I mentioned in one of our previous posts here about a DEALER COMMUNITY online I was reading recently that posed the question—
“As a Dealer, What are some of your GREATEST CHALLENGES right now?”
The posts and answers came in blasts. So many I can’t relate them all here but the short list looked something like this:
TALENT (or lack of)
Finding Individuals who don’t just want to GET PAID, they actually want to WORK
Of course the usual suspects like interest rates, inventory, prospective buyers who weren’t really buyers at all, and a LONG list that included…
Lenders for the small guy, Vehicle affordability, inflation, overhead, old-school thinking and not open to change, not enough leads, expensive advertising, GREED, auction prices/fees, transport costs, auto parts, body work, payroll, insurance costs…
Sound familiar?
And then—one of my favorites, “We’ve always faced problems in my 30 years as a dealer. We find solutions, adapt as needed, and overcome. Having the focus on SOLUTIONS and NOT on the problems or complaints is the real problem…”
Find SOLUTIONS
ADAPT as needed
OVERCOME
Easily my favorite of all the comments…
As a Captain of Enterprise and really for any business owner we know that CHALLENGES are built in. They are a part of the process of getting to that WIN-WIN solution.
It reminded me of a great book, recommended to me years ago by a friend of mine. He’s a business owner for a couple of decades, a committed student/reader, a Marine veteran, and someone who strives to always be on the cutting edge of what’s happening out in The Marketplace and be at the top of his game.
The Book? The OBSTACLE is THE WAY by Ryan Holiday.
Like many of my friend’s other book recommendations I took this one right to the book store. Reading it was PROVOKING…which is a good thing. PROVOKE means “to arouse, incite, kindle or galvanize.” And it delivered in all those areas for me.
A brief description of what this book is about…
The book draws its inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, tougher. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2000 years ago: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
It also reminded me of a conversation I had with my son when he was away at school and we were discussing a book I had recommended to him. “I just didn’t agree with the author on everything he said…” my son commented. That’s great. Not a problem. It means you’re THINKING for yourself…
But WAS THERE ANY ONE THING that you got from the book?
And the answer was, of course.
Same here. I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a STOIC but I got a lot of inspiration and instruction on CHALLENGES and OBSTACLES from reading The Obstacle is The Way.
Check it out and see if you agree. Keep going, keep searching, keep learning, keept adapting, meeting challenges and overcoming the obstacles.
Most won’t, they just complain. Which is precisely why we NEED YOU!
Have a great week,
Michael
EDITORS NOTE:
Michael York is an accomplished AUTHOR and SPEAKER...as well as the Co-Founder and Host of CETV.
In 2022 He was named “Most Unique Leadership Coach” by Corporate Vision International, and in 2023 was awarded the “Transformation Coach of the Year” by Wealth and Finance magazine.
He is an award-winning CONSULTANT and COACH retained by ORGANIZATIONS for his contribution to the improvement of HUMAN POTENTIAL, PERSONALLY as well as PROFESSIONALLY.
He is the RADICAL IMPROVEMENT CATALYST behind major advancements with his clients over two decades and the EVIDENCE of his EXPERTISE is confirmed by empirical RESULTS, some of which can be seen at www.MichaelYork.com