Pub. 1 2018-2019 |Issue 4

21 It is our focus to provide an atmosphere that promotes honesty, integrity, and respect. We will not be satisfied until our GUESTS become RAVING FANS! we would be able to do by ourselves. It’s been interesting to learn about people’s strengths and weaknesses, within the family and out, and to gain an understanding of what drives them. We put people where they will be most effective. The younger generations have learned a lot from the older generations. The car industry has changed a lot through the decades, and those who have seen the changes can give us a better understanding of them. We have learned from our fathers and grandfather and are working to be more effective as we move forward by trying new ideas and actively looking at our business in a different way. We got into the reinsurance business in 2006. At the same time, we beganworking with a consulting group in Salt Lake City. These consultants have coached Jon extensively throughout the years in all areas of leadershipwithin the dealership group. What has surprised you the most about working with family that you didn’t expect? Brock: There’s good and bad to working with family. You get a lot of benefit from knowing people and being able to trust them, but it is harder to deal with performance issues when someone isn’t doing as well as they should. If people are in the right position, based on their interests and desires, then they do great. As an example of this, I knew sales, but Jon pushed me to learn how to read financial statements and do cost analysis. Overall, the benefits outweigh the problems. What’s the one professional accomplishment that you have achieved that you are most proud of? Brock: We have processes for the internet, the showroom, and the service department. When you implement the right process and it succeeds, it means you can grow. I am confident that if we apply the same methods that we are currently using to a dealership, we can experience the same success. Working with employees is really a teaching process as we spread the vision of what we can accomplish. Our whole goal is to change the mindset of what we are as a company. We do more than sell cars. We are really in the hospitality business, and we are developing long- term relationships with customers. Giving back to the community is an important part of what we do as well. Since 2012, for example, we’ve worked at Christmas with other businesses in Brigham City to do an annual fundraiser. The fundraiser involves putting together an evening with Santa and his reindeer, and we donate the money raised to a worthy cause, such as helping battered women and children or providing prenatal care for single women who are pregnant. We raised almost $30,000 in 2018. We also donate a portion of every sale during the holiday season. The money usually goes to Sub for Santa, but if we are aware that someone else needs it, we donate it where it will do the most good. Jon: With margin compression, you have to become more adaptive in retaining profit. For example, reinsurance has become a big priority that allows us to grow and to upgrade. In addition, we have a large interest in the development of other people, and in particular we want to provide employees with opportunities to grow. Leadership starts with a clear vision and a defined purpose. We can accomplish great things when our beliefs and actions align. Our dealerships are not traditional. We addressed every touch point of our business from the ground up. We call our customers guests or clients, and we’ve adjusted our word scripts accordingly. Transparency, building trust, and valuing relationships with employees and with guests are important. We are in a small market and we can’t afford to burn people. In the long run, though, we’ve found that a lot of big-city customers come to us because they appreciate the way we treat them. 3