For all the talk about AI, automation, and efficiency, one message echoed through ASOTU CON 2026 louder than any discussion about technology:
People are still the competitive advantage.
That theme showed up whether the conversation was with the largest dealer group in the country, a 100-year-old dealer organization, or a single rooftop operator. Different businesses. Different scales. Same conclusion.
The dealerships that win in the years ahead will be the ones that invest in people as intentionally as they invest in technology.
Growth Powered by People Isn't a Slogan
When Paul Daly asked Lithia leaders about developing talent, the conversation immediately turned to DART, the company's rotational development program.
What stands out isn't the program itself. It's that Lithia's CEO, Brian De Boer, regularly points to people development as a strategic priority, even while leading one of the largest automotive retailers in the world.
The DART program was created to break down silos, expose employees to different parts of the business, and create future leaders from within. Participants rotate through departments, build relationships across the organization, and develop skills that prepare them for larger responsibilities.
The lesson for dealers isn't that every store needs a formal rotational program.
It's that future leaders rarely appear out of thin air.
They have to be developed intentionally.
As Lithia Operations President Mike Cavanaugh pointed out, finding great leaders is difficult. Building them yourself is often the better strategy.
Stop Looking for Experience. Start Looking for Potential.
One of the most practical takeaways from the session came from Diego Rojas, who manages the DART program.
His advice was simple: don't be afraid to think outside the box when hiring.
Some of Lithia's high-potential team members came from backgrounds that had little to do with automotive. What mattered wasn't their dealership experience. It was their curiosity, work ethic, hospitality mindset, and willingness to learn.
Too often, dealerships hire for familiarity instead of potential.
The result is a smaller talent pool and fewer opportunities to bring fresh thinking into the business.
The best leaders aren't always the people who have done the job before.
Sometimes they're the people capable of growing into it.
Hospitality Still Wins
Another theme repeated throughout the discussion was hospitality.
Mike Cavanaugh put it plainly: automotive retail is a hospitality business that happens to sell and service vehicles.
That's an important distinction.
Many organizations measure customer experience through surveys, scores, and OEM metrics. Those numbers have value, but they aren't the whole story.
The better question is whether customers are telling other people how good the experience was.
That only happens when employees genuinely care about the people they serve.
And employees only care at that level when they feel cared for themselves.
Technology Should Create More Human Time
Liza Borches offered one of the most important perspectives of the event.
As AI becomes more powerful, many employees are asking the same question: What does this mean for my job?
Her answer was refreshing.
Technology should remove repetitive tasks so people can spend more time doing meaningful work.
Technicians should spend more time diagnosing and solving problems instead of documenting every step. Managers should spend less time building reports and more time coaching employees. Leaders should spend less time reviewing spreadsheets and more time understanding their people.
The goal is not fewer humans.
The goal is better human work.
Liza challenged leaders to take one hour currently spent reviewing numbers and replace it with a human review. Spend time in the service lane. Walk the showroom. Sit with an employee. Learn what is frustrating them. Learn what is motivating them.
That's where improvement starts.
Culture Is Made in Moments
If there was one line that captured the entire session, it came from Mohawk Chevrolet's Andy Guelcher:
"Culture is made in moments, not memos."
Great culture isn't created through mission statements or company-wide emails.
It's built through daily interactions.
A conversation in the hallway.
A text asking about a child's baseball game.
An honest discussion about personal struggles.
A leader admitting they don't have everything figured out.
Guelcher shared how opening up about challenges in his own career created deeper trust throughout his organization. The result wasn't weakness. It was stronger relationships and more meaningful conversations.
People don't need perfect leaders.
They need authentic ones.
One Thing You Can Do Tomorrow
Throughout the session, dozens of ideas were shared, but one action stood above the rest.
Create one personal touchpoint every day.
Not about performance.
Not about numbers.
Not about a task.
Just a genuine conversation with someone on your team.
Ask about their family. Their goals. Their challenges. Their interests.
Those moments compound.
One conversation becomes dozens. Dozens become hundreds. Eventually, they become culture.
And in a year increasingly defined by technology, that may be the most valuable investment a leader can make.
