About two years ago, Mike Anderson of Collision Advice who leads the 20 group I’m in asked if any of us would attend something called “Discover Leadership.” Mike didn’t know much about the Texas-based program at the time, but said the name kept popping up in conversations he was having, and he wondered if someone would check it out and report back to the group.
Now, find me a reason to get out of Alaska in January, and I’m all for it. So I went, knowing virtually nothing about what to expect.
The bottom line: It was the most impactful four-day “training” I’ve ever been through. And I’ve gone to a ton of this type of stuff.
It was worthwhile enough that I encouraged the others in my 20 group to go. I’ve also paid to have about 75 people (including my wife and virtually all of my employees) attend. And I know 25 others who have gone with my promise to pay for it if they didn’t agree with my assessment; I haven’t had to write one of those checks.
I won’t tell you too much about what goes on because, frankly, the experience is different for everyone who attends. I can tell you that you are likely to experience it with a diverse group of people, from stay-at-home moms to corporate CEOs. The cool thing is it doesn’t matter who you are, what your history is, or what you do. It’s a very personal journey that you go through. You can get a taste of some of the ideas taught there through ABRN articles — Mike Jones, president of Discover Leadership, is a contributing editor.
It has virtually nothing to do with collision repair specifically – or even necessarily business in general. The “leadership” portion of the program isn’t about business management; it’s more about self-leadership and finding the tools you need to excel on whatever path you choose to take.
So why would I put all of my employees, four at a time, on a plane to four days of non-industry-specific training 4,000 miles away? It’s comes down to that topic I talk a lot about: developing our company’s culture.
One of the first four employees I sent to Discover Leadership sealed the deal for me afterward when he said, “I knew you cared about us, but by sending me, I now realize you care about my family, too. This has made me not just a better co-worker, but a better father and a better husband.”
That’s my goal. And while I absolutely care about the folks I work with, I will admit it’s not 100 percent altruistic. I know that if I can help my team have the best lives that they can, they will perform their jobs better. You’ve no doubt had some employees who have their personal lives all squared away, and some whose home lives are all torn up. Which ones are better at work?
So virtually all my staff has gone through the Discover Leadership program. It’s not a life changer for everyone. But overall, the return for the company has been huge.
A few examples I cite as evidence:
- The instructor from an auto body program where we recruit some of our new hires spent an hour at our main shop recently and told me, “I have been in body shops throughout my entire life, and I’ve never seen that many people smiling and happy and having a good time while they work.”
- My 20 group visited last summer, and while they had plenty of suggestions for improvement, every one of them said, “You have a culture like I’ve never seen.”
- Some Allstate representatives came into the shop without identifying themselves and talked to some of my office staff and asked an estimator for a tour. They introduced themselves afterward and asked if the shop owner was available. I then talked with them for several hours, and one of them told me if his grandmother needed her car repaired, he would want her to come to our shop based on how our staff had treated them like family, despite no one here knowing who they were.
It’s stories like those that convince me Discover Leadership is working for our business, helping create a culture that will set us apart.
