Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 9

on a bad day, results in
hiring the best of the worst
available. On a good day,
you might get the worst of
the best. In either case,
you're probably not really
getting the kind of people
who culturally fit in your
organization.
So, switch to recruiting
rather than hiring; and get
the best of the best. Take
the time to identify the
behaviors, attitudes, skills,
knowledge, experience,
and talent that drive your
organization towards your
strategic objectives. And
then, don't settle for less,
no matter the position being
filled in your dealership.
On occasion, I used the
"somebody is better than
nobody" logic to fill a position; and I regretted having
done so. By gaining a reputation as a company that
only goes after excellent
performers, you increase
the likelihood that one of
them will show up on your
door step. Once you get
them in the door, give them
the autonomy and freedom
they need to be productive.

STEP 4: CHECK YOUR
CULTURE

Use periodic (18 - 24
months) engagement surveys to see if the people are
buying into your message
and adjust accordingly. The
survey results should give
you information about how
the staff views leadership,
communications, growth
opportunities, working conditions, and total compensation. The most important
question you can ask in

your survey is this one: Is
there is a clear connection
between our mission,
vision, and values and the
way we operate on a daily
basis?
Once the survey is
complete, use an internal
focus group approach
to gain some unfiltered
feedback about what's
causing the disconnect
between purpose and
operations. The solutions
to the challenges are in
the room with you.

STEP 5: REVIEW OPERATIONAL PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES

Get granular based
on the feedback from
the engagement survey.
Regardless of the results,
look at your processes
and procedures from this
vantage point: Do we
make it easy for people to
be successful?
Since the marketplace - in this case your
employees - doesn't
lie, pay attention to the
feedback and review the
policies and procedures
that are getting in the way
of operational excellence.
Generally, this brings
about significant improvement in efficiencies and
profitability.

STEP 6: CREATE
ACTION PLANS THAT
SUPPORTS TEAMWORK

In organizations struggling to find their way, turf
wars are prevalent, which
we commonly see between Sales and Service.
Generally, these come
about because there is no

clear sense of direction
and each key manager is
competing for the scarce
resources of people, time,
and money. When action
plans support an aligned
growth strategy, these
wars go away.
When creating these
plans, this format often
works well: State the goal;
identify the action steps
needed to reach the goal;
identify the person responsible; agree on a realistic due date; describe
the resources available
to reach the goal; and
identify the feedback that
allows you to say mission
accomplished.
STEP 7: MEASURE
PERFORMANCE:

The primary areas
important to most businesses are these: Market
penetration and retention;
Productivity; Profitability;
and Relationships. What
you're looking for here
is the "box score" that
tells you if you're getting
close to what you want
to have happen. As part
of your strategic planning
process, take the time to
identify a level of profitability that is more specific
than "all we can make."
When you think about it,
that doesn't even sound
as precise as "more than
we made last year."
STEP 8: PROVIDE
FEEDBACK TO INSPIRE

This is vital if you want
the magic to work. It's
another way of making
sure that you get in close.
Just as they want direc-

tion, people also want to
know how they're doing.
And the closer to the event
the feedback comes, the
more powerful and - when
delivered correctly - the
more inspirational and
instructional it will be going
forward.
Motivation comes from
the inside, so you cannot
really motivate anyone.
Inspiration, however,
comes from the outside,
so you have a decent
chance of inspiring people
to new heights. Don't let it
get away from you. Said
a little differently, motivation is what others would
rather do than not do at
any given point in time.
Inspiration is getting what
you would like them to do
all the time.
Remember that as a
leader your job is to use
power and influence to
produce desirable results.
If you rely exclusively on
power, you can get compliance without necessarily
getting commitment. If you
use influence, you can
get both. That's when the
MAGIC shows up!
DAN SCHNEIDER is a
Partner/Director of The Rawls
Group, a business succession
planning firm, and a Board
member of the International
Succession Planning
AssociationTM (ISPA®.) Dan
specializes in dealing with the
issues that must be resolved
by multi-unit franchisee
owners to implement
succession strategies geared
towards building business
value. EMAIL:
info@rawlsgroup.com

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

DECEMBER 2017

9
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - December 2017
