Continuing to reflect on the new Core Values unveiled at our July 1 kick-off, and created as an acronym by our Culture Club [S – SELF, T – TEAM, R – RESPECT, O – OPTIMIZE, N – NURTURE,   G – GROW], I borrow a line from ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt and his nightly SportsCenter feature, “The Best Thing I Saw Today!”

SVP focuses on a performance that goes above and beyond normal standards, and in discussing TEAM as a Core Value, I want to mention the Faulkner Automotive Group in Pennsylvania. Faulkner has 31 different dealerships and carries 22 different brands.

Featured in an Automotive News article today titled “By investing in an in-house school, Faulkner fixes its chronic technician shortage with a hands-on approach,”  the article highlighted their innovative trainee program that has “not only prevented a technician shortage, but enables new service department employees to start their careers free of student loan debt and hands them a paid-for toolbox worth $12,000.”

Powerful perks for starting a career in the Service Department, and certainly valid.  The shortage of techs is a pressing  issue, especially the number of retiring techs not being replaced by new applicants.

In the employee brochure produced to present our Core Values, the umbrella statement under TEAM simply states, ‘Working Together’, and with over 150 team members, thats a lot of moving parts.

The text goes on to state the importance of operating as one team united by purpose, aligned in action, and accountable to each other.  Precepts for this include following through on commitments: ‘because the team is counting on you’; aligning priorities ‘with the team’s goals, not just your own’; and ‘share knowledge, tools, and context generously.’

I admire dealership Service Departments where the Master technicians share their expertise with the entry-level team members.  In our office, I appreciate the same attitude – it positively leads to continued success.  The final point in our brochure, “we win together and lose together.”  So proud to see our people give credit to others and celebrate group success.

So, the Second-Best Thing I Will Saw Today is when the Bruster’s Ice Cream truck showed up this afternoon to celebrate summer with cool treats for the entire team.

During our July 1st monthly kick-off celebration – when I wear a tux surrounded by cheerleaders with a live DJ, that is a celebration – we introduced a new set of Core Values to our team. After months of consideration, our Culture Team developed the foundational values using our company name: S – SELF, T – TEAM, R – RESPECT, O – OPTIMIZE, N – NURTURE, G – GROW.

We will be talking about each value in detail. Today, we begin with SELF! One Individual.

As a company, we take personal ownership of our performance, mindset, and development. The attributes include owning your work from start to finish with no dropped balls; prioritizing what matters and knowing the difference between urgent and important; showing resilience and poise under pressure.

With a clear understanding that Strong individuals are self-aware, self-motivated, and self-disciplined, problems are addressed before they escalate. Even more important with over 150 employees, it is necessary to reflect on feedback and apply it without being defensive. Key to teamwork is the confidence to ask for help when you need it, and offer help without asking. Demonstrating self-awareness of your strengths, tendencies, and impact on others is always a positive outcome. I firmly believe every day starts with self. Each one of us doing our part as we walk through the doors, committed to our team, our clients, our processes, our success.

And it is only fitting that in the company Morning Announcements e-mail for the 4th, two names were listed under the ‘Celebrating Anniversary’ section. Vice-President Stan Long joined our Perfect 10 club with his start date of July 6, 2015, and Creative Director Gene Gill celebrate his 12th year anniversary date of July 5, 2013. The performance of these two leaders over their years has contributed immeasurably to what our company is today.

Self, Stan Long, Gene Gill…four-letter words all, and the fuel to crafting dominating outcomes for the dealers we serve.

Growing up, we remember watching NASA launch space missions from Cape Canaveral. During the TV broadcasts, animations showed how the primary stage got everything started, escaping gravity and reaching a lower-level orbit before firing the secondary stage. Once that sequence was triggered, the rocket would continue on its full trajectory.

Today, July 1, marks my 21st anniversary with Strong Automotive. It’s been quite the ride. With a special nod to Mike Strong, our company launched in 2004 with a goal of reaching new heights and accomplishing hard-to-imagine goals in a very competitive arena.

But there’s another anniversary being celebrated today. Eleven years ago, I partnered with Josh Bradish, and it would be hard to find a man who has facilitated a company’s flight upward to the elevations of success we now enjoy. I think of it as that Star Trek moment when the captain calls for “warp speed,” and the stars just blur by. Today, it all seems that fast, but the boost of Josh was built on hard work and his keen insight into the automobile business, which had been his life long before 7/1/2014.

Here is the abridged Bradish story:
Growing up in the Charlotte, NC area, Josh began working at Hendrick Honda Charlotte as a Lot Porter while still in high school. He moved up through Parts, Service, and Accounting before joining the sales side in 1998 at the age of 18. In 2004, he became Senior Sales Manager.

That’s a fast track, but Josh was already well into the digital world. He became one of the founding partners in developing Xtream Service, a computer tool and software platform that was one of the first systems for prospecting and database mining in the service drive. Eventually setting up the proprietary program in over 600 dealerships coast to coast, the company was later sold to Reynolds & Reynolds.

I first crossed paths with Josh in 2012, fittingly in Florida, where we were working with Southeast Toyota clients. Our discussions became more serious as we realized the incredible potential of matching our strengths to dominate both digitally and traditionally. On July 1, 2014, Josh Bradish became my first partner.

Recently, we were upgrading company bios, and when emailing back his response to questions about his career, Josh replied, “I pretty much just work!” and included a smiley face emoji.

No doubt about that, but from my viewpoint, Partner, only the rocket blast emoji will do!

The announcement was made agency-wide in an email from Operations Specialist Emma Miller, and read:

Hey SAM!
Yesterday was a big day at Strong Automotive—we officially welcomed 10 new clients to the Strong family in a single day! 🎉 That includes 5 new full-service clients and 5 new Retain clients—all choosing Strong to power their dealership marketing. This is a huge testament to the work each of you do every day.

“A big day,” no doubt—when 10 new clients choose to trust you and the processes that truly do “power” dealership marketing—I’m good with the emoji. But the words “a huge testament to the work each of you do every day” confirm why it is no accident significant moments like this take place. It reflects many of our core values, with Play Like a Champion being high on the list.

Always a fan of Tom Brady, he played with unmatched intensity and success—winning 7 Super Bowls, MVP in 5 of them—all after being the 199th pick in the draft. It’s well worth the search to read Brady’s reflections on belief in self, hard work, mental toughness, and a never-ending pursuit of excellence.

Brady said, “You can’t go out and practice average on Wednesday, average on Thursday, okay on Friday, then expect to play well on Sunday.” My interpretation of this quote is simply: there is no magic sauce. It’s all about giving peak performance every day. This is why dealers are confident in recommending and referring Strong to a fellow dealer—they know we back up our processes with effort and efficiency.

You’ll find the words “Right Now!” in nearly all of our traditional and digital marketing efforts—we want your buyers to realize an immediate call to action. And those two words reflect the effort of every Strong employee when a client needs a big play. Brady said it best: “…I don’t care about two years ago. I don’t care about last year. The only thing I care about is this week.”

Whatever the challenge, people are buying vehicles today. You must win now—no alternative!

Here is the final line of Emma’s email:
To celebrate this amazing accomplishment, we’ll have some delicious Crumbl cookies with our popcorn this afternoon!
#ONETEAM

And the G.O.A.T. is all in on that: “I like to have fun all the time, even if I’m working.”

I’m looking forward to this afternoon, with a lot of questions:
What should I wear?
Who’s going to trigger the fall?
Why am I agreeing to possible humiliation?

The answers will be revealed at the conclusion of our big event for June: Managers Overboard!

We host special events during the summer months in the parking lot behind the office. There’s always a featured attraction, like the time we had a mechanical bull. Tomorrow, it’s a dunk tank. I’m joining several of our managers in taking a seat on the platform and hoping we don’t have too many good pitchers on the team.

Good news on the weather front: the high will reach into the low 90s!
Bad news on the water front: it’s straight-from-the-garden-hose cold!

I’m considering wearing a deep-sea diver’s wetsuit… but someone has to set the standard for courage. It’ll be my first dunk, but I’m ready. If someone hits the target, I will take the splash without even holding my nose.

Some team members are bringing lawn chairs and blankets for this two-hour soirée, and I’m pretty sure no one will be working from home tomorrow. A food truck will be on-site serving a variety of delicious smoothie bowls—like the Powerhouse Bowl: Açaí, almond milk, bananas, peanut butter, strawberries, whey protein, granola, blueberries, and Nutella.

Truth be told, I am looking forward to all the fun and laughs this event will bring to the team. It’s the same level of ‘Have Fun’ excitement and ‘Positive Attitude’ enthusiasm that comes with winning a new account, and you can’t beat that.

Dunk booth pictures will be posted on Facebook (at least the ones I approve).

The Value of Positive… When in Doubt, Google It!

Taking a moment to search “similar words for positive,” my favorites are: confident, upbeat, encouraged, cheerful, enthusiastic, animated, and assured.

A further search for “benefits of positive thinking” lists performance improvement, improved immunity and overall health, increased motivation, and better stress management—among others.

So, if you had been in the main lobby of our office building this past Monday for our monthly agency kick-off, it was Positive Plus!
• Live DJ (coming back next month by popular demand)
• Balloons
• The Account Team with pom-poms doing cheers
• Over 60 employee “Shout Outs” thanking teammates with a compliment and a $20 bill
• Presentation of the Monthly MVP honor with a gift certificate (complete with confetti bombs)
• Invitation for employees to create a recruitment video for social on #WHYILOVESTRONG with a $1,000 prize for 1st place – see the winners’ links below
• In closing, my assessment of the automotive state… it was positive, tariffs and all.

In keeping with the company’s core value, Have Fun, our monthly social connection lasted nearly an hour and concluded with a huge cheer, including a pyramid stunt hoisting former Alabama cheerleader Megan Latham (fortunately, no one was injured).

Making all this happen took planning, but the time and effort were well worth it, as the positive energy transferred from the lobby back to each person’s work area. Account Executive Baylee Clark said it best when accepting her MVP award:

“This is the best job. I’m so thankful to be here every day. Coming back from vacation, I was thinking how much I look forward to being back with the people I love!”

And the #WHYILOVESTRONG winning videos below are worth a look, for the enthusiasm of wanna-be rapper Ann Marie Waldrop, and the assured confidence of Will Giuliani. Both videos validate the power of creating a positive environment, having fun, and working tirelessly to produce results for every client.

Attitude is Everything! (You’ve got to watch Ann Marie and Will’s videos.)

When we introduced our One Team brand for the new year, the tag line was One Goal, One Impression, One Time.  Our intent was to generate the sharpest focus possible on the importance of things big and little in order to WIN, like correct spelling 100% of the time.

We are talking about that sinking feeling that defies gravity when an error is discovered too late, whether it is a key memo to a new client, or in a Direct Mail piece that was approved for, and completed,  a 10,000-copy printing…it blows my mind!

I read a recent article by Mark Heim at Al.com, commenting  on 2025’s most misspelled words, as researched by WordUnscrabler.pro.  They utilized data from Google to find the words most often searched for correct spelling, and the Top 10 are some tough ones, all bold-faced in this non-sensical sentence:

Definitely not surprised that separate and necessary are Top 10, since I believe we use them through efforts to communicate the purpose of a gorgeous TV ad, whether it is directed to a neighbor or a business that is a personal favorite because of a restaurant nearby.

The article noted that our dependence on autocorrect ‘weakens spelling skills over time’, with some researchers labeling it ‘digital amnesia – we simply forget things we delegate to technology.’  This is why our team of proofers is held in my highest regard – not only are they smart, but knowing my fear of undetected misspellings, they are probably borderline paranoia.

One final observation for all of those who think the only word we spell correctly in Alabama is football, this study listed America’s most misspelled words by state.  The word most misspelled in the Heart of Dixie was different, which made me feel good since I usually get it right.  And when I saw the other states where different was the front-runner, it was good company:  New York, Kansas, and Wisconsin.

The biggest surprise by states was for Hawaii, luau, followed closely by Arkansas, with quesadilla, which would not have been my first, or last, guess.  And, in case you missed it, the only two words misspelled in this blog are in the opening theme line, which is why we all need to agree that accuracy is Absolutely Necessary!

“It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.”
The above quote is one I came across a couple of weeks ago, saved it in my phone, and in looking at it today, realized it is a key component to winning, especially for me.
Thinking about the conversations when I have been asked, ‘After all the years in business, what were your greatest wins and losses?’ And after a short pause, they added, ‘Did you ever believe it was all possible?’ When I stopped to think about those times, my realization was I didn’t have any answers, because none of that was really top of mind.
I do not spend time thinking about what the company was like 15,20 years ago, or focus on highs and lows. It’s all just momentum that builds on itself day in and day out. I have never really planned a course for where I’m going, I just know I want to keep going. The reason today’s quote jumped out to me is that I have never thought I wasn’t capable of doing something. Sure, there have been big challenges, obstacles, and moments where you don’t know how you are going to get around them, but my focus is on finding a way. If you have to worry, don’t worry about what you can’t do, focus on what you can do – it’s been the biggest driver for me.
“It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not,” is attributed to Denis Waitley, a respected American motivational speaker and author on high-performance human achievement. In searching his writings, another quote jumped off the page: “Success in life isn’t only for the gifted or the privileged or those with a high IQ. Success is totally dependent on three things: persistence, determination, and a positive mental attitude.”

Tonight, we’re taking our team out to the ballpark!

It has become an annual rite of spring to see our AA Minor League Birmingham Barons play.

Last year, they won the Southern League Championship, and from a historical perspective, the Barons were the team basketball legend Michael Jordan played with in 1994.

I enjoy our Barons outings, especially when considering the unique challenges faced by a baseball manager throughout a season: players get hurt, players go into slumps, some get called up to a higher level, while others move down. Every day, every game, it’s more than just the split-second decision to hit away or bunt with the winning runner on third—it’s the grinding challenge of roster management, and above all, instilling a winning clubhouse culture.

As a business owner, the challenges are similar and plentiful. Like unexpectedly losing a key employee. While it’s not the first or last time it will happen, you need to have both the mindset and the plan in place to keep everything moving in the right direction. For you as a leader, and for every active team member, the workday never begins with a goal of achieving mediocre results. The top-to-bottom plan is for building and maintaining competitive excellence within a culture of excellence.

The skills of an exceptional employee are cut from the same cloth as a world-class athlete. Yes, there will be bad days in the office—some the equivalent of throwing an interception, even a Pick 6. Yet, the great ones have the motivation to push through obstacles and get back on track. Winning is not easy. Losing is even harder. But it is those losses that condition the drive to be ready to win.

Team reality: key player out. Team challenge: next player up. Team strength: a deep pool of team members coached, encouraged, and prepared to step up when a higher-performance role presents itself. While we deeply appreciate the employee who is leaving, we look forward to who is next up. The plan is already in motion.

The pursuit of competitive excellence is relentless and practiced only by a select few. Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi stated it best: “It’s not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”

Be prepared. It happens!

The newest additions to our Creative Hub are up and running. Two huge flat-screen TVs showcase the most recent commercials, animations, company photos, our One Team logo, and a collection of sports highlights featuring clutch performances—from Dodger All-Star Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam against the Yankees to the Crimson Tide’s “Kick 6” payback with QB Jalen Milroe’s 4th-and-31 touchdown against Auburn.

There are other last-second heroics on the reel, capturing moments when teams snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. They all illustrate the truth in one of the best-known quotes about winning and losing: “It ain’t over until it’s over!” Spoken by baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, it encourages playing until the last whistle blows—or, in our business, until the month-end closes at a dealership.

Nothing is more satisfying than hearing a dealer describe hitting their sales goal just seconds before reporting closed. I’ve been in dealerships when it happened, gathered around the closing desk with more excitement than sitting behind home plate. I’m also a big fan of when our dealers exceed their goals by 100 vehicles—that’s an equally great performance.

The key to both is the same: determination. That’s what creates the WIN! WIN! WIN! experience.

What do winning coaches always say on ESPN when their team comes back from 20 points down? The same things Sales Managers tell their teams:
“We believed in each other!”
“Overcoming challenges is what this team does best!”
“Until the final horn, we never stop fighting!”

Determination is the commitment to reaching your goals despite the challenges. And the driving force behind it is often the fear of failure—of losing rewards for yourself, your team, your family.

Og Mandino, author of the best-selling book The Greatest Salesman in the World, which sold over 50 million copies, said it best: “Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”

Your success is in your hands. The secret is staying at it.