In the acting world, you have Broadway. In baseball, you have the major leagues. In the world of new car sales, you have the Mercedes Benz dealership. It’s understood that if you sell cars, a proven prior track record with a lesser brand is required before stepping up to the Mercedes level. This isn’t a mystery….
Do your results at the shop depend on external events? As I ponder this question, I’m reminded of a story I shared in a previous post about this single father with two young sons. The father was laid off from his job and struggling to make ends meet. After several months of unemployment, he became…
What’s the starting point of your success as a shop owner? As I ponder this question, I’m reminded of a video series I watched recently done by Dr. Rhadi Ferguson who wrote the book, Coffee With Rhadi, Herculean Conversations with an Olympian. In one of his videos, he tells the story of his quest to…
The story is told of a man who walked across the entire US continent from coast to coast. Afterwards, he was swamped by news reporters. One of them asked him to recap what the most difficult part of his journey was. “Was it dealing with the desert heat? Was it rambling through the Rocky Mountains?…
So, how do you grow into a better version of yourself? As I ponder this question, I’m reminded of the lobster. As a lobster starts to grow, its existing shell begins to feel uncomfortable and confining. The discomfort from the shell creates so much pain, that the lobster casts off the old shell, and produces…
Are you a mediocre shop owner? What really separates the best owners in the world from everyone else? I came across some information from the world of Olympic figure skating that may help you answer these questions. In his book, Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, Geoff Colvin outlines the…
“What did you fail at this week?” This question was posed to young “Sarah” by her father each night at the dinner table. So much so, that it became part of their dinnertime routine. If she had nothing to report, her dad was disappointed. When she told him about how she “bombed” while trying out…
Have you ever been asked to achieve the impossible? There’s a story of two sons who were asked by their father to rebuild a brick wall in front of his business. There was only one problem: the sons were twelve and nine years of age! The twelve-year-old was designated as the project leader, and he…
As part of my training to run a full marathon, I ran a half marathon which was 13.1 miles. It took me two hours and twenty minutes, which was just under an eleven-minute per mile pace. I believed that it was impossible to run a full marathon (26.2 miles) at this pace. My feelings were forever changed on…
If ATI were to give out an award at SuperConference for the Lowest Labor Rate in the Country, “Patrick” would have been the winner! Patrick was a member who I coached several years ago, who owns a shop in Central Pennsylvania, where he charged a $70.00 per hour labor rate. While his labor margins were…