Chris Hunsicker asks dealership managers a diagnostic question: did you reach your position through talent or outworking everyone? The answer reveals mindset and predicts whether someone will perform consistently. Grit beats innate ability.
Chapters
I want you to picture two managers in your dealership. One, the guy who you can count on, rain or shine. Mark it up, mark it down. He delivers. You don't have to babysit him, he just finds a way. The other, he's inconsistent. One month he's on fire and the next month he's in the gutter. Sometimes he's a rock star and sometimes he's just in the weeds in the minutia department and misses the whole vision. What's the difference? One question that will tell you exactly which one you're dealing with before you ever put them in a leadership position. So let's create some leadership fire today. Not one question, the one that reveals everything about a person's mindset, drive and future success, is exactly what we're going to break down today. Welcome to the dealership war room. I'm Chris Hunsiker and today we're diving into how one simple, powerful question can tell you who will rise, who will stall out, and who is never going to make it in the first place. A couple of months ago, I was working with a GM and dealer principal reviewing his goals for 2025 and we got to talking about his leadership team and I told him, everything you do, every target you set, every goal you chase, is only as strong as the people you have executing it. And he paused for a minute. So we ran a test and we sat down one on one with every single one of his managers and asked them the same question. Did you get to your position because you were simply more talented than everyone else or did you just outwork everybody? Here's what happened. The top performers, they almost immediately answered the same way. I just outworked everyone. No hesitation, no ego, just certainty. Inconsistent managers, they paused, thought about it for a moment, and then said something like, well, I've always had a natural talent for this. Or I've always been really good at this. The lesson? Talent doesn't drive long term success. Grit does. And this isn't just an interesting question. It's a diagnostic tool for hiring, coaching and promoting leaders in your store. Reveals mindset. Top performers don't believe in overnight success. As Sir Alex Ferguson, coach of Manchester United, unbelievable coach has said repeatedly over and over and over that hard work beats talent. When talent doesn't work hard, inconsistent performers rely on their potential instead of proving. Also predicts consistency. If someone tells you they just outworked everyone, they will continue to outwork everyone. If someone tells you they got here on talent, then ask this what happens where talent isn't enough, the market changes, things get harder. Third, it eliminates the guesswork in hiring and promotion. Ask this question in your next leadership interview and pay attention to how fast they answer. They don't answer with certainty and quickly. You got a liability on your hands. So the challenge for you. I'm going to flip this question on you now. Are you where you are because of talent, or did you just outwork everyone also? See, I already know the answer. If you're here, it's because you outworked him. I can tell you this. The people who win in this industry don't wait for talent to carry them. They build their edge every single day. Because the difference between winning and losing comes down to one thing. Did you just outwork everyone? But I'm sure that somebody popped into your mind today. You thought of somebody who needs to hear this podcast. Do me a favor and please send this link to them. Because we need to start focusing our time and attention on what works and getting more of it, instead of whining and complaining about what doesn't. So here's the deal. What are you going to do today to outwork everyone? And I'll see you next time in the dealership war room.
