Pub. 2 2021-2022 Issue 2

2. Choose significant challenges that have the potential for home-run success. If something fails, one must remember that anything worth doing is worth doing wrong, so learn to accept failure. Failure allows you to experiment and see what works. If you don’t fail, you don’t gain any experience. 3. You’ve got to work hard and be persistent. 4. It is very important how you treat people at work. If you aspire to grow, you will need to be incredibly considerate of other people. People want to do what is expected of them, they want feedback about their performance, and they want to be respected. I tell those I work with every day that I want our customers and other employees to be treated the way I want to be treated, and I want to be treated damn well. The pandemic has been a huge challenge for everyone. Do you think it will have a permanent effect on the industry? If yes, what? Yes. The biggest effect is on customer dynamics and how we sell products, especially to younger buyers. Amazon is showing everyone how commerce can be implemented, and other industries are adopting the same ideas. All of the auto manufacturing companies are taking orders now. People tell us what they want, and we place an order. Soon they will be able to order a car at the breakfast table, wire in a down-payment, and wait for the car to show up. What is the biggest challenge currently facing dealerships in the next three to five years? How can dealers successfully deal with it? Adapting to the market and still making money. There’s an old saying that individual dealers have to adapt to market changes or die, but if you watch the market, it will tell you what you have to do to survive. Dealerships can’t compete with the depth and breadth of Amazon, but we can select a segment and strive to be the best in that segment that we can. What do you enjoy doing when you aren’t working? I love to cook, eat, and cook what I want to eat. I like trying new things, and I learn from my failures. On Saturday, I get some inspiration from the store and decide what I’m going to make. On Sunday, I start cooking after church. Close friends bring their drinks and come over at 4 p.m. to my experimental kitchen. I also enjoy hunting and shooting, but I don’t kill for sport. I eat what I hunt, and I don’t kill unless I can eat it or it’s a threat. Do you have a favorite car? Also, what are you currently driving? My favorite is the Navigator that we sell. I started driving them in 2005 or 2006 before I became associated with the Lincoln store. I drive something out of the used car lot, usually for less than a week. That shows me how well my team is preparing the car for sale, and I also learn about the cars themselves. Tell us about your family. I have a great wife. We’ve been married for 20 years now. She is a professional financial officer, and she has a CPA. We have two children from a previous marriage and three German shorthair pointers. My son and my daughter each have two children, and we have one great-grandchild. Everyone lives in different parts of Tennessee, and we see them several times a year Any last words? I like what I do. I’ve been incredibly fortunate in my life, and I’m grateful for that. I’ve had many experiences that I absolutely never thought possible. I have been exposed to many concepts, philosophies, products, people and situations. One of my early mentors taught me to reduce all operations to the lowest common denominator. Pub Yr 2 | Issue 2 13 CFADA.ORG