Digital Dealer - July 2019 - 11

PLAY RIGHT OR PASS MEANS, TAKE A CHILL PILL,
BACK UP, AND PURSUE THE GRIND REQUIRED TO
EARN RESPECT AS AN OPERATOR..."
quently, 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

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

ALIGNMENT IS THE
FIRST STEP TO BUILDING
AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY
TO FULFILL YOUR
VISION."
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

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."
D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

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"
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."

J U LY 2 0 1 9

11
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