Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
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in the beginning opening observations What Are You Afraid Of? R ecently, I decided to strip the walls of my foyer and repaint. My foyer includes a double set of stairs, as we live in a bi-level home, which means painting the top of the foyer walls over my stairwell can't be done with a step ladder; it requires a large extension ladder. Combine climbing that ladder holding paint and a paintbrush and my fear of heights, and you have a very stressful situation. But here's the deal. If I wanted the job done, I had only two choices: hire someone else to do it or tackle my fears and do it myself. However, as much as heights cause my heart to race and my body to sweat, when I have to face my fears to get something done, I do it. I'm sure it took me twice as long to do the job as someone who isn't afraid of heights, but the feeling of accomplishment after facing my fear head-on was pure satisfaction. It doesn't cure my fear at all—I still hate heights— but I don't let the fear control me. What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of change? You aren't alone; many people are afraid of change. What is important is how you tackle your fears. What are you afraid to change in your dealer- ship? For some, it's a process that has been done the same way for the last 20 years. Do you really believe nothing could be improved 6 over a 20-year time span? How about an employee who performs very well but is also a constant troublemaker? Are you afraid of what will happen if you terminate that employee? Will productivity drop? (You can't afford a drop in sales.) Have you been ignoring the situa- tion, hoping it will get better on its own? It's time to tackle your fear head-on and make the change! You might be very surprised at the outcome. Dealers I have spoken with who have had a simi- lar situation have often feared making the change. They put off making the switch; however, when they finally made the change, they found the morale of the rest of the staff improved significantly. Many years ago, a wise person told me no one is irreplaceable; we are all simply ripples in the water—some just make bigger ripples than others. It took me a lot of years to fully understand and appreciate that statement. Even if the change you make causes a short-term ripple in the water (drop in sales, services, productivity), it won't last forever. The water will calm right back down, and you will wonder why you didn't do it sooner. Volume 9, Issue 9 Editor Harlene Doane Assistant Editors Kimberly Long Daryl K. Tabor Contributing Authors Ali Amirrezvani Phil Barras Greg Goebel Tom Hudson Dave Keller Richard Libin Kirk Manzo David Missimer Brad Nierenburg Paul Potratz Alan Ram Don Reed Marketing Manager Andrew Markle Layout & PrePress Regent Promotions, Inc. Copyright ©2012 all rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited unless expressly authorized by editor or publisher. The views expressed in the articles or adver- tisements are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of this magazine or its staff. All unso- licited content, photographs and artwork submitted are at the submitter's risk and will not be returned unless return postage and packaging are included. Editorial inquiries, questions or comments can be made to the editor at Harlene@AutoDealerMonthly.com Advertising Sales Please call 888.300.8844 or e-mail Advertising@AutoDealerMonthly.com Reprints For editorial reprints, please call 888.300.8844. Auto Dealer Monthly (ISSN: 1941-384X) is published monthly by Auto Dealer Monthly, LLC P.O. Box 39, Osprey, FL 34229-0039. Periodical postage paid at Evansville, IN and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Auto Dealer Monthly, P.O. Box 1753, Skokie, IL 60076 or call 877.775.6907. Annual subscription rates are $72/year in the USA. Additional prepaid single copy issues may be purchased for $6 each (USA only). Subscription rates higher for international subscribers. Call 888.300.8844 for details.