if not any SUVs we can call.
3:56
SPEAKER_02: Guaranteed.
3:57
SPEAKER_02: You know, and then from a storage capability, the way the seats get out of the way to put big boxes, whether it's a big TV or groceries or materials, is just phenomenal.
4:07
SPEAKER_02: They drive out of this world.
4:09
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, you hear people talking about fuel mileage these days.
4:12
SPEAKER_02: What's amazing to me when you really take your emotions out of the$100 you just spent at the pump and you go, okay, let's look at how vehicles have evolved.
4:22
SPEAKER_02: They now have 400, 500 horsepower.
4:27
SPEAKER_02: They can now tow 11,000 plus pounds of towing.
4:30
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
4:30
SPEAKER_02: And they get better fuel mileage than the vehicle that had 250, that had 300 that towed 7,500.
4:37
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
4:38
SPEAKER_01: That's that's some engineering.
4:39
SPEAKER_01: Well, we talked about on power.
4:41
SPEAKER_01: We got into this in a manager meeting the other day.
4:44
SPEAKER_01: But the power boost, um, the 30 hurricane motor that's next door has more torque than diesel's RAM, Chevy GMC, Ford, all coming up in the legendary 5.9s, the 12 valves, the 24 valves, the 6.0s, the 7.3s, the 6.6s, and the GMC world.
5:08
SPEAKER_01: All of that.
5:10
SPEAKER_01: The half-ton truck is more capable than it's ever been.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: It really is.
5:14
SPEAKER_02: You can go all the way up into diesel about to 2008 to 10.
5:22
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
5:22
SPEAKER_02: And then that's where the crossover happens.
5:24
SPEAKER_02: But today's half-ton has more horsepower, more torque than diesel's up to, let's just call it 2010, okay?
5:30
SPEAKER_02: Up to 2010.
5:31
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
5:31
SPEAKER_02: But then on the deal side, I know you just launched on F-150.
5:34
SPEAKER_02: Well, we're looking at an F-150 is a very versatile truck.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: The savings are big.
5:39
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I've got crew cab, F-150, award-winning, big screen, all the options, sport package, so it's not steely wheels, starting at only$38,000 and some change.
5:50
SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's big.
5:51
SPEAKER_02: And then over on the RAM side, they just launched some combo stuff where you can get up to$12,000 off and 2.9% financing for 72 months.
6:02
SPEAKER_02: And I love this part of it too.
6:03
SPEAKER_02: They have what they call a tier upgrade program.
6:05
SPEAKER_02: So even if your, let's say your credit score is a 615 or a 580 or a 570, you can tear bump that.
6:12
SPEAKER_02: So that 2.9 might go to a 4.9 or a 5.9%, where traditionally you would have gotten a 15%, 16%, 17%.
6:19
SPEAKER_02: So you're talking massive savings and interest as well.
6:22
SPEAKER_01: That's huge.
6:23
SPEAKER_01: We had to spend a little bit more time on what's in the garage because it's definitely relevant.
6:27
SPEAKER_01: It's definitely important.
6:28
SPEAKER_01: It's something that's really part of our business.
6:30
SPEAKER_01: But huge savings and huge technology differences that a lot of people don't think about.
6:36
SPEAKER_01: But diving in today, breaking down each other's leadership style.
6:40
SPEAKER_01: This is fun.
6:40
SPEAKER_01: And we definitely we always talk about this as brothers.
6:43
SPEAKER_01: And if Shelby was on here too, we would definitely talk about, but we work so well with each other because we all do have different leadership styles.
6:53
SPEAKER_01: We really do.
6:54
SPEAKER_02: I think when you look at leadership styles, the first thing that you got to make sure is that is everybody pointed in the right direction as far as what the overall goal is, what your ethics and your morals are in your way of doing business.
7:12
SPEAKER_02: And if it checks those boxes, but it's a different path to get there, that's okay.
7:18
SPEAKER_02: That's okay.
7:18
SPEAKER_02: I'm not pressing on Taylor to manage exactly how I manage.
7:23
SPEAKER_02: He's not pressing on me.
7:24
SPEAKER_02: We're not pressing on Shelby.
7:26
SPEAKER_02: Now we do hold each other accountable for does it line up with how we do business?
7:32
SPEAKER_02: You know, is it ethically and morally, or are we doing the right thing?
7:36
SPEAKER_02: But if there's a different approach, that's like what Taylor said.
7:39
SPEAKER_02: That's what makes it work.
7:40
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
7:41
SPEAKER_02: That's what makes it work.
7:42
SPEAKER_02: So the next part I see here is said if your team had to describe your leadership style, what would it be?
7:49
SPEAKER_02: Are we supposed to do that for each other or say what it looks like on ourselves?
7:55
SPEAKER_01: It might be more fun if we said for each other, but just let's start with ourselves.
8:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, if you said in yourself, I would definitely say, you know, if my team came in in three words, it would say be calm, cool, and grounded or relaxed, I think would be whenever they would describe me.
8:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
8:15
SPEAKER_02: I I would say that as well.
8:17
SPEAKER_02: I would say, you know, for me, it would be calm, direct, and persistent.
8:28
SPEAKER_02: Intense.
8:29
SPEAKER_02: Or intense.
8:30
SPEAKER_02: Intense.
8:30
SPEAKER_02: Okay, yeah, I'd say intense.
8:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there you go.
8:32
SPEAKER_02: You know, and I think that that first one that the calm that both of us talked about, if you rewound the tape a decade ago or 10 years ago, that word would have been replaced with something else.
8:44
SPEAKER_02: And we've talked about it a lot on this podcast.
8:47
SPEAKER_02: When you look at the best leaders out there, they're not the loudest in the room, they're not the show boats, they're not the one flying off the handle that feels like they always have to be talking to be the smartest person in the room.
9:01
SPEAKER_02: I love to study and to listen and to make sure before I open my mouth that I've got a pretty good grasp about what needs to be addressed, not just the issue, but what caused the issue.
9:18
SPEAKER_02: And some of that has come from me opening my mouth too quick and then eating crow, like the previous episode talked about.
9:27
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
9:27
SPEAKER_02: Of just ready, shoot, you know, instead of aim.
9:32
SPEAKER_02: I miss the aim.
9:33
SPEAKER_02: And in order to get the aim, you you gotta be calm.
9:36
SPEAKER_02: The the other thing, and I'm just gonna break this piece down here because we both said calm in there, and then after that, a couple things changed.
9:44
SPEAKER_02: But if you're not calm, you can't see opportunities.
9:49
SPEAKER_02: If you're not calm, you don't address the correct issues.
9:51
SPEAKER_02: And I know I sound like a broken record there, but it is such a powerful tool.
9:57
SPEAKER_02: You know, it just it really is, you know, to be able to be calm, to be a leader, and two, in an intense situation, especially if you've got somebody complaining, whether it's an employee or a customer, you can set the level of intensity, and you can either add fuel to the fire or you can be really calm and it'll bring it down.
10:20
SPEAKER_02: That's just all by what and how you react.
10:23
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
10:24
SPEAKER_02: And and if it flares up, it's very hard to coach an employee through something to get to a resolution with a customer.
10:33
SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's so big.
10:34
SPEAKER_01: You know, I was reading and listening to something this morning talking about how your mind is so powerful.
10:40
SPEAKER_01: It it really dictates of how you move forward, how you handle situations.
10:45
SPEAKER_01: But the guy was talking about um interviewing two different people and how they handle situations.
10:52
SPEAKER_01: But the one that he always interviewed that had the positive mindset, the outlook of, hey, how's your day going?
10:58
SPEAKER_01: How are you feeling?
11:00
SPEAKER_01: How is business going?
11:01
SPEAKER_01: And no matter if his arm was cut off, he had a terrible headache, he wasn't feeling good, and business was terrible, it always was like, I'm feeling great.
11:10
SPEAKER_01: Today is a wonderful day.
11:11
SPEAKER_01: Business is great because it starts with that mindset.
11:15
SPEAKER_01: And where Matt was talking about going into with a customer, it's a good percentage, and I'm gonna say over 50%, 60% of the time, any of the instances that we're dealing with with customers or employees can be completely negated if you just are calm in the situation and you talk through things.
11:38
SPEAKER_02: That takes time, patience, and you have to develop that skill.
11:43
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
11:44
SPEAKER_02: You you really do.
11:45
SPEAKER_02: And we we do a great job, the three of us keeping each other in check when we'll have a knee-jerk reaction.
11:52
SPEAKER_02: And we'll just we can say just that verbiage without having to break it down going, hey, dude, you really screwed up there.
12:01
SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
12:02
SPEAKER_02: Like, why don't you do what you talk about on the podcast?
12:04
SPEAKER_02: Yes, it can be like, now hang on, let's not have a knee-jerk reaction.
12:08
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
12:08
SPEAKER_02: And the outcome may be the same, but it allows us to go through all that, you know.
12:14
SPEAKER_02: And another piece too, and I may have been the one to like really push this on everybody just naturally, because the way I can have confidence in the decisions I make is by having options.
12:29
SPEAKER_02: So, especially like in in construction or when we look at new processes, I'll always say, okay, but what are the other options?
12:37
SPEAKER_02: You know, if we're looking at vendors and Taylor's just like sold on this one vendor, we have the key machine.
12:42
SPEAKER_02: Yep, you always make me look at different options.
12:44
SPEAKER_02: Hey, bring me, you're like, no, but this one's the best.
12:47
SPEAKER_02: It may be the best, but bring me two other options.
12:50
SPEAKER_02: So then soundly, when we make that decision, we at least explore.
12:54
SPEAKER_02: We may have come back to the one.
12:56
SPEAKER_02: He's like, No, no, no, no, I told you so.
12:59
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, no, the other just proved that it was the right option.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
13:03
SPEAKER_01: Um, you want to know what that does, and it's taught us and it's poured over into hiring management staff and looking at different things.
13:11
SPEAKER_01: Whenever you're going through any circumstances like that, you don't realize this until this is told to you.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: But what that's going to allow you to do, it may bring up another question you need to ask the vendor, whoever it is you're going with.
13:26
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
13:26
SPEAKER_01: But you may also learn something that you can put into place that, man, I really like that idea.
13:33
SPEAKER_01: I I know you have because you've taught me this, but I'll be in a manager interview, like, no way would I bring this jack wagon on.
13:42
SPEAKER_01: They don't fit in our culture.
13:44
SPEAKER_01: But I hear one thing, I'm like, well, I might be able to use that with someone else that I can put.
13:48
SPEAKER_01: Tell me more about that.
13:50
SPEAKER_02: There is always an opportunity in every situation you're in to learn.
13:55
SPEAKER_02: And like what Taylor's talking about there is he didn't hire that manager, but he was like, hey, I at least I can't cut this interview to a 30-second interview.
14:04
SPEAKER_02: I know I'm not going to hire this person.
14:06
SPEAKER_02: So let me spend 10 or 15 minutes and see if there's anything I can extract either from what they know or the company they're currently working for.
14:14
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
14:14
SPEAKER_02: Same thing if we go to a seminar, and I tell all my guys when they go to this, whether it's a leadership seminar or a workshop, I said, you may get to a point where you don't agree with what the speakers say, but don't allow your mind to shut down.
14:28
SPEAKER_02: That doesn't mean you have to put in place everything they went over.
14:31
SPEAKER_02: And if you went over our sales manual, it's got advice from 10 different people in there.
14:37
SPEAKER_02: It wasn't a one and done.
14:38
SPEAKER_02: We took pieces from everybody.
14:40
SPEAKER_02: And I always encourage people I said, there is something there.
14:43
SPEAKER_02: There might only be one golden nugget.
14:45
SPEAKER_02: There might be five of them.
14:47
SPEAKER_02: But find your goal is to come out of that session, that workshop, that interview, that conversation with extracting at least one thing that you can put in place to make your leadership style or your business better.
15:01
SPEAKER_01: And that proves that is completely truthful.
15:04
SPEAKER_01: But that proves why in our training process with our sales staff, it is a conglomerate of so many good people over the years.
15:12
SPEAKER_01: There is not one set it and forget it.
15:16
SPEAKER_01: And there's many trainers that'll tell you that, hey, he's wrong.
15:19
SPEAKER_01: I've got the because they're selling their training.
15:22
SPEAKER_01: But if you can grab different pieces from oh, you become like a Swiss Army knife.
15:27
SPEAKER_02: So in order to do that, your leadership style must present a platform where the other leaders within your organization can bring ideas to you, even if they're against what you're currently doing.
15:42
SPEAKER_02: And we've worked really hard on that because we are.
15:45
SPEAKER_02: We're intense, we don't talk a whole lot until it's time to talk.
15:51
SPEAKER_02: Um, so sometimes that can squash other leaders or managers' confidence to bring an idea to you.
15:59
SPEAKER_02: So I do want to make sure that you allow the platform to do that.
16:03
SPEAKER_02: And if you listen to this the this podcast much, you will that you'll hear this that I've said before.
16:09
SPEAKER_02: When you're in a meeting and you're brainstorming, you need to be the last one to give ideas.
16:16
SPEAKER_02: If you are the first one to give ideas, I can promise you, depending upon how many people are at the table, there are at least half of them that will change their mind on what they say when it comes to them to agree with you.
16:30
SPEAKER_02: It just happened that way.
16:32
SPEAKER_02: If you're the last one, you kick it off, you can do the question, you start calling on people, but then you give your opinion at the very last, you'll get a cleaner, real version of opinions and thoughts from everybody in the room.
16:46
SPEAKER_02: Uh I'll tell you some of the great players that we've hired to help elevate our organization.
16:51
SPEAKER_02: Some of them came from another automotive groups.
16:54
SPEAKER_02: And one of them has really helped us implement some things in parts and in service on different reports they had for tracking activity.
17:02
SPEAKER_02: So they brought those and I said, Hey, show me what you got.
17:06
SPEAKER_02: Then we worked together and we took the good out of that and then the good out of what we had done, and then we merged them together.
17:12
SPEAKER_02: So we took, just like you talk, the conglomerate of the two pieces together.
17:16
SPEAKER_02: But all of that comes back to your leadership style.
17:20
SPEAKER_02: If we had not said, hey, it's okay for you to bring a new new idea.
17:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we're an 80-year-old business, fourth generation.
17:29
SPEAKER_02: Do we know what we're doing?
17:30
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
17:31
SPEAKER_02: Could we be better?
17:32
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
17:33
SPEAKER_02: The only way we're better is by having new ideas and allowing a platform for others to show ideas or what they've come up with.
17:42
SPEAKER_01: That's really good.
17:44
SPEAKER_01: I I love this part in there of going through.
17:46
SPEAKER_01: So it's when you're under pressure, what's your default move as a leader?
17:50
SPEAKER_01: Do you tighten up?
17:51
SPEAKER_01: Do you delegate?
17:52
SPEAKER_01: Do you get loud or do you get quiet?
17:54
SPEAKER_01: I think we're, you know, you've hit this one on the head.
17:57
SPEAKER_01: We definitely get quiet when we assess the situation.
17:59
SPEAKER_01: That's always the goal.
18:01
SPEAKER_02: Now I'm gonna be vulnerable and transparent here.
18:04
SPEAKER_02: Is I would say 50% of the time, maybe a little bit more, I can go quiet because I've worked really hard on myself about this.
18:12
SPEAKER_02: I I can go quiet.
18:14
SPEAKER_02: Now I don't run away.
18:15
SPEAKER_02: Don't don't misinterpret that.
18:16
SPEAKER_02: No, I don't run away and hide.
18:18
SPEAKER_02: That's not my way to be quiet.
18:19
SPEAKER_02: No, I just sit there and I assess the situation.
18:22
SPEAKER_02: You're present.
18:23
SPEAKER_02: I'm present.
18:24
SPEAKER_02: I see that I'm the quarterback and there is still 25 seconds left on the play clock.
18:30
SPEAKER_02: I don't have to call the play yet.
18:33
SPEAKER_02: I can read, I can listen, I can watch.
18:37
SPEAKER_02: That doesn't mean that there aren't situations under pressure that that knee-jerk reaction starts to come out.
18:44
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
18:45
SPEAKER_01: There's the customers that you're like, no, I'm getting ready to drag them through the mud, for lack of better words.
18:52
SPEAKER_01: And it sometimes you have to put your style on it.
18:56
SPEAKER_01: It has to happen.
18:58
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes there is not fun situation.
19:01
SPEAKER_01: You have to stand up and make an action that is not necessarily I'm gonna sit back and really analyze this.
19:07
SPEAKER_02: I had the I got a text yesterday.
19:10
SPEAKER_02: Uh I'm a day off, which is fine.
19:11
SPEAKER_02: You know, that's that's what happens.
19:13
SPEAKER_02: But we had a customer that was irate with us in service, and I'm just gonna give you a quick story here.
19:18
SPEAKER_02: This customer bought from one of our competitors, all right, brought it into us, first time it had been to us for service.
19:26
SPEAKER_02: We love that.
19:27
SPEAKER_02: We do.
19:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
19:28
SPEAKER_02: We dyaged it.
19:29
SPEAKER_02: Uh, it's gonna need an engine.
19:31
SPEAKER_02: Uh-huh.
19:31
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
19:32
SPEAKER_02: Covered on a warranty, all good.
19:34
SPEAKER_02: Um, warranty covers a rental car.
19:37
SPEAKER_02: So we go down to the rental car place, we facilitate all that for them.
19:42
SPEAKER_02: Um, they had a Highlander and they had something else.
19:46
SPEAKER_02: Customer threw an absolute fit that they weren't getting a wagon here.
19:49
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
19:50
SPEAKER_02: Now, meanwhile, let me back up just a little bit.
19:52
SPEAKER_02: Where they bought from our competitor was a used wagoneer.
19:55
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
19:56
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
19:57
SPEAKER_02: Came to us to get it repaired.
19:59
SPEAKER_02: We want to repair it.
20:00
SPEAKER_02: We don't get paid if we don't repair it.
20:02
SPEAKER_02: We get them a loaner car.
20:04
SPEAKER_02: It gets all the way up to all the way up to me because they're not getting a wagoneer.
20:08
SPEAKER_02: Nobody had a wagon here available.
20:10
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
20:10
SPEAKER_02: So the the closest thing we had is we had a really nice loaded-up Grand Cherokee.
20:16
SPEAKER_02: We said, we're going to put you in this grand Cherokee while we run this up the chain and see if we can get the warranty company, Stolantis, or the dealer you bought it from to help subsidize this for you.
20:34
SPEAKER_02: They weren't having it.
20:35
SPEAKER_02: Grand Cherokee's not nice enough.
20:37
SPEAKER_02: And I mean, this thing is a limited load of Grand Cherokee.
20:40
SPEAKER_02: That's not what I bought.
20:41
SPEAKER_02: And they're attacking us.
20:42
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
20:43
SPEAKER_02: Like, we didn't sell it to you.
20:45
SPEAKER_02: Uh-huh.
20:45
SPEAKER_02: We're not your selling dealer.
20:47
SPEAKER_02: We're not the warranty company.
20:48
SPEAKER_02: We're not the manufacturer.
20:49
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
20:50
SPEAKER_02: But as I coached the guys through that, I said, that's what we want to tell them is go pound sand.
20:54
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
20:54
SPEAKER_02: At least we pulled a grand Cherokee off the line to put you in.
20:58
SPEAKER_02: But we got to deliver this better because the opportunity is to not only put an engine in today, but service.
21:03
SPEAKER_02: The engine is on a back order, no ETA.
21:06
SPEAKER_02: So it could be a month or two months.
21:08
SPEAKER_02: But what I told them, I said, we are not putting them in a brand new wagoneer that is not in the rental program that they will not reimburse us for, but we still have to handle the situation correctly.
21:21
SPEAKER_02: So I could, and I'm leading into that, I could have tightened up, got loud, and said, You didn't even buy it from us.
21:27
SPEAKER_02: Go pound sand.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
21:28
SPEAKER_02: But it didn't, because there's an opportunity.
21:30
SPEAKER_02: But it still didn't just lay down and go, here's the keys to a new$100,000 vehicle.
21:35
SPEAKER_02: So just realize that.
21:38
SPEAKER_01: We presented options to them.
21:39
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
21:40
SPEAKER_01: And that's that is that fine line you walk that is very difficult to do.
21:45
SPEAKER_01: Many do not do.
21:46
SPEAKER_01: They either do left or they do right.
21:48
SPEAKER_01: They do whatever is easier.
21:49
SPEAKER_01: Both ways are not correct of giving in and giving them the rental and saying no, see you later.
21:56
SPEAKER_01: Get out of here, because that doesn't build future business.
21:59
SPEAKER_01: It's not Going to work out well, and the word of mouth is not going to do good there.
22:02
SPEAKER_01: Can I give you a tip here?
22:04
SPEAKER_02: Because I just you guys hear us talk about this all the time.
22:07
SPEAKER_02: This is now easier for us to do, but has been a hard long road to learn how to do this.
22:16
SPEAKER_02: And it like it takes focus to be able to develop a skill set on rising above the storm and making the right decision as a leader.
22:28
SPEAKER_02: I just I want everybody to know that.
22:31
SPEAKER_02: And in order to do that, I'm just going to give you a couple tips here.
22:35
SPEAKER_02: Here's what I do.
22:36
SPEAKER_02: When something comes at me and like really starts to boil, and like either they're attacking our business, they're attacking something we did and we didn't do it, they're outrageous, uh, whatever it may be.
22:50
SPEAKER_02: I first go, okay, I'm gonna pause and run this through a couple filters before I react.
22:57
SPEAKER_02: And if you'll do that, it'll help you your brain switch into the mode of do let's make the right decision here.
23:04
SPEAKER_02: So I first pause and I'm just gathering information.
23:08
SPEAKER_02: All right.
23:10
SPEAKER_02: Once I gather the information, I think about the different types of outcomes.
23:15
SPEAKER_02: What could happen here?
23:16
SPEAKER_02: It's like playing chess.
23:17
SPEAKER_02: You're trying to think a couple moves ahead.
23:20
SPEAKER_02: But the only way you can do that is with a clear mind.
23:23
SPEAKER_02: So in order to get to a clear mind, I just gather information from the customer and then from the employee side.
23:29
SPEAKER_02: I table it for just a second, just like yesterday, put them in the grand Cherokee.
23:33
SPEAKER_02: Let's at least run this through the deal.
23:35
SPEAKER_02: And then I look at what could the outcomes be.
23:38
SPEAKER_02: All right, well, we can just tell them, hey, we can't approve this, we can't do that, we can't do that, we can't do that, we can't do that.
23:43
SPEAKER_02: All they heard was can't, can't, can't.
23:45
SPEAKER_02: And so, well, but the goal is here is to put an engine in the vehicle and then hopefully win a customer over for future repairs or maintenance, or maybe to sell them so they will buy from my competitor next time.
23:54
SPEAKER_02: So then you need to really think about like what is the overall goal here?
23:58
SPEAKER_02: And does the reaction and decision I'm getting ready to make line up with what the long-term goal is?
24:05
SPEAKER_02: And if you'll go through that, it'll help you make much better decisions.
24:09
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
24:10
SPEAKER_01: That helps you dial in and really nail it down there.
24:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for sure.
24:15
SPEAKER_02: So, Taylor, what would you say?
24:17
SPEAKER_02: What's one blind spot you see in leadership that others may not see?
24:25
SPEAKER_01: You know, I think the biggest thing, and this probably goes back to any any male in a leadership, but is just their ego, their ego gets in the way of their vision and wanting to see that they failed in an area.
24:40
SPEAKER_01: They're they're not probably the best for an area, but their ego gets in the way of them being vulnerable enough to be able to say, Hey, I'm not good in this area, I need help.
24:52
SPEAKER_02: I think you're so spot on there, and I'm gonna compound on that with the word spotlight, which has to do with ego.
25:02
SPEAKER_02: There are so many people out there that are trying to be leaders and their ego gets involved, and they want the spotlight, like, look at me, look what I've accomplished.
25:10
SPEAKER_02: And they're missing a humongous opportunity where if they would take that spotlight and spin it on their team and on more people within their department, they'll help others be successful and they'll be able to put their success on repeat month after month after month.
25:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
25:26
SPEAKER_02: That's really big.
25:27
SPEAKER_02: It is.
25:27
SPEAKER_02: All right, let's go to a leadership quiz right here.
25:30
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
25:30
SPEAKER_02: According to research, okay, so this is for you to answer here.
25:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, according to research, what percentage of employees say they've left a job specifically because of their boss's leadership style.
25:45
SPEAKER_02: Okay?
25:45
SPEAKER_02: A's 25, B's 40, C's 57, and D's 75.
25:52
SPEAKER_01: It's high.
25:53
SPEAKER_01: I know it's it's not the lower ones, especially in the day and age of how everybody's working and um feelings and mentalities and everything else.
26:04
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go, I think it's over 50 percent, 75%.
26:08
SPEAKER_01: You're right.
26:09
SPEAKER_01: The answer is 75%.
26:10
SPEAKER_02: And Gallup uh did the research and they said people don't leave companies, they leave managers.
26:15
SPEAKER_02: It's the single biggest biggest reason for turnover and leadership style mismatch.
26:20
SPEAKER_02: And I'll tell you a case study on this.
26:22
SPEAKER_02: So the Fayetteville Chamber puts on a leadership class every year for top leaders or new leaders and any business, really in Fayeville, but Northwest Arkansas.
26:33
SPEAKER_02: It's a wildly successful program.
26:35
SPEAKER_02: It's 10 months, so it's a big program.
26:37
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
26:37
SPEAKER_02: Okay, and you deal with all different businesses.
26:40
SPEAKER_02: So last August, I helped kick off the leadership class that we just graduated.
26:46
SPEAKER_02: And when we kicked that off, I went over this exact spec because we were talking about developing leaders.
26:53
SPEAKER_02: And I said, guys, here is the research.
26:56
SPEAKER_02: It says 75% of employees leave because of bad leadership.
27:02
SPEAKER_02: So I'm telling you right now, as you start in this program, if you'll develop good habits as a leader and leadership that others want to follow, you'll beat 75% of everybody else.
27:14
SPEAKER_02: And I said, I just want you to think about that as you go through this program.
27:18
SPEAKER_02: So about two or three weeks ago, um, we're graduating this class at the Fayetteville Library, and there's almost 40 um students in this in this program.
27:28
SPEAKER_02: And I get back on stage and I said, I want to take us all the way back to August and talk about that 75% that we talked about is leadership.
27:37
SPEAKER_02: And I want to challenge you, what did you see when you went and visited and you interviewed the leaders in Northwest Arkansas?
27:43
SPEAKER_02: What did you see in their turnover?
27:44
SPEAKER_02: What did you see in their styles?
27:46
SPEAKER_02: And multiple people, after I finished with that, came up and they said, You're spot on.
27:52
SPEAKER_02: The leaders we saw that had great leadership and great styles, they had the lowest turnover of employees.
28:00
SPEAKER_02: And it employee turnover is your number one cost in the business.
28:05
SPEAKER_02: So if you want to reduce your number one expense, be a better leader.
28:11
SPEAKER_02: That's be a better leader.
28:12
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know?
28:14
SPEAKER_02: All right, leadership styles out there.
28:16
SPEAKER_02: Oh, this is gonna be fun.
28:18
SPEAKER_02: So we'll rapid fire through these.
28:19
SPEAKER_02: Okay, all right.
28:20
SPEAKER_02: All right.
28:21
SPEAKER_02: What are they, pros and cons?
28:24
SPEAKER_02: And you'll probably have to keep me from going down a rabbit hole on these, okay?
28:27
SPEAKER_02: Autocratic.
28:29
SPEAKER_02: I make the call, you execute.
28:32
SPEAKER_01: Bad.
28:34
SPEAKER_01: Bad pro on that fast decisions clear direction works in crisis, but the con, it's gonna burn out your team.
28:42
SPEAKER_01: It kills creativity and loses good people who want a voice, which is really good because you gotta save that gas for when you need it.
28:53
SPEAKER_01: That and that's my that's my leadership style.
28:56
SPEAKER_01: That I really only turn up the heat whenever I see that it's needed.
29:00
SPEAKER_01: And in turn, it works good.
29:03
SPEAKER_01: The the con of that sometimes people will think that you get your team that they're not moving fast enough all the time whenever they need to be.
29:11
SPEAKER_01: But I see so many leaders that get into this of like, I'm the boss, you'll do this because I said so.
29:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that's a short-term.
29:20
SPEAKER_02: And I think there are people that I don't think, I know there are people that have gone out there, they have that leadership style and they get short-term success.
29:28
SPEAKER_02: And then the problem is, is then they think, well, let me just do that again or let me do that again.
29:33
SPEAKER_02: And there's only so much that an employee will take of that.
29:39
SPEAKER_02: What it turns into is they start looking for their next step or their next career.
29:44
SPEAKER_01: Oh, absolutely.
29:45
SPEAKER_01: They're going into there.
29:47
SPEAKER_01: So uh next next side there.
29:50
SPEAKER_01: So democratic of being able to go in there.
29:52
SPEAKER_01: So decisions made with the team.
29:55
SPEAKER_02: I would say I love decisions made with the team for strong buy-in, better ideas, and team ownership.
30:04
SPEAKER_02: But there's a con to that is it can be slow and it can be designed by committee and a paralysis without a tiebreaker.
30:13
SPEAKER_02: So here's what I say with this one.
30:16
SPEAKER_02: In the correct situation, very powerful.
30:19
SPEAKER_02: Uh-huh.
30:19
SPEAKER_02: But it's not an all-skate all the time.
30:22
SPEAKER_02: There are plenty of decisions that we make that we don't need the rest of the team in Lewis Automotive involved.
30:29
SPEAKER_02: Then there are plenty other times that we need certain teams involved.
30:34
SPEAKER_02: And there was a whole podcast we did on this, on subcommittees and who's in there, and you know, who are your doers and who are your brainstorm people and who are your creative people.
30:43
SPEAKER_02: So this can be very powerful in the correct context.
30:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think it's at different levels because you move up, there's multiple things that we used to, as a smaller company, a lot of things were voted on by the board, but we have now empowered some of the management staff to be able to make said decisions up to a certain threshold of whatever is in within policy guidelines, and it keeps the process moving.
31:09
SPEAKER_01: So it's not like, hey, Matt, I love that idea.
31:11
SPEAKER_01: But here in two weeks, whenever we meet again with the board, we'll talk about it and then see if that works.
31:17
SPEAKER_01: That doesn't work at all because it completely alts what's going on there.
31:21
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
31:22
SPEAKER_01: And they wait for two weeks.
31:23
SPEAKER_01: And then what if you say no?
31:27
SPEAKER_01: So in the correct concept uh context, you're exactly right.
31:31
SPEAKER_01: All right.
31:31
SPEAKER_01: Next up, transformational.
31:33
SPEAKER_01: That's vision-driven, inspiring big change.
31:38
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, the pro of that is big movement, big results, big loyalty.
31:44
SPEAKER_01: Um, I think the downside of that can burn people out chasing the next big thing.
31:49
SPEAKER_01: Uh, vision can outrun the execution.
31:52
SPEAKER_01: So you're gonna have some some visionaries that sit there and they're always thinking about, hey, what if we did this?
31:57
SPEAKER_01: What if we did this?
31:58
SPEAKER_01: What if we did this, instead of just executing on said goal that you've put forth of that's got big enough goals, big enough dream to it, but they're just looking for that next thing.
32:11
SPEAKER_01: Their mindset is stuck in that okay, I gotta look for the next thing.
32:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, I I agree.
32:17
SPEAKER_02: Again, I think this is one of those areas that it should be a smaller piece of the pie.
32:23
SPEAKER_02: It should be in there because you always need to be looking at vision and what are the big things that change.
32:30
SPEAKER_02: But no different than we're talking about a new DMS right now.
32:33
SPEAKER_02: If if we were constantly, we tried a new DMS this next year, and then we wanted, hey, well, the next one's got a new widget.
32:40
SPEAKER_02: Let's change that and then let's change it.
32:42
SPEAKER_02: That's where you get the burnout because always chasing the next big idea.
32:46
SPEAKER_02: So I think a portion, a piece if we if we look at a pie, a piece of the leadership, yes, needs to have transformational in it, just not too big of a piece.
32:57
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
32:58
SPEAKER_01: Servant leadership.
32:59
SPEAKER_01: I know I struggle with this one, but leader exists to serve the team, removes obstacles.
33:05
SPEAKER_01: That was just growing of there.
33:07
SPEAKER_02: So that one develops high trust and high loyalty, and it develops future leaders.
33:13
SPEAKER_02: However, it can become enabling.
33:15
SPEAKER_02: A leader can burn out, and it's really hard to enforce standards.
33:21
SPEAKER_02: And this is one of those areas that I see a lot of leaders try to do in the wrong context, and they get too close to the employees.
33:31
SPEAKER_02: So they cross over that line of business and personal.
33:35
SPEAKER_02: And when you cross over that line, they're trying to do it to be a servant leader.
33:40
SPEAKER_02: They're trying to do it so they can relate better to the employees.
33:44
SPEAKER_02: However, they get too close emotionally.
33:47
SPEAKER_02: And when they get too close emotionally and a tough decision needs to come up, or they've got to address a situation, nine times out of 10, they don't address it because they're too close to the employee.
33:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
34:00
SPEAKER_02: For sure.
34:01
SPEAKER_02: Okay, on coaching, focus on developing people, growth, and potential.
34:06
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
34:07
SPEAKER_01: That builds bench depth, it creates lifelong leaders.
34:11
SPEAKER_01: Um, some downsides that it's slow, it's requires patience.
34:16
SPEAKER_01: Doesn't work for people who who want don't want to grow.
34:19
SPEAKER_02: That's true.
34:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's true for sure.
34:22
SPEAKER_02: You know, but like on the column you said there, it it doesn't work for people who don't want to grow.
34:28
SPEAKER_02: Well, that probably helps you identify them because you want people on your team.
34:32
SPEAKER_01: Yes, and so that's kind of a positive.
34:35
SPEAKER_01: Yes, it it doesn't, but you don't there's different jobs in the business that we realize that some of them are entry-level in our business, and we sometimes know that it might be a revolving door that people are gonna either be growing in our company or they'll move on to something else.
34:51
SPEAKER_01: And we understand that, but you never want to not have someone, even if they stay in that same Janet, whatever it is, if it's door greeter or phone operator, whatever it is, you want them to take pride in their job.
35:07
SPEAKER_02: I I would agree.
35:08
SPEAKER_02: I would say now I know I keep talking about the piece of the pie here, because as we're going down through here, I'm like visualizing in my mind what percentage, you know, if you have a hundred percent of your leadership style, what percentage is in each one of these?
35:19
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
35:19
SPEAKER_02: And I think we'll get to that at the end, is like you don't put all your eggs in one basket.
35:23
SPEAKER_02: You're not 100% one.
35:25
SPEAKER_02: If not, you're not a very solid leader.
35:27
SPEAKER_02: Coaching is a bigger one.
35:28
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
35:28
SPEAKER_02: Coaching is a bigger one.
35:30
SPEAKER_02: And if if you're not constantly coaching and developing your people, either developing them or coaching them on how to make sure they are implementing and doing the process or the SOP in that department to the highest level, that department's not growing.
35:46
SPEAKER_02: You're not doing a good job as a leader upholding your responsibilities.
35:51
SPEAKER_02: So, in my mind, this coaching section, it's got a pretty large piece of the pie.
35:55
SPEAKER_01: Yep, it does.
35:56
SPEAKER_01: It does.
35:57
SPEAKER_01: Uh last one here, laissez-faire, hands-off kind of style of trusting the team, getting out of the way.
36:05
SPEAKER_01: So I'm not being involved in the day-to-day and being in the way of them doing activities.
36:12
SPEAKER_01: I got some dots here, but here we go.
36:15
SPEAKER_02: Pro.
36:16
SPEAKER_02: It does empower high performers, yeah, and it's fast for self-starters.
36:21
SPEAKER_02: The con is it's a disaster for newer struggling employees with no accountability or structure.
36:28
SPEAKER_02: So we have been on both sides of this.
36:32
SPEAKER_02: And even with the best leaders out there and the ones that are self-motivated and they're doers, if you are entering into something new, a new product, a new process, a new business adventure, you cannot be hands-off.
36:48
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
36:49
SPEAKER_02: Like with anything, there is this bell curve.
36:52
SPEAKER_02: And the bell curve with us is highly involved, micromanaging, micromanaging.
36:58
SPEAKER_02: Now you've installed it all and you're coming down the other way with checks and balances.
37:03
SPEAKER_02: And but and we have tried to implement things and be hands-off.
37:08
SPEAKER_02: Hey, here's the email, put it into place.
37:10
SPEAKER_02: There's not that many people out there that can run it, and for sure they're not gonna do it exactly how you'd want it.
37:16
SPEAKER_02: So, so you have to micro, we're going through this with some products in our FI department right now.
37:21
SPEAKER_02: And it's like, invest the time today to reduce the time tomorrow.
37:27
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
37:27
SPEAKER_02: If not, you're gonna invest little time today and tons of time tomorrow, just trying to get it off the ground.
37:36
SPEAKER_02: Um, but you but you have to be able to then let go and let them be a good leader.
37:42
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
37:43
SPEAKER_01: So I think that's that's really important.
37:46
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, it was great talking about these different ones.
37:48
SPEAKER_01: So no style is best.
37:49
SPEAKER_01: Every style has a cost.
37:51
SPEAKER_01: The best leaders know which one they default to, and the one that actually needs to happen during that moment.
37:58
SPEAKER_02: I think I would encourage everybody, if you need to, you know, re-listen to this portion, sit down on a peep with a piece of paper and go, hey, what area do I fall in?
38:08
SPEAKER_02: You know, what percentage is authoritative?
38:11
SPEAKER_02: What percentage is is democratic?
38:14
SPEAKER_02: What's as transformational, servant leadership, coaching, and hands off?
38:18
SPEAKER_02: Of those six, how does mine divide up?
38:22
SPEAKER_02: If you don't have a little bit in each, I would challenge you.
38:25
SPEAKER_02: If you have over 50% in one, hey, do I need to do I need to relook at this and be a very well-balanced leader?
38:33
SPEAKER_01: Makes a difference.
38:34
SPEAKER_01: That kind of rolls into our myth section here.
38:36
SPEAKER_01: Great leaders have one leadership style and they stick to it.
38:40
SPEAKER_01: Young leaders, yes.
38:42
SPEAKER_02: Yes, evolved and successful leaders, no.
38:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
38:47
SPEAKER_02: And that's one of the things you learn as an evolving leader is you shift, you adjust, you listen to people that have already been there, done that.
38:59
SPEAKER_02: You get in the room where you shouldn't talk because you're not the smartest one in the room, and you learn by those leaders, and you can see that their leadership style, mine does.
39:11
SPEAKER_02: It adjusts depending upon the room I'm in, the situation I'm in.
39:16
SPEAKER_02: So, no.
39:18
SPEAKER_02: Got busted there.
39:20
SPEAKER_02: All right, let's talk about old school versus new school, how leadership has changed.
39:24
SPEAKER_02: And I think if we had dad or we had our grandfather in the room at the same time, it would, they would all talk, or our great-grandfather, about how that has changed and adapted.
39:34
SPEAKER_02: And there's a lot of negativity out there about generations.
39:38
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
39:40
SPEAKER_02: Well, so-and-so generation doesn't want to work, or so-and-so wants handouts, or so-and-so won't put in the hours, or this generation this, and this generation that.
39:48
SPEAKER_02: And I've been there.
39:49
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
39:50
SPEAKER_02: But what I've learned is that generation is not necessarily gonna change.
39:55
SPEAKER_02: You have to adapt to how you lead them to get the most production out of them.
40:01
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
40:02
SPEAKER_02: And I don't have the answers to all that, but I'm just saying you got to be willing to evolve.
40:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it it, you know, especially in our 80 years of doing business, our leadership styles are different.
40:13
SPEAKER_01: But I will tell you, our core values and principles are the same.
40:18
SPEAKER_01: And we're running after that same goal.
40:21
SPEAKER_01: We know there's different ways to get there.
40:23
SPEAKER_01: And it's changed even, you know, of our early conversations, you would have remembered it more, but from our grandfather of his intensity, but then going to our uncle and our dad of how they they went through it that had that same core, but then had a little bit different setup of how they went through and how even our style is even changed from our dad.
40:45
SPEAKER_01: I think when you look at this, like let's talk about old school.
40:47
SPEAKER_02: Old school is top down, here's the way it is, very rigid.
40:52
SPEAKER_02: Yes, and if you don't like it, there's the door.
40:54
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
40:55
SPEAKER_02: And I'll take, like in our business, for example, and our business is a grind.
40:59
SPEAKER_02: It's it's very rewarding, but it's a grind.
41:03
SPEAKER_02: And like you got to put in the work and you got to deal with some crap.
41:07
SPEAKER_02: All right.
41:08
SPEAKER_02: But one of the things that always had a stimulant in our business was hey, you're gonna work six, seven days a week, and you're gonna get here at eight, and you might leave at seven, you might leave at 10 at night.
41:18
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
41:19
SPEAKER_02: But you got to be here to be successful.
41:21
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
41:22
SPEAKER_02: That was old school thinking.
41:24
SPEAKER_02: And and not too long ago, we said, let's rethink this.
41:27
SPEAKER_02: Uh, we don't have as many applicants as we thought because it also was too 100% commission.
41:33
SPEAKER_02: You either sink or swim, get out there and make a big living, or nothing.
41:36
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
41:37
SPEAKER_02: And that was old school thinking.
41:39
SPEAKER_02: If we wanted to recruit the newer people and the next generation, we had to evolve in what we were offering.
41:47
SPEAKER_02: The other business world was out there as well.
41:49
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
41:50
SPEAKER_02: So we adjusted.
41:51
SPEAKER_02: And we got an early and a late shift now.
41:53
SPEAKER_02: We got one week in a month that you're off with your family.
41:56
SPEAKER_02: If you sell X amount of cars, you can set your own schedule.
41:59
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
41:59
SPEAKER_02: Our pay plans now are a salary plus a commission.
42:03
SPEAKER_02: Some of them are on units only, so they're don't they don't have any commission.
42:08
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, that that's a bonus plan, but it's not paid on the gross at all, which then takes the pressure off.
42:13
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
42:13
SPEAKER_02: But but there's still so we've evolved a whole lot.
42:15
SPEAKER_02: That's just two examples on pay and on scheduling.
42:19
SPEAKER_01: It's more so of listening and working through.
42:22
SPEAKER_01: You always had to do this of kind of being a um uh a mentor or counselor with your team of knowing when something's wrong, being able to help them move along, get up out of the ditch and be able to move forward.
42:36
SPEAKER_01: It's way more listening now.
42:38
SPEAKER_01: But we understand that is what this current uh generation of workers, what they need and what they want.
42:47
SPEAKER_01: And we say a lot of times there's there's definitely a whole lot of feelings involved with it.
42:52
SPEAKER_01: And you have to be able to handle that.
42:54
SPEAKER_01: You do.
42:54
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you you have to evolve in that, just like AI is coming and this and that.
42:59
SPEAKER_02: If you don't evolve with it, it'll just you'll become extinct.
43:02
SPEAKER_02: You might as well put the dinosaur on your desk.
43:04
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
43:05
SPEAKER_02: So we we kind of answered their old school, new school by a few examples.
43:09
SPEAKER_02: But what stays the same?
43:11
SPEAKER_02: And Taylor, you started to dive into this.
43:13
SPEAKER_02: You can look at old school, you can look at the first generation of the business, the second, the third, the fourth here.
43:18
SPEAKER_02: What stays the same throughout all that?
43:22
SPEAKER_01: That's our principles, our core values, our vision of whenever we started of serving the community, giving back to the community, and ultimately making our business successful so we can continue to pour in to this is where we flip over, and a lot of us you'll never see us stand with our hand in the air and say, yes, we're one of the Lewis brothers.
43:49
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're on TV.
43:52
SPEAKER_01: We're in the middle of this other stuff.
43:53
SPEAKER_01: We we're always involved.
43:55
SPEAKER_01: We want to be the first one to raise our hand quietly.
44:00
SPEAKER_01: And say, yeah, I helped that family be able to be successful and be able to move forward.
44:05
SPEAKER_01: That's what I know we're all into, that we start to see, hey, all of our, all of our values, all of our core principles have poured into helping over getting close to 300 families be successful every day.
44:20
SPEAKER_02: That in the, you know, the culture has never changed.
44:23
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
44:23
SPEAKER_02: Um maybe the structure, maybe the pay, maybe the schedule, maybe the way we we address things, but the culture has always been encouraging.
44:34
SPEAKER_02: The culture has always been fun and a great place where you can make a living.
44:38
SPEAKER_02: The culture has always been somewhere that you we're gonna speak to you respectfully.
44:44
SPEAKER_02: You know, we're not gonna dog cuss you, we're not gonna come down on you.
44:47
SPEAKER_02: Um, and it's gonna be encouraging and give people people got to work and they gotta earn it.
44:52
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
44:53
SPEAKER_02: Um, so it's not a country club.
44:55
SPEAKER_02: No, but but those have stayed the same throughout time.
44:59
SPEAKER_02: So let's talk about a little industry specific.
45:01
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
45:01
SPEAKER_02: Automotive.
45:02
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
45:03
SPEAKER_02: You know, it used to be heavy-handed, sales for culture.
45:07
SPEAKER_02: Now it's more coaching and development required.
45:11
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
45:11
SPEAKER_02: And if you think about that, it used to be you hired salespeople, you threw them out there, and they figured it out.
45:16
SPEAKER_02: Now we've got an entire development program we put somebody through.
45:19
SPEAKER_01: Yes, that that definitely has evolved and changed there.
45:22
SPEAKER_01: Let's go to restaurant, restaurants, and hospitality.
45:25
SPEAKER_01: So it's fast based, often still autocratic there, but starting to lose some people just because of, which is crazy because that that need is not going away.
45:39
SPEAKER_01: So I think you'll see kind of a curve of people coming back to it, but losing people because of what it is.
45:46
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I would agree.
45:48
SPEAKER_02: Now, some of that I like, and you know this in restaurants.
45:51
SPEAKER_02: I I love tipping somebody for great service.
45:54
SPEAKER_02: I really do.
45:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I would tip even faster and more if they gave me a way to pay when I got my meal.
46:04
SPEAKER_02: When you ordered.
46:05
SPEAKER_02: Um, and it's it's it's only because I don't like the dead time when I finish eating, then the awkwardness of trying to get the waiter over quick enough.
46:15
SPEAKER_02: So some of that technology I really like.
46:17
SPEAKER_02: And it's not because I want to reduce the tip, I'll actually tip more if the service is there, you know, for sure.
46:23
SPEAKER_02: All right, in the tech industry, you know, so you so you get to the Democratic, sometimes to a fault there of like the hands on.
46:32
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
46:33
SPEAKER_02: You know, like, okay, yeah, put them in a room by themselves with their headphones on and just let them work.
46:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
46:40
SPEAKER_02: I think what you see there is they need to be managed different, no different than our technicians back in the shop.
46:47
SPEAKER_02: They need to be managed different, but they still need accountability, targets to shoot at, reviewed of KPI, recognition on when something big has been accomplished.
47:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
47:01
SPEAKER_02: They still have to be managed.
47:03
SPEAKER_01: They do just a different way.
47:04
SPEAKER_01: Like, don't put everybody in the same box.
47:06
SPEAKER_01: No, you have to be uh um multi-tool of uh different hats there and different ways to be able to manage your team for it to be successful.
47:15
SPEAKER_01: And the construction and trades, they're very still heavy on authoritative, and it's very layered of you have to put in your time.
47:24
SPEAKER_01: This younger generation hates it of being able to work and knowing that it just takes time.
47:31
SPEAKER_01: And the biggest deal people don't understand, it's not time like yes, you have to put your time in, but what many people my age and younger they don't understand is there's things that are taught that cannot be taught without circumstances and instances that you grow with.
47:50
SPEAKER_01: I can't say, even if you're a performer and there's some people that perform above, it just takes time.
47:57
SPEAKER_02: It does.
47:58
SPEAKER_02: And construction is one of those industries.
48:01
SPEAKER_02: We're not talking about a factory worker that the task you're performing is a hundred percent the same with every single widget you're building.
48:10
SPEAKER_02: Even if you're building the same house, all the land's different out there.
48:16
SPEAKER_02: Um, the the the cities have different inspectors, they have different codes.
48:21
SPEAKER_02: Yes, there's adjustments that need to be made, and checks and balances have to be in place to be able to do that.
48:27
SPEAKER_02: Like you said, it takes time, and that's why there are those layers.
48:31
SPEAKER_02: Are there some of it that can evolve?
48:32
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
48:33
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
48:34
SPEAKER_02: But can it be 100% hands-off?
48:36
SPEAKER_02: No.
48:36
SPEAKER_02: No, because here's what'll happen.
48:38
SPEAKER_02: If it's 100% hands-off and you're building a, let's just take a house, for example, you're building a house for an individual, it comes time for inspection.
48:45
SPEAKER_02: Like, and and they're like, no, leave me alone, we'll get inspected when it's done.
48:50
SPEAKER_02: Well, because you didn't do the part of roughing the plumbing and the electrical end, and you said, no, just leave me alone, I'll inspect it at the end.
48:59
SPEAKER_02: You end up having to re-pull all the drywall out because there was an error behind the drywall with the plumbing and the electrical.
49:07
SPEAKER_02: You end up having to tear the whole house down and redo the foundation because you had not blocked it in.
49:12
SPEAKER_02: You had not used the correct rebar.
49:14
SPEAKER_02: The PSI on the concrete's not right.
49:17
SPEAKER_02: So there, like you said, you got to understand a little bit, it takes time and you need some of those checks and balances to save time in the future.
49:24
SPEAKER_01: Yes, we talk about that all the time in the automotive world, you know, being a mechanic, which is kind of in a in a trades now, that I love seeing some of our master certified technicians that a warranty claim may call for paying three hours and it takes them an hour.
49:42
SPEAKER_01: It takes them a half an hour, and everyone's like, oh, we're way overpaying them.
49:46
SPEAKER_01: No, you're not.
49:47
SPEAKER_01: Because of their knowledge and how they've grown, they know how to do it correctly and how to be able to expedite it in the process.
49:55
SPEAKER_01: No different than a construction world.
49:57
SPEAKER_01: It takes time to be able to gain that knowledge.
49:59
SPEAKER_02: It does.
50:00
SPEAKER_02: And whatever the task may be, you may take somebody that's young and it takes them four hours to do something that's a skilled tradesman that can do it in an hour.
50:08
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
50:09
SPEAKER_02: Because they've invested in different tools and they've invested in different training.
50:12
SPEAKER_02: I see videos all the time about that where somebody comes out to the house and they bid a job for however much and then they end up getting it done within 30 minutes.
50:21
SPEAKER_02: They're like, well, that only took you 30 minutes.
50:24
SPEAKER_02: I only want to pay you for half an hour.
50:26
SPEAKER_02: So, no, you were paying me for my knowledge to get it done.
50:29
SPEAKER_02: If you would have liked me to just sit here and made it make it take four hours, like the other person that previously came, they would have to sit up there and Google and call in on a hotline and figure this out.
50:40
SPEAKER_02: You're paying for my knowledge to get it done correct the first time.
50:43
SPEAKER_02: Yep, absolutely.
50:44
SPEAKER_02: And that that's missed a lot.
50:46
SPEAKER_02: It really is.
50:46
SPEAKER_02: You know, family business.
50:48
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
50:48
SPEAKER_02: And that's an angle we have of what has changed there and how that's evolved.
50:55
SPEAKER_02: And I think at its core, that's stayed the same.
50:58
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
50:59
SPEAKER_02: Communication, putting the right family members in the right position, being there for them to get them off the ground, but then once they get off the ground, not to micromanage them anymore.
51:11
SPEAKER_02: But don't do a set it and forget it.
51:13
SPEAKER_02: That has not changed in family business.
51:16
SPEAKER_02: And that's why you see over the decades that we're less than, we thought it was 5%.
51:20
SPEAKER_02: It's really 3% of businesses have made it to the fourth generation.
51:24
SPEAKER_02: Because too many people in a family business are way too far hands off because it's family.
51:31
SPEAKER_02: And they're like, man, I don't want to address my brother about that.
51:34
SPEAKER_02: Hey, I don't want to address my sister about that, or I don't want to question my dad on that.
51:39
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's it's business.
51:40
SPEAKER_02: Do you handle it a little bit differently?
51:42
SPEAKER_02: Yes, you do.
51:43
SPEAKER_02: But it's business.
51:44
SPEAKER_02: And if you got to think about long term, if you want this to last to the next generation, if you want this to be a legacy that you're proud of, you're gonna have to have difficult conversations.
51:54
SPEAKER_02: But if you have the difficult conversations and the right context and out of coaching for the vision of the future, it'll pay dividends.
52:03
SPEAKER_01: And I'll even put this point of there's a lot of times that people will say, we have worked really hard with each other.
52:12
SPEAKER_01: There's respect in there, and a lot of times it doesn't even have to come down to a real difficult conversation, as you would say, because we can say one thing or do one thing, and we're like, uh, yeah, that's right.
52:25
SPEAKER_01: And we can correct our course of being able to go through there because we have clear expectations of each other.
52:31
SPEAKER_01: So that's what's really helped us be able to grow.
52:33
SPEAKER_02: And I will say, too, with what you're saying there, is we look at the facts and the KPIs.
52:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
52:40
SPEAKER_02: And when you do that, especially in a family business, the facts will stand out without having to go, hey, listen, you're really screwing up here, and you're not accomplishing what we need you to accomplish for the business.
52:55
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
52:56
SPEAKER_02: Like like the facts and the data show it.
52:59
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
53:00
SPEAKER_02: Uh, so that that that helps that to be have emotion in there.
53:04
SPEAKER_02: It does.
53:05
SPEAKER_02: It really does.
53:06
SPEAKER_02: All right.
53:06
SPEAKER_02: What's culture driven?
53:09
SPEAKER_02: So rapidly we'll go through this.
53:11
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
53:11
SPEAKER_02: Pre-2020 versus post-COVID workforce.
53:16
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that that's the shift of just being able to pre-2020 of earning your way up to more of a show me why I should stay.
53:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
53:28
SPEAKER_01: Because, and I'll tell you where that came from.
53:30
SPEAKER_01: It's not necessarily the of anyone being entitled to being able to go through so many people that got into the workforce during the middle of COVID, right after 2020.
53:39
SPEAKER_01: A lot of it was remote.
53:41
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
53:41
SPEAKER_01: And so they're having to reel it back in.
53:43
SPEAKER_01: And it's just different structure than sitting in your pajamas at the computer in your living room or wherever you're at, traveling, doing the other.
53:51
SPEAKER_01: It's just a different style.
53:53
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of industries have changed the way of their brick and mortar stores and everything.
53:57
SPEAKER_01: So working through that.
53:59
SPEAKER_01: So too many people are, hey, let's go back to pre when it's not pre.
54:04
SPEAKER_01: There's a mix of both of it.
54:06
SPEAKER_01: So you have to be able to look and see what works best for your team and what makes them successful.
54:11
SPEAKER_02: There were there's a lot of sales industries, including ours, that during COVID, it was simply a supply and demand.
54:19
SPEAKER_02: And there was a lot of cars, there was a lot of houses, there was a lot of boats, there was a lot of RVs that were sold.
54:25
SPEAKER_02: And there are some salespeople, including ones in our organization, that had to be reprogrammed.
54:33
SPEAKER_02: They got a pretty big ego, and they were like, Well, yeah, here's what I was getting paid.
54:39
SPEAKER_02: Look how good I did do.
54:40
SPEAKER_02: And it's like, you didn't do any of that.
54:43
SPEAKER_02: You showed up and answered the phone, and I appreciate you doing that.
54:46
SPEAKER_02: But it was because we had 10 cars on the lot, we were selling 100 a month, and nobody else had any cars.
54:51
SPEAKER_02: If you had a car, it sold.
54:53
SPEAKER_02: It's because you listed a house and there was no houses on the market and it sold.
54:56
SPEAKER_02: It's because you actually had the boats in stock and nobody else did.
55:00
SPEAKER_02: So one of the things we've had to go through is get back into selling and not just assume because you have the vehicle in stock, it sells and you don't have to have any salesmanship.
55:10
SPEAKER_02: That changed quite a bit.
55:11
SPEAKER_02: And then generation expectations.
55:13
SPEAKER_02: You know, when you look at Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers, they all want different things from a leader.
55:18
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
55:18
SPEAKER_02: And there's some of them that want to be held accountable at a high level, and other ones that want to talk about their feelings.
55:25
SPEAKER_02: And some of them that pet insurance is more important to them than regular health insurance and all the above.
55:32
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
55:33
SPEAKER_02: And some of it you may chuckle about and say that's ridiculous.
55:36
SPEAKER_02: And the really good leaders go, I may think it's ridiculous, but if it's important to my employee, and from an expense point, I can make it work and I can adjust, adjust and make it work.
55:47
unknown: Yeah.
55:48
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely there.
55:50
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, kind of talking into there where leadership is has to go in the next 10 years, um, and what style out of that you think will not survive.
56:00
SPEAKER_02: I think we'll continue to see the evolving of just the top-down leadership, of just the really rigid of like it's my way or the highway.
56:09
SPEAKER_02: I think we'll we'll continue to see that phased out.
56:12
SPEAKER_02: Uh, I think also what we will see is a migration from the big hands-off, and tech was a great example there.
56:22
SPEAKER_02: And then working from home was a great example where people were like, hey, leave me alone, let me do my work.
56:28
SPEAKER_02: I think we'll see that kind of go a little more by the wayside and a better integration of accountability, yet once they're trained and ready to go, get out of their way, but then check back in with them to have those KPIs.
56:43
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
56:44
SPEAKER_02: That's how I see it go.
56:45
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
56:46
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, the sales uh I think will come back stronger, the ones you had talked about there, that we'll see some of that technology, we'll see some of it shifted and merged in with some of the other normal um all the types of leadership that we talked about through this whole thing.
57:02
SPEAKER_02: I think schedule and pay will continue to see evolve.
57:06
SPEAKER_02: And those have been swung each way with a pendulum.
57:09
SPEAKER_02: But we, you know, we're even looking at areas in our organization of like, okay, well, if it doesn't have to be done during normal times, if it's not a task where a customer is going to be in front of them, then yes, we can be flexible with that schedule.
57:25
SPEAKER_02: Now, there still has to be structure to it because we've gone the other way of saying, hey, as long as you get your job done, great.
57:30
SPEAKER_02: Come in when you want.
57:32
SPEAKER_02: There wasn't accountability, and that's too much rope, you'll end up hanging yourself.
57:36
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
57:37
SPEAKER_02: You know, but so there's flexibility yet with some guardrails.
57:41
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
57:42
SPEAKER_01: So going into uh some frequently asked questions here at the end.
57:47
SPEAKER_01: So, Matt, what is the leadership style you grew up watching, and how is yours different?
57:54
SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna say I grew up watching a leadership style that was top-down, was top-down.
58:04
SPEAKER_02: So that's evolved where the leader's still the leader and they're in charge, but they're getting more buy-in, and we are getting, you know, more team effort.
58:14
SPEAKER_02: But I but I do want to say something else, Harry, that I learned when I was growing up is that the best leaders always were working on self-improvement.
58:23
SPEAKER_02: And at that point in time, it was in the car listening to the cassette tapes of the Tony Robbins and the Zig Zigglers.
58:30
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
58:31
SPEAKER_02: And the the different books on my grandfather's desk or at his house about learning from others.
58:37
SPEAKER_02: What I've taken from that is continuing to grow myself as a leader.
58:42
SPEAKER_02: And now they're from ebooks and podcasts and shorts and YouTube videos, different sources, same context.
58:51
SPEAKER_02: Uh, and and Craig Groschelle says this the best.
58:53
SPEAKER_02: He said, everyone wins when the leader gets better.
58:56
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yes.
58:57
SPEAKER_02: So say the sources have evolved there, but the core part of being a better leader has not.
59:03
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
59:03
SPEAKER_02: You know, so then back to you.
59:05
SPEAKER_02: If you could use one leadership style for the rest of your career, which one would it be and why?
59:11
SPEAKER_01: I would say it has to be coaching, you know, a coachable mindset there that just kind of blends in well with my style.
59:19
SPEAKER_01: But then I love being evolved, but then showing someone how to do the process.
59:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
59:26
SPEAKER_01: And then being able to step back and see them go.
59:28
SPEAKER_01: No different than in sports of a football coach or anything else, of showing them how to do it, not saying, hey, I'm gonna do this, but then enabling them.
59:37
SPEAKER_01: Don't make the mistake of showing them how to do it and staying in the process with them.
59:42
SPEAKER_01: I can't run the play with them every time.
59:44
SPEAKER_01: They've got to be able to evolve and grow without me there, still being there, but not standing over the top of them.
59:51
SPEAKER_01: I think you nailed it right there.
59:53
SPEAKER_02: And I was looking forward to see which one you would say, but you nailed it for not only what's relevant, but which style you adapt to the best.
1:00:01
SPEAKER_02: Because as the coach, you take the time to get in the film room and study film.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_02: You take the time to meet with just your other coaches, but yet you're still down on the field and in the middle of it, allowing those other coaches to like, hey, run that play or run that formation.
1:00:21
SPEAKER_02: But when they screw up on it a couple of times, you're like, hang on, stop it.
1:00:24
SPEAKER_02: And you get over there and you grab a hold of that player and you show them exactly now rerun it.
1:00:29
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
1:00:29
SPEAKER_02: You know, so I think that's dead on.
1:00:31
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
1:00:31
SPEAKER_02: That's good advice right there.
1:00:33
SPEAKER_02: All right.
1:00:33
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for joining us for this 90th episode.
1:00:36
SPEAKER_02: I mean this 90th episode of Crossroad Conversations.
1:00:39
SPEAKER_02: As always, check out this episode and many more on Crossroad Conversation Podcast.com and check out over a thousand vehicles in stock with that exclusive Lewis guarantee at Lewis Superstore.com.
1:00:52
SPEAKER_02: Hey, thanks for joining us today, and we hope you enjoyed this episode.
1:00:55
SPEAKER_02: Make sure to give it a like, share it with your friends and family, visit our website, and send us some questions.
1:01:00
SPEAKER_02: We want to know what you'd like to hear, who you'd like to hear from, and what you want to see, or maybe even some questions for us to answer about either the automotive industry or just business in general.