The Most Successful Auto Repair Shops Have an Exciting Destination

by Rick White, President 180BIZ                                                             (Estimated Read Time 4 minutes)

One of the most important things we're going to do is create a destination. What do I mean by a destination? Where are you going? Why are you going to work every day? If you don't have a destination, then you're just same stuff different day (SSDD). That's a problem. I want you to step back and think of someplace you want to go that will excite you. Some of you may have financial freedom as a goal, no bills, or just your mortgage paid off. Or it could be you want to go on a trip, or you want to give more benefits to your team or more money.

Leadership is about getting other people to do what you want for their reasons.

Figure out what your destination will be. If you don't, you are in trouble. Why? A destination will create clarity so that everyone on your team is going to the same place for their reason. Leadership is about getting other people to do what you want for their reasons. So being able to talk to your team, know what they're looking for, and what their dreams are, and then tying those dreams to achieving yours makes all the difference in the world.

Leadership is intentional influence.

Leadership is intentional influence. By having that destination, you create clarity and it reduces confusion. You don't have everyone banging into each other while they're doing it.

A destination establishes a direction.

Next, a destination establishes a direction. It gets everyone in the same boat facing the same way and paddling in the same direction. Most of you are just trying to get your guys into the same boat. What if the boat is round and you are all paddling as hard as you can?  And just going in circles. That's why you need a destination.

A destination will generate excitement.

A destination will also generate excitement. We're in the last quarter of the year now October, November, and December. What are you going to do? Will you give up or will you step up? Will you stop or will you go? You may not be able to hit your goal this year, but you could say, “By God, I'm going to hit it next year and I'm going to use the last three months of this year as a springboard into next year so I can hit the ground running toward my destination.” It generates excitement.

You only have three ways to get out of bed.

You only have three ways to get out of bed. You can either hop out bed, you can roll out of bed, or you can fall out of bed. What will you do every day? If you are rolling or falling out of bed, I will argue that you don't have a destination.  You don't have a destination that excites you. You don't have a destination that scares you a little bit. It is okay and appropriate to have someplace you want to go that scares you just a little bit.

A destination boosts engagement.

When you get a destination and you tie it to what everyone else wants, you boost engagement. You get your whole team excited about where you're going. Instead of feeding on each other, you're feeding off each other. The energy keeps growing in the shop. I have seen it and it's amazing.

A destination increases cooperation.

A destination also increases cooperation. You want everyone to cooperate. You don't want to have one-hit wonders or superstars. You want a team that when they see someone lagging behind a little bit, pick them up and help them get going.

Your destination requires growth.

Your destination requires growth. You don't want to pick a destination you can already hit. You want to have a destination that's just outside of what you're capable of doing so that everyone in the business needs to learn.

A destination demands urgency.

And here's the last thing. A destination demands urgency. Your destination should have a deadline. You are going to be here by this date. As Les Brown says, “Aim for the moon, and even if you miss it, you're still in the stars.”

Pick a destination for the end of the year. Make it something that will push you and stretch you.

If this message resonates with you, please share it. I need to get these out to more and more people so that they can get on board with growing their business too.

Also, I have in our Pocket Business Genius webinar series a webinar on the Foundation of Becoming a Great Leader. I do a deeper dive on it.  The library has over 70 recorded webinars.

And then the other thing is are Shop Owners’ Round Table coming up. If you know someone who could use some help, have them join the 40 to 50 shop owners that come in every month, and let's talk shop.

God bless. Stay safe, have some fun, and go make some money.

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