Meet Murray: From gas stations to coaching
Murray started at a car wash and gas station way back in 1986. Then, he spent 25 years owning and running service stations with bays. After that, he shifted gears into training gas station dealers. And guess what? He didn’t stop there. Murray also got into coaching and training aftermarket shops. He’s been through it all, experiencing coaching firsthand. Now, he’s here to talk about why management training matters.Â
Understanding the importance of management training
Let’s break down the key takeaways from Murray’s story and insights about management training:
1. The lemonade stand school of management
- The lemonade stand story shows how hard it is to run a business without knowing all the costs.
- Many people venture into business without grasping the foundational principles necessary for success.
- Like the lemonade stand kids, entrepreneurs often overlook expenses and are surprised when they don’t make as much profit as expected.Â
2. Do professionals take training?
Professionals like doctors, lawyers, and technicians get training to improve their skills. Yet many car industry business owners forget to get management training.
3. Misconceptions about management training
Some people think management training is impractical. Or it is too focused on making money, which leads to resistance. Others see it as a quick fix instead of addressing deeper business challenges.
4. The manager's responsibilities
- As an owner or manager, your main job is ensuring the business is profitable for the shareholders.
- Understanding financial reports and industry benchmarks is crucial for measuring and improving profitability.
- It’s essential to learn about income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow even if you’ll pass these tasks to someone else.
- Setting up systems and procedures is vital to reaching key performance indicators (KPIs) & staying profitable.
Mastering the essentials of management
Let’s unpack the key insights shared by Murray about the crucial aspects of management:
1. Efficient scheduling and dispatching
Scheduling well affects how much money we make, so it’s important to know how to organize technicians’ tasks during the day. Also, learning how to group testing and diagnosis procedures ensures technicians get paid fairly for their work.
2. Team time management and inspection processes
Using analog or digital clocks helps teams stay productive. Proper training is essential for effective digital inspection methods.
3. The 400 percent rule and deferred work
The 400% rule covers inspecting, estimating, presenting, and deferring work, focusing on being thorough and professional. Understanding and applying this rule requires extensive training and ongoing staff education.
4. Attracting, hiring, training, and retaining employees
Managers need to be good at writing job descriptions, finding the right people, doing interviews, and helping new employees start. Employee engagement and accountability are also critical. So, managers should keep training and develop their leadership skills.Â
5. Financial management and expense control
Managing money effectively means understanding how to handle what you owe. And what is owed to you, as well as keeping track of expenses. It also involves learning about taxes, taking advantage of early payment opportunities, and negotiating with suppliers. This all contributes to the success of your business.
6. Marketing and public relations
It’s important to create a marketing plan, keep good relationships with the public, and interact with customers to help your business grow. It’s also crucial to understand marketing basics and how to budget. Even if you hire someone else to do the marketing work later.
7. Corporate citizenship and labor practices
To be a good company, we must keep the environment clean, help the community, and treat our workers fairly. We also need to follow the law and provide our employees with training.
8. Coaching and implementation
Management training is essential, but coaching guides the application of knowledge and the overcoming of obstacles. Coaches support implementation, encourage accountability, and help peer learning through mastermind groups.
Navigating setbacks and finding inspiration
1. Managing setbacks with a positive outlook
Murray said to focus on what you can control and to celebrate what you do right, even when things are tough. He suggested a way to differentiate between guilt and shame in the failure process. He emphasized celebrating success even amidst challenges or failures. This will help to maintain confidence and motivation.
2. Finding inspiration in personal experiences
Murray wanted to help others because he overcame challenges and found inspiration from a mentor. He believed coaching could empower people to succeed in their finances, businesses, and personal lives.Â
Wrapping up
Murray suggested that everyone check out Amplify and watch the recordings. Even though they’re competitors, they all bring something different and want to help. If you have questions or need more info, you can reach out through their website or email. Amplify and its speakers want to help people succeed in their jobs by working together and offering support.
