The phrase "cut out the cancer" holds a profound meaning for me today, more than it did just a few months ago. A close friend of mine, a revered figure in the car business, received a cancer diagnosis in 2023. While his prognosis is bleak, the message he conveyed to the automotive community resonates as one of the most optimistic ones anyone could embrace.
My friend, a Service Director overseeing several thriving dealerships, took to social media to advocate for early awareness. His message was clear: Get diagnosed early, recognize warning signs, and respond promptly. Take a moment to assess your situation, make healthy choices, and be attuned to when your body feels a bit off. Always be vigilant against the disease before it takes root—cut out the cancer.
The dealership is not dissimilar. Your team operates as a high-functioning unit, a well-oiled machine moving with the precision of grease and gears. Your top performers are driving sales, generating flat-rate hours, and ensuring customers return for subsequent visits. The supporting players execute their roles, and all seems well within the team.
However, the dynamic changes when a knock on the door signals an issue. Someone has a problem. You listen, absorbing potentially unsettling news about your star player. It may be accurate; it may not. Nevertheless, it revolves around your star. You listen, think, and let it slide—after all, he's your star.
As weeks pass, profits rise, CSI scores climb, but morale dips. Another complaint surfaces, and it's once again linked to your star team member. Yet, you maintain the same response—business as usual.
With record months in succession, a sense of success is apparent, but the culture feels off. You start asking questions, but strong profits overshadow concerns. Your number one guy is excelling, but something feels amiss.
Then, a bad month strikes. CSI drops, and while your top performer still thrives, you question if others met expectations. Did you? No.
You probe deeper, viewing things from a different perspective. Your star player is disrupting the workplace. They disregard processes that could increase sales, bend advisor rules after "talking" to clients, and manipulate the system by deleting email addresses in the DMS. It doesn't directly harm you, but it alienates colleagues, undermines processes, and challenges your authority.
You talk to him. Control is questioned, accountability wanes, yet he sees himself as untouchable. Cut him out.
This individual undermines departmental policies and processes for personal success, indifferent to the store's well-being. They erode your vision and corrode your culture, hindering client service without remorse.
True leadership means looking inward, realizing the star player is the cancer. You must muster the courage to make decisions for the dealership's overall health. This person, the "cancer," can bring down your organization like the actual disease. Show your backbone, protect the store.
As my friend would say, diagnose early and know when to act. Cut out the cancer.
