#450 - 🔑 Holding The Keys

TOGETHER WITH

Ahhhh Monday! Welcome to 4th of July week 😁

Oh, and stay tuned to our LinkedIn, because we are dropping some 🔥 ASOTU CON speaker lineups soon!

Keep Pushing Back
-Paul, Kyle, & Chris

DEALERS

Key Principles for Meaningful Leadership

Last week’s "All Things Used Cars” put the spotlight on an important topic: leading with impact.

To be an effective leader and inspire real, long-lasting changes in others, we discussed a few guiding principles:

🙋 Lead the Way — 

• It’s important to guide with integrity, conviction, and consistency.

• Show others what you expect by embodying those values and leading by example.

• Our buddy Alex Flores said it best: “Be a tour guide, not a travel agent.”

💑 Connect with Empathy —

• Ask questions and make genuine connections by understanding what others are going through and how they feel.

• Get into their head. But more importantly, get into their heart.

• Be mindful of your emotional intelligence. Put yourself in others’ shoes and approach all personal interactions with thoughtfulness and consideration.

💪 Conviction in the Mission — 

• Adopt an unwavering belief in the purpose and direction of your team and company.

• Communicate the mission with passion and inspire others to share your same commitment.

👐 Foster Trust and Accountability — 

• Establish very clear and specific expectations and then create a culture of trust by holding everyone accountable for their actions.

• Be consistent. Don’t say one thing and then tolerate something else.

• Provide clarity in instructions, expectations, and intentions to establish daily accountability that everyone can anticipate, understand, and learn from.

🥅 Align Your Team — 

• Ensure that everyone is united behind the same goal and vision.

• Cultivate leadership by mentoring and supporting the development of future leaders.

🫂 Embrace Change —

• Be open-minded and adaptable to new ideas and processes.

• Challenge and support your team to give their best and encourage growth.

Telling it like it is – Whether it involves cheerleading or tackling the tough stuff, being an impactful leader means walking the walk, not just talking the talk.

/Positivity

Do you have a story showing the positive impact dealerships have on their community? Let us share it!

TOGETHER WITH RAMP

Spending Should Be The Easy Part…

Imagine you just finished your meal, you reach for your money, and instead, you find a Rubik’s cube that you must solve before paying for your food! Now come back to reality and realize that paying for business expenses is only a little simpler unless you have help.

Ramp says using your money should be easy, and tracking expenses should be simple. Travel, ad campaigns, or wooing your next partner client deserves your full attention.

Let Ramp automate busy work, control spending, and save time.

AUTOMOTIVE

Motor Morsels: Halo Car, Ford in Germany, and Standardizing

Halo.Car, an on-demand EV provider, has launched a world-first driverless delivery service, eliminating the need for safe drivers. The company's EVs are equipped with advanced technology for remote navigation and utilize 5G from T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon for reliable streaming. An Anomaly Detection System ensures safety. The service begins in Downtown Las Vegas, with plans for expansion by 2024.

Ever drop a call while driving?

Ford has secured a major international investor for its Saarlouis plant in Germany, potentially creating around 2,500 jobs. Though the investor's identity is undisclosed, China's BYD may be among the interested parties. The deal forms part of Ford's plan to transform the plant and generate future employment opportunities after it ceases Ford Focus production in 2025.

It's not every day in automaker news we get to talk about shadowy European investors. This is kinda exciting.

Tesla has signed a deal with Polestar, linking its Supercharger network and preferred NACS charging plug to the automaker. Like GM and Ford, Polestar plans to release adapters in 2024, with NACS ports in their electric cars from 2025.

Electrify America also supports the NACS plug at existing and future charging stations by 2025, complementing the existing CCS connector. This expands the adoption of Tesla's once-proprietary plug.

It may be easier to just keep a running list of companies NOT on the NACS bus.

TL; DR – Halo teaches cars to deliver themselves, Ford gets funding in Germany, and More companies join the Tesla charging standard.

CULTURE

Pawsitive Vibes Only

You may be excited about all those Fourth of July festivities coming up — but are your pets? 🐶🐱🐰

Everyone may not enjoy the extra noise and busy nature of Independence Day parties, particularly the furrier members of your family.

If you are an anxious pet owner, here are some tips for helping to keep them calm during one of our nation’s most boisterous holidays:

🐾 Create a serene space: Designate a comfortable and cozy retreat, preferably in an interior room. Provide them space to “hide” and provide their favorite toys or bedding to create a soothing environment. Use pillows, blankets, or even a white noise machine for noise buffering.

🐾 Home remedies: Explore calming tools such as anxiety-relieving vests that apply gentle pressure to the dog's chest, behavioral supplements, or aerosolized pheromones to help keep your dog calm.

🐾 Check with your vet: If home remedies are not effective, you may need to consult with your veterinarian to discuss fear mitigation options and possibly anxiety medication. Be sure you locate a clinic open on the holiday for immediate assistance.

🐾 Prioritized clean-up: Firework debris can pose major hazards to pets. Before allowing them to play in the yard, thoroughly check and remove any remaining debris.

Telling it like it is — Keep calm and wag on.

Quick Hits

• Apple hits a $3T value, the first public company to do so twice. 🍎

• Archaeologists seem to agree — Indiana Jones is a looter. 🤠

• Mosquitoes in FL test positive for malaria for the first time in 20 years. Authorities are trying to stamp out the flare-up but say you are at low risk if you are not spending your evenings around freshwater swamps. 🦟

History

• 1861: The Pony Express arrives in San Francisco with overland letters all the way from New York. 🐴

• 1930: The US Veterans Administration is created. 🎖️

• 1985: "Back to the Future" starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd is released. 🎥