Transcript 0:00 [upbeat music] Okay, we're here with our friend, John Osborne. John, tell, tell us what you do on a regular basis. I'm not gonna ask you for a title because that gets complicated apparently. Yeah. 0:14 We've asked that several times, uh, to a number of people. So what do you do on the day-to-day? 0:19 Yeah, so, uh, the day starts out typically just looking at, like, activity levels in CRM, going into vAuto, seeing activity on VDP, SRVs. 0:28 Um, using, like, Outsell, looking at one of our vendors that does all of our search engine, our e- e- um, SEM, seeing what our activity on our website is, conversions on that, all of that. 0:39 And then just walking around and talking with the team. And, um, I, I'm... It's a little bit unique right now 'cause I live in Maryland, and I'm driving to one of our stores in Williamsburg, Virginia. 0:48 That's a Carter Mart- CMA, right? CMA, yep. Working for Liza. It's been awesome. So, um, anyway, so I'm not there every day. 0:56 I'm there a couple days a week, and sometimes, you know, I'm doing a Zoom call or a FaceTime call with the general manager there, and we're just kind of, like, going through different questions and some different things. 1:05 And, um, it's, it's, it's actually pushing me really well right now because that's, it's out of what I've normally done in the past where I'm there, you know, every day of the week. Yeah. So... 1:14 So it pushing you in what way? Uh, just really, uh, empowerment. That's actually my one word for this year is empowerment. Everybody's got a word. Everybody... Everybody's got a word. Yeah. It's, it's empowerment. 1:23 And, uh, um, it's good. Can you- It's really good. You know, there are words in our industry and in business that get thrown around a lot. Empowerment is one of those words. Yeah. 1:33 When you think about the, the team that's around you and the practical steps it takes to empower them, what are some of the things that make most sense for you to do on a day-to-day basis to, for them to feel empowered to take the steps that they need to? 1:46 Yeah, I think, um, you know, questions like, "Well, what do you, what do you think we need to do? What do you think we should do?" Um, I think people just need to- That's... You don't even have to answer past that. Yeah. 1:56 That's, like, good enough. [laughs] Like, in my opinion, it's like, "What do you think we should do?" And then- Yeah. 2:00 But I think it's actually probably, I'm guessing what the next step is, not, "What do you think we should do?" And then run another way. Yeah. It's, "What do you think we should do? 2:07 And sounds like you're the authority on that. Let's move." Yeah. You know? Or, "Let's talk through how we get there." Yeah. Right? I think it, um, I think there... it's two steps because you do wanna have, um, 2:17 you know, you hear, you f- you, you talk about sometimes there's, there's, like, trust, and then and to build that trust if someone's new into a role or they haven't been in that type of environment. Sure. 2:27 So you gotta kinda help just give some kind of... You've done it before. You've made all those mistakes. A little guardrail. And just like- Yep... "Hey, here's how I've done it." 2:34 But then when you get to a level of, like, basic competency, you gotta let them... And I know for myself, the best way to learn is to make a few mistakes and- Yeah. Always. All right. 2:42 And so, um, I do think there are s- it's important to not just completely give, like, "Hey, what, what do you think we should do?" Yep. You know? 2:50 But once, once there's trust on both ways that you know, both people know that, like, you care deeply for each other, you know, and it's okay if you make a mistake- Yeah... then it's okay to be like... 3:00 And then maybe be like, "Hey, this is what I'm thinking. What do you think?" I'm like, "Sounds awesome. Let's, let's go." That's so cool. You know? That's so- And, and, or you can always adjust. You know? Yeah. 3:10 If it's not perfect, just move forward and make some adjustments. So you said your word's empowerment. Um, obviously you have some goals for 2024- Yeah... if you're that focused and you have a word. 3:20 Um, what would you like to see, where would you like to move the needle by the end of 2024? What's your focus this year? Well, I mean, selfishly, I want Lexington Park Honda open. 3:30 [laughs] I'd like us to break ground in the next week or two. Um, Greg Lyons, if you're paying attention, um- [laughs]... hit us with that. Perfect. Perfect. [laughs] Uh, but you know, I, um- 3:43 He's like, "I just need someone to break ground, guys." He's like, "That's it, actually." [laughs] That's exactly- There, there's not anything bigger on my, uh- Yeah. That's fine. That's, that's- That's okay. You know? 3:52 Long-term, that's, that's a big thing, but that is- Yeah... that's out of my control. That's out of all of our te- It's waiting for permits and stuff, so really it's, like, the controllables and the uncontrollables. 3:59 I like it how when something's waiting for a permit from the government, everybody just assumes it's out of everyone's control. Everyone's control. Yeah. 4:05 But there's one person in an office somewhere, it's fully in their control. [laughs] Yeah. And they're proud of it too. And they don't... [laughs] It's like, it's like going to a DMV. Yeah. You know? 4:13 It's like the slobs in, uh, that movie. Yeah. Oh, yes. Oh. That's one of my favorite scenes ever. "How may I help you?" [laughs] "How. Today." Yeah. Right. Yes. That's amazing. 4:23 Um, I, I think this year, uh, success for me and, uh, as a, like, a more of a short-term goal is just, um, the level of competency and, uh, what... 4:35 for everyone to know what success feels like, and then build on the momentum of that success. 4:39 And everyone feeling comfortable, like, it's okay to make mistakes, and we're gonna learn from them, and not worry about, like, tiptoeing around. 4:47 Just like we're confident when we're going out to talk to a customer that we're gonna sell them a car. Yeah. You know? And we're confident. We're not worried about things that we don't control. You know? 4:56 So I think it's mindset, and so that's my, like, let's get mindset. Well, I mean, that's one of the critical... If you're really gonna empower people, they can't be terrified to mistake. Right. Yeah. Right? That's how... 5:07 That's the, the fastest way to get an underperforming team. Yeah. Fastest way. Yeah. So those two things go together. Yeah. No surprise really. Yeah. 5:13 You know, at, at, uh, the Carter Motors organization, uh, people are, like, the center of every conversation, whether that's employees or customers. 5:22 And you have a big passion for, um, people not just, uh, uh, in the store, but more broadly. I'd love to just for you to share just a minute about, about your passion for- Yeah... 5:33 the nations and your passion for, uh, serving, not just, uh, hyper locally with the store, but more broadly. Yeah. Yeah. So I, I guess I'll do it real quickly. 5:42 Um, I was in the Army, uh, right out of high school, and one of my duty stations was Cuba. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in January of '95 until July of '95. And part of that assignment was to... 5:52 we're supposed to guard, keep, protect, uh, the, all the Haitians and the Cubans that were coming up to the US at that time. They were coming on migrant boats. It was really unsafe. Yeah. People were dying and stuff. 6:02 The Na- the Coast Guard was taking them back to Guantanamo Bay, and we hadThere were a lot. Uh, I don't know how many tens of thousands, but a lot. And so we were down there for seven months. Wow. Ooh. And there was... 6:13 They were the nicest people ever. We have some-- I have some so many great stories of, like, all these things we did that were just fun and hilarious and stuff. 6:21 But, um, anyway, fast-forward, I get married after I get out of the army. My wife and I have two biological children. We're like, "It's perfect. We're good." Picket fence. "And we're done." [laughs] Yep. 6:33 "We've got this parenting figured out. You know, we should adopt." [laughs] "We've got this parenting thing figured out." And so we adopted from Haiti. Oh, man. Which are, you know, people that I had no idea 6:45 20 years prior, um, that we'd get the privilege of going to Haiti and, and adopting. So we have two, two children that are adopted from Haiti. Uh, they're 17 and 14 now, and they're awesome. 6:54 So with that is this, one, a, a very, uh, uh, humbling experience of like maybe we don't have parenting figured out. Sure. 7:01 It's much different to parent kids that have trauma and stuff, and I think it's given me a lot more compassion for just a lot. People- Like just-... in general. Yeah... 7:10 people and, like- Compassion, empathy- There's always-... humility... my wife would say, and she's taught me, like, there's always... There's most of the time there's a reason behind the behavior, you know? 7:21 And so when someone, a customer or an employee that is totally off their rails, like, what's, what's at the heart- It's not the thing that triggered them... what's at the heart of it? Wow. Yeah. 7:29 And so just trying to figure out, like, what is... And I don't get that right all the time. But- [laughs]... just be like, "Okay, what's going on?" Yeah. Like, "Let's-- We're on the same team." 7:38 Like, or if it's a customer, like, "Hey, you've-- Some-- Obviously, we're not delivering the e- experience that you're hoping for. What-- How can I help?" You know, and just softening it a little bit. 7:49 So I think my kids have taught me, and my wife. Alicia's taught me a lot. But, um- [laughs] We're, we're all, I think we're all in the same boat. Yeah. 7:55 So the, the- [laughs] But a- adoption and s- and stuff is, is, uh, it... So I've got a, we've got a huge heart for, um, obviously for Haiti and for adoption, and we do some-- We've just started a small group. 8:06 We just moved, uh, in August from Colorado to southern Maryland, so we're getting plugged into church and the kids' new school, and we're starting up a small group for adoptive families that may not have support. 8:17 We've always had it, um, and we know how important it is to have community around that, so we're starting that up. Sunday night will be our second week. So- Wow... anyway, that's a- I mean, that level of humanity-... 8:27 quick little snippet... I love how you tied it into the way that you work with your employees and customers every day. It's people. That-- It, it is, like, the through line of every interaction- Yeah... that we have. 8:35 So- Yeah... uh, man, I love sharing a minute with you. Always. I, I have since the time that I met you at that party at ASOTU CON. Yeah. Yeah. John, I can't wait to see- Yeah... 8:44 the store open and you break ground and do those things. Me too. [laughs] They're top of mind, man. Yeah, me too. Thanks for spending some time with us. Yeah. Thank you very much. Yeah. Thank you, John. 8:50 Hey, thanks, guys. [outro music]
