Podcast Transcript:
Just ONE Thing
The 4 Key Areas of Situational Awareness Every Auto Repair Shop Owner Needs to Master
Episode 195
with Rick White, 180BIZ
Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. My name is Rick White from 180BIZ, and this is my Just ONE Thing. 180BIZ is a Coaching and Training company specifically for the Independent Auto and Truck Repair Shops. So if you've got some questions, we're here to help.
All right, so what are we going to talk about today? We're going to talk about awareness, and not just awareness. We're going to talk about SITUATIONAL AWARENESS. What do I mean by that? Because most of us, not everybody, but most of us, we have an issue with being aware. We are either so driven towards getting somewhere, some of you, it's the end of the day without killing somebody, or getting to a number or something to that effect, that you just have these blinders on and you see nothing, but you have tunnel vision. And because you have tunnel vision, there's a couple of things that happen, and one of them I talked about in our last Just ONE Thing, which is where you're getting really, really frustrated because you're you. You're trying to control the uncontrollable, right? You're trying to bend circumstances, events and situations to your will, and that doesn't work. But the other thing that's happening is you're not aware. So it was kind of funny.
How did this whole talk start? I was making some dinner, and moved my arm around, and I knocked the pepper mill out over and I thought, “Wow! Bull in the china shop,” right? That's a byproduct of not being situationally aware. That's the issue here.
So what I want you to do is, I want you to look at situational awareness at a few different levels.
Number one, the first situational awareness I want you to have is with yourself. You know, as a guy — and I don't know if it's true for everybody, I'm sure it's not, but for me, and probably my era, maybe a little more — we were trained not to really have feelings or to acknowledge our feelings. We were trained to bury our feelings. And the problem with that is they still come out. The problem with it is that they usually come out right, you bury and then you blow up, right? You bury it and blow up. So that doesn't work. So the first thing I want you to be situationally aware of is, where are you at, how are you feeling? What are you thinking about? Because this has an impact not only on you and how you show up, it has an impact on how you interact with your team, and it has an impact on how the day ends, how the day goes for you. So that's the first place that I want you to be situationally aware, because until you can manage yourself, you can't lead anybody else. Okay, so that's the first situational awareness I want you to have.
The second is I want you to be aware of your team. I want you to be aware of the energy in the shop, the flow of the shop. Because sometimes, instead of just pushing and forcing and shoving, stepping back and becoming aware can be some of the best advice you will ever get. So I want you to step back and I want you to look at it. I want you to be aware. Walk, just walk through the shop, and you don't even have to hear what people are saying, but you should listen. You're going to be able to feel the energy without a word being said. Like, come on, how many times have you ever gone home? Like, if you have a family, you go home at the end of the day, you open the door, you haven't heard a word. But you know, there's some stuff going on in that house that you do not want to be a part of, right? That is the energy that you're feeling. You're standing there wondering, “I wonder, if anybody heard me, can I just back up? Can I just shut the door? Nobody will know, right?” That doesn't work. So I want you to be situationally aware of the energy in the shop. I want you to be situationally aware of each and every team member. Why? Because you know that that surprise that you had, where you had somebody that you really valued in the shop, and you were just sideswiped when they came to you and they quit. Here's the thing, they didn't quit all at once. It wasn't like they were way up here doing amazing stuff, and then went down a year. It was a gradual progression that you didn't pick up on. And I need you to be able to step back and be situationally aware if somebody's coming in right and usually they're really engaged in high energy and love life and they're coming in and and there's an issue, don't make a story for it. Sit down and have a conversation. Care about them, show them that they matter, and get that energy back up. Don't let it drop. Because people don't quit all at once. They quit in stages. They quit emotionally first, they quit mentally second, and then they quit physically.
Third, okay, so make sure you're situationally aware. There's another area, there's two more areas. Another area that I want you to be situationally aware is with your clients. Okay? I want you to be aware of what their energy is. What I want you to be now is with your clients. I want you to be able to step back and not just in a rush, get into something else. I want you to listen. I want you to connect. I want you to hear the words that aren't being said. I promise they are right. If somebody goes, yeah, no, I understand what you're saying exactly. I know what you're saying. Don't just listen to the words, okay, don't listen to the words. What I want you to do is I want you to be able to go and see that and connect there, talk to them about it. Okay? So that's the third area.
Fourth area I want you to be situationally aware is with where you're going. I want you to be situationally aware of your destination and your finances. Be aware of what's happening. Okay? I think it's super, super important that you're aware of these things. Now, when you are situationally aware, doesn't mean step back and be there all the time. You can't do that, nor should you be with blinders on all the time. You need both modes. You need to be able to zoom out and you need to be able to zoom in. Now what I want like to do is I like to zoom out at the beginning, see where things are at, get things rolling, zoom in, get some work done, and then I will zoom back out and do a temperature check of the four areas that I'm talking about. And once you can start to implement that in your day, it is going to be absolutely amazing.
So the four areas I want you to be situationally aware are number one, with yourself. Okay, you can't lead others until you can manage yourself. And when you are in Blinder mode, you tend to be in React mode. And when we react, it's emotional, and we push people away. Let's not do that. So first one is, you gotta be self aware. Second thing we need is, we need you. I need you to be aware of the energy in the shop, right? And then your team members, individual team members. Third is your clients, or the people coming in. Listen, okay? And then the last is, make sure you're moving forward. Look at where you're going, the destination, and make sure your finances are in order. I'm telling you a lot of crisis that shops go into, they could have been avoided. You could have been dealt with it when it was a little tiny lizard instead of Godzilla eating Tokyo.
If you love this video, please share it. There's somebody out there that needs to hear this. Thank you for hanging in now. We also have our Shop Owners Round Table, second Thursday of every month, 7pm Eastern. For our pocket business genius webinar series, not only do you get a live monthly webinar second Thursday of the month at 1pm, there's a webinar library of over 85 different webinars.
God bless. Have fun this week, and I want you to go make some money, everybody. Thank you. Have a great week. Don't react this week. Go create something this week. I'll see y'all later. Take care. Bye, bye.
