The new AMi

Feb. 3, 2016
ABRN conducted an interview with Jeff Peevy, the new president of AMi, to discuss AMi's initiatives for 2016 and beyond and the importance of having a learning culture within your repair shop.

With the onslaught of technological advances and new information in automotive repair, shops are struggling to stay ahead of the curve. Jeff Peevy, the new president of the Automotive Management Institute, is using his vast experience of leadership and his passion for education to lead the Automotive Management Institute (AMi) to provide more opportunities for learning and education for the collision and service repair industries. ABRN conducted an interview with Peevy to discuss the new AMi, including its initiatives for 2016 and beyond and the importance of having a learning culture within your repair shop.

AMi’s mission

Jeff Peevy, president of AMi

Since AMi’s inception in 1989, its mission statement has always read, “The Automotive Management Institute (AMi) identifies, provides and promotes qualified business education for the success of automotive service and repair professionals.” Historically, the organization has reviewed and approved management and leadership training programs, providing credit hours toward the AMi professional designation known as the Accredited Automotive Manager (AAM). AMi has also developed a series of specialty degrees for the service and collision repair segments.

The overall goal for AMi has been to recognize those who have taken the personal initiative to improve their knowledge, specifically in terms of management and leadership, a goal that Peevy was attracted to and sought to expand.

The learning culture

AMi’s emphasis on the importance of personal growth partners well with what Peevy garnered from his experience of almost 17 years with I-CAR. I-CAR provides much needed technical training for the industry, but throughout his time with the organization, Peevy noticed a connection between between a shop’s management culture and the willingness of the shop’s technicians to participate in training. Peevy explains, “My experience at I-CAR helped me better understand the challenges and cultures within the repairer segment that drive the range of behaviors and attitudes toward training and education. One of the things I began to really see was that management tended to be the greatest hurdle a repair operation had to get over in order to change the attitude toward training and education.” For Peevy, the transition to management-focused AMi was a great way to help both sides of the shop. Peevy states, “When the opportunity came to lead AMi, the idea to influence the management and leadership mindset, and ultimately support them with the challenges they face, interested me.”

As it turns out, the route to changing the outlook on training partly involves altering the words one uses. Peevy explains, “My experience has taught me to speak more in terms of ‘learning’ as opposed to ‘classes’ or ‘training.’” Of course, it’s not just a matter of words, but of concepts—while learning and training go hand in hand, there is a big difference between how they are perceived. Training is often viewed as a benefit to the business, whereas learning is thought of as improving and developing the person. Peevy sums up the divide perfectly. “Training is seen as a requirement and often isn’t culturally connected to learning. Many will question the need to attend a class, but few question the need to learn,” he states.

AMi’s goals

Looking forward to the future goals for AMi, Peevy stresses the importance of spreading awareness about the learning culture. “I see it as our duty as a nonprofit to serve our industry in the most relevant ways possible. AMi will be very focused on assisting owners and managers with maximizing learning in every way that we can. You will see us push the belief that learning is truly the only source for a sustainable competitive advantage. I know firsthand how understanding and embracing that belief begins to transform managers and businesses,” Peevy explains.

Beginning with the roots of learning, AMi will offer various tools at no charge to help owners and managers better understand how they and their staff learn best as well as tips on how to get the most out of the various learning delivery methods, such as online, virtual, and live instructor-led training.

AMi has multiple initiatives to implement the maximization of the learning culture, and the institution plans to carry them out by continuing to make industry connections. Peevy continues, “We will grow our collaboration with anyone offering high quality management and leadership learning opportunities, and through our new business model we will be able to do more to serve the student and the training providers. We currently have a call for programs to review and receive AMi credit hours. We also plan to support consultants who often find individuals within an operation needing specific training in an area, by providing training organized in structured competencies.” The next generation of AMi will offer professional recognition and designations for roles specific to service repair and collision repair in customer service, office management and general management, including a masters-level general management program.

Consistent with the theme of learning, AMi will begin collecting Training Provider information through a survey on AMionline.org. AMi is asking anyone offering training, whether it be an individual or company, technical or management, to complete the survey. The information will then be available to the industry in a searchable database that AMi will maintain and provide free to the industry. Visitors to the database will be able to search for technical or management training in both service repair and collision repair, how the training is delivered and registration.

Finally, AMi will be launching the Leadership Foundation Program, enabling companies and individuals to support the relevant work of the new AMi. This program will recognize tax-deductible donations from those interested in the future success of their customers by enabling low cost quality management and leadership training and professional recognition programs.

AMi plans to begin launching this “next generation” initiative, as well as a new website and updated logo, in the later part of 1st quarter of 2016.

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