Do you have a salesperson that steals deals from other salespeople? Do you have a dismantler that is capable of 15 cars per week, but you can't trust him to show up so you tolerate 8 cars per week? Do you have a Yard Technician that can pull 50 parts per day, but steals aftermarket radios from you? Character vs Performance: Which one is more important? In Simon Sinek ’s recent video, he discussed the relationship between Performance and Trust. Click the link and watch the video - it is short, but to the point. In this video, Simon describes an employee that has high abilities but low character as a TOXIC employee. This is a person that is always looking to ‘work’ the system or ‘cheat’ the commission pay system. A name just popped into your head - you have one of these or have had one of these employees in the past. I had one years ago. He could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. However, he would steal every single sale that he could. Every other salesperson stayed mad at him all th...

When sailing, a sailboat needs adequate ballast to offset the wind load created by the sails - in order to prevent the boat from tipping over. Ballast is weight added to the keel of a sailboat for the purpose of making the boat more stable. If a high wind load exists (by larger or more sails), the ballast must be heavier. How does this idea relate to the Automotive Recycling Industry? I have always been a dreamer with extreme passion and desire to improve anything I touch. I am always looking for new ideas and trying to implement changes to make things better or more profitable. However, I found that I can dream up new ideas, roll out new procedures, and change policies so fast that anyone under me gets overwhelmed, exhausted, and pushed to the limit. I have found that I need someone for me to ‘bounce’ my ideas off of - someone that will tell me the truth. Sometimes ideas are great, they just need to be implemented at a later date. Several years ago, I empowered one of my manag...

(Authenticity + Vulnerability) x Credibility = Trust I read a book recently that defined Trust by the formula above. I agree with this formula and have seen many relationships falter as a result of lack of trust. I would like to dig in to this definition of trust in an effort to uncover a deeper truth: Communication is the Foundation of Trust. The dictionary defines Authentic as: Not false or copied; genuine; real; representing one’s true nature or beliefs. In each of these definitions of Authentic, we see that some type of communication is assumed - whether that communication is verbal or non-verbal. Vulnerable : Capable of or susceptible to being wounded or hurt; open to criticism. Again, we see communication at the foundation of this definition: criticism is verbal communication. Credible : Capable of being believed; believable; worthy of belief or confidence. This word points more towards a history or experience with the other party. It is an opinion that is based on previo...

Too many operations manage by crisis instead of systematically learning and implementing changes. Today, I’m going to look into the two different mindsets of leading an organization: Reactive versus Proactive. Proactive A proactive leader is always looking to improve his or her operation. There is a constant yearning to learn something new and implement it. This type of person is probably a reader that reads several books per year - or listens to them (that’s what I do). There are two major components to being a Proactive Leader: Learning and Doing. Learning There are several ways to learn new ideas. I’ve already touched on reading. Don’t think that you have to read books or articles that are specific to our industry - any leadership or management material contains ideas that could be adapted to fit the Automotive Recycling Industry. The idea here is to constantly be trying to learn something from anything that you read. Figure ways to adapt ideas or suggestions to your opera...