By Loyd Rawls, President & Chairman, The Rawls Group
Welcome to part two of Leading with Purpose. As a quick recap to a recent article of mine, Robert, the dealer was getting pressure from Chevrolet about his son Jimmy’s ability as GM to run the store. After several unproductive and frustrating coaching visits with Robert’s son Jimmy, Dr. Merlot and I hit the end of the line and needed to have some straight talk with Robert about Jimmy’s ability to turn the store around. Robert was dead set on making Jimmy dealer someday, so in order to make this a possibility, we needed to change our strategy as Jimmy lacked the motivation. After some interesting fireworks, Robert, Dr. Merlot and I concluded the best path forward was to recruit an operator for the Chevy store and hope we could convince Chevy that Jimmy could be an acceptable dealer. The next step was to get Jimmy on board…
After our visit with Robert about his son’s struggles as GM of his biggest store, Doc was upset so I took him to lunch and I bought him a glass of wine. “Just chill! This is not your family, or your dealership and you are too committed to what you think is right or wrong. Remember the oxymoron of family business. You have got to keep your cool and pursue the client’s goals, not yours.”
“Objectivity!” Doc responded in disbelief. “I have told Robert that his people have figured him out. And you know the managers are taking advantage of his commitment to his son and Chevy, is not going to accept his family over business compromise at their cost.”
“Listen Doc,” trying to calm him, “you don’t get it, Robert is not listening. All he’s thinking about is protecting Jimmy. Why provoke an argument if he is not listening to what you are saying?”
Doc agreed Robert was not listening to logic and we were fortunate to have something close to a plan that we could pursue. We had no idea how we were going to pursue this plan but proceeded to our meeting with Jimmy hoping something good would happen. He was awaiting our arrival in the conference room.
As we were sitting, I started the discussion. “So, have you finished ‘Good to Great’? After discussing Maxell’s five levels of leadership, we agreed it was time to move on to Collins’ discussion about the ‘Level Five Leader’?”
While encouraging us to have a seat, Jimmy responded, “Oh, yes Loyd, I have listened to the audio twice during a weekend drive to the beach. I am a roaring Hedge Hog, looking for a seat on the bus. That book was fascinating but also disappointing. It did not provide any instructions on how to become a Level Five Leader.”
Amused, Doc let out a chuckle and pointing back at Jimmy with a big grin and proclaimed “You did read it! Or,” as he paused a second “more appropriately, listened to it. I am impressed and don’t regret for a minute losing my $5 bet to Loyd. I figured that when you finished the second chapter on the Level Five Leader and discovered there was no black and white formula you would have been so pissed that you would conclude you were wasting your time.”
“Doc, don’t provoke another argument”, I asserted. “With the circumstances at hand, we are well beyond a discussion of the Level Five Leader discussion.”
“What circumstances are you referring to Loyd.”
“Chevy banging on your dad, Jimmy,” I responded. “What we need is a plan for succession of a Chevy dealership. Your dad is under a lot of pressure and he is at a loss as what to do.”
“I would agree”, responded Dr Merlot nodding back to me. Looking over at Jimmy he continued. “Your dad is in a conundrum. He wants you to be the Chevy GM and wah-lah,” throwing his hands in the air like a magician, “become a leader respected by one and all.”
“I am the leader!” responded Jimmy defiantly. “This is a difficult store. I am assembling a good team and I’ll get it turned around.” Then appealing for support from Doc and me he continued, “Dad just needs to convince Chevy to give me more time.”
“So, Jimmy”, I responded. “You lost 1.1MM here last year and you are back 400k through six months this year. You have not been sales efficient for two years. Where’s the leadership?”
“I said time, not money and vehicles,” responded Jimmy defensively. “I thought we were going to talk about how I can become a better leader; not dwell on past performance which we all agree was poor.”
“Jimmy!” injected Doc with a chuckle, “how can you lead if you do not engage your people? How many times has Loyd told you that you cannot run a store from behind a desk?”
Doc, surprisingly had made a very reasonable point. “Amen, Doc!”, I offered in support and joined his stare soliciting Jimmy’s response.
After a few moments Doc had all the silence he could stand. “Jimmy, you are so far over your head that you cannot see the surface. Both you and your dad appear to have lost a sense of reason. He is trying to convey respect and esteem to you, his beloved son. And you, are letting him do it, assuming that because you have the title GM, you will garner the respect of your managers and Chevrolet.” Doc paused for a moment to regrip the hammer that I could see he was preparing to deliver. “Do you have any idea how embarrassing this predicament is to your dad?”
Doc paused again and being all too familiar with his style I felt I needed to intercede to prevent him from delivering a knockout that would be our blowout. “Jimmy, what’s your purpose as GM of this store?”
“Well, Loyd,” Jimmy responded eagerly understanding that I had rescued him from Doc’s hammer. “I want to become the leader of this organization so my dad can retire.”
“That’s a reasonable and honest answer Jimmy. And as we have confirmed your dad’s purpose is aligned with yours; become his successor, lead the good life; go to make meetings; hand out bonuses; be respected by one and all.” I then sat quietly hoping that Doc understood I was seeking a question, not looking to give an answer. Just as Doc had all the silence he could handle, Jimmy responded.
“So that should be good, our goals and purposes are aligned. Right?”
“Yes, they are aligned Jimmy,” I responded preparing to deliver a soliloquy on leadership when Doc burst in.
“You are perfectly aligned Jimmy, but unfortunately, in absolutely, the wrong direction. This may sound crazy, but you have enabled your dad to enable you. Consequently, your dad is seen as a dedicated but delusional dad. And you, James” he accentuated with sarcasm, “are seen as a disengaged, naive, DK who believes that respect comes with a title.”
“What is a DK, sir? Jimmy interrupted.
“Do you ever come out of that office?” responded Doc with frustration. “Back to this dilemma, based upon your behavior and performance, everyone has figured out that you are faking it, hoping to survive as the operator, until you can become dealer. Dude, you should have stayed at Subaru!” Doc exclaimed. “Chevrolet like all manufacturers is asserting the vested interest in succession and they are going to allow the Peter Principle to be reaffirmed at this store.”
I am thinking “Oh, crap-a-zully, this meeting is over, and we are casualties of conveying the truth!”
“Stay at Subaru; really?” responded Jimmy indignantly.
“Oh yes,” Doc responded with an attitude. “You could handle Subaru. And you were seen as someone who knew what he did not know. You were building respect.”
The typically, nerdy young man was impressively pensive. Doc and I understood this was a ‘big thought moment’ and we should keep quiet. After a long minute or so of watching his fingers dribble on the table, Jimmy looked up at me. “Am I really embarrassing my dad?”
“No, Jimmy, your dad is embarrassed that he is being called out by Chevy for what he has allowed to happen. He knew you were not ready for this store, we told him. He just folded to pressure from you and your mom to continue your climb to the top. Now he is being called out by the same guys who used to say he was a terrific dealer.”
“Oh”, responded Jimmy who had a better understanding of the circumstances. He watched his fingers for a few dribbles and looked over at Doc. “What should we do?”
“Thanks for asking Jimmy,” responded Doc. “I have always thought the best indicator that someone is listening is that they ask a question. So, I am pleased to claim progress here. What I think you should do is embrace reality and then decide if you are going to play right or pass. To embrace reality, you must accept that you are not ready to manage this store. And understand that if you don’t embrace it, Chevrolet is going to cram it down your father’s throat. Play right or pass means, take a chill pill, back up, and pursue the grind required to earn respect as an operator or pass, stop faking that you are an operator. Find someone to operate this store that can make Chevrolet happy.”
“Could I ever be an approved Dealer if I have not been a GM?” responded Jimmy immediately.
“Damn right you can,” responded Doc; “as long as your stores perform and act the way the franchisers expect dealers to act. All you need to do is acknowledge you are a dependent and become a recruiting machine. Takes time to master like anything worthwhile, but you can do it.”
“Pass!” Jimmy responded immediately. “I suck at the grind and I would rather work at being a dealer.”
“Beautiful”, I responded. “Let’s find Robert and make some plans.”
What’s the moral of this story?
If you are a successor, get real with yourself and decide if you are really motivated to the grind. If not, do yourself and your family a favor and decide what you are willing to do. There are options, but first you have to get real with yourself
If you are leader, figure out your purpose and let that guide your way. Without purpose, you can become lost in the minutia of the day to day or in what others expect from you.
Communicate and find alignment of purpose between all stakeholders in the business. Alignment is the first step to building an effective strategy to fulfill your vision.
To read the beginning of this story, look back to last month’s publication and find “Leading with Purpose”
About the Author
Loyd H. Rawls, president/chairman of The Rawls Group, has specialized in succession planning for closely-held, family owned businesses since 1973. Well respected in his field, Mr. Rawls is a highly requested speaker and has published numerous articles and publications on subjects such as “Seeking Succession: How to Continue the Family Business Legacy” and “The Succession Bridge: Key Manager Succession Alternatives for Family Owned Businesses.”
