Digital Dealer - September 2019 - 11

"Robert, you know that
I never decline a glass of
wine or a question," Doc
responded with a smile back
at Robert. He then took a
deep breath and continued, "This ship was sinking
before Jimmy ever came
aboard and you appointed
him to be the captain of a
battleship that he was not a
qualified first mate."
Robert just stared at Doc
for a moment dumbfounded,
and then looked over at me
raising his open palms in
confusion and wonderment.
"Loyd, could you translate?"
he pleaded.
I quickly jumped back
insisting, "Doc, English!
Straight talk. Dispense with
the metaphors."
Doc seemed put-out as he
predictably thought everyone could speak the 'merlot'
dialect. After a few seconds,
he gathered himself and
refocused on Robert. "Yes,
going back 10 years, Chevrolet was a big earner, but
the entire world, especially
Chevrolet knew where you
were making your money;
pimped up used trucks.
However, the market was
growing every year, and
without even trying, your
renegade, disrespectful
sales manager sold enough
new cars and trucks to keep
Chevy off your back. About
two years ago the market
stopped expanding, and
Chevy started to rip your
butt because apparently, you
had forgotten how to market
and sell. About a year ago,
you fired the renegade, felt
it was time for you to retire,
and against Chevy and
Loyd's recommendations,

put Jimmy in as the GM.
Having been a disciple of
the renegade you fired,
under Jimmy's oversight, the
culture of the store did not
change, and the performance of the store continued in free-fall."
Doc paused briefly to let
Robert absorb what he said
and then continued, "I know
you are an optimist Robert,
but in all due respect, if
Jimmy had turned that store
around, it would have been
a miracle that should be
reported to the Vatican."
"Doc!" Robert responded
in rebuff. "As usual, you are
blowing things out of perspective to fit your narrative.
Jimmy had been working in
management for 20 years.
He attended all the schools,
and he had been a successful GM of the Subaru store.
I don't think this is Jimmy's
fault. That Chevy store may
be cursed."
"Yes", blurted Dr. Merlot,
"It's cursed because Jimmy's
the GM. And if you don't
step up and start leading
with the right purpose, you
are going to lose the store!"
responded Doc without hesitation. "He was a successful
GM at Subaru, but what you
overlooked was for the year
and a half he carried that
title, he rarely came out of
his office because he was
obsessed with the internet.
The demand for the product
was so high that you were
getting full sticker plus all the
floor mats you could stuff in
the trunk."
Robert was at a loss
for words. Pondering the
brash comments, he walked
over to the nearby bar and

poured himself another cup
a coffee before returning to
his seat. Then looking over
at me to avoid releasing
Doc's emotions again, "OK,
Loyd. I asked you to coach
my son. Are you making
any progress? Are you the
wrong guy? Is he a brick?
What's the story?" Before
I could answer, he started
complaining again about
Chevy, Pelosi, and the tight
economy, apparently trying
to divert the discussion from
Jimmy. I am listening to him
whine and looking for an
opportunity to answer his
question, when Doc just
stopped him in mid-sentence, "Robert, at the current
pace of change there is not
enough time to teach Jimmy
how to manage that store.
He spends more time telling
us the things he is not willing
to do than what he will do.
And two things he has made
it clear he is not going to
do is work 50 hours a week
and spend time at the desk."
Doc paused for a moment to
gather his thoughts and continued, "You need to come
to grips with the reality that
Jimmy will never be ready
to operate the Chevy store.
His mind, his speak, his feet
do not move fast enough to
create a new culture of confidence and competence.
If you are going to insist on
him being the dealer, you
better hire an operator that
Chevy will approve and
hope we convince Chevy
that he can be an acceptable dealer."
Looking back to me with
a sparkle in his eye, Robert
was visibly excited, "Hey
Loyd, that's the smartest
D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

thing I have ever heard Doc
say. Would you see if Jimmy
will accept that plan, and if so,
we will get to work on finding
an operator."
"Accept the plan!" barked
Doc in disbelief. "Who is
leading, and who is following
around here! How about we
say to Jimmy, this is what's
coming down; cooperate or
start looking for..."
I knew where this was
going, so I interrupted, "Doc
I've got this! Please let me
respond. Robert, good idea.
We'll meet with Jimmy this
afternoon and get right back
to you. Doc, zip it. Let's go."
What's the moral of the
story here?
 If you are in a position of
leadership - lead. Your people
are looking for someone to set
the culture, drive a plan with
purpose and lead them to the
promise land.
 Are you being honest
with yourself when you evaluate your people or making
excuses because they are
loyal or family? Take a hard
look to see if you have the
right people, in the right
places, and if not, it doesn't
necessarily mean you have to
let them go, but you may need
to strategically recruit around
them for you, their, and your
organization's success.
LOYD H. RAWLS, Chairman of
The Rawls Group, has specialized
in succession planning for closelyheld, 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 this subject.

SEPTEMBER 2019

11
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Digital Dealer - September 2019

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