Episode 20 Thinking Time – The Competitive Edge You’re Ignoring”

You're about to make a decision that will cost or make you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Instead of sitting with it, you react, you jump in, make the call too fast. Does that ever happen to you? And then later you realize, I should have thought it through. How many times has that happened in your business where you jumped in and you really didn't think it through? Today we're talking about what I call thinking time. The single most valuable leadership habit that can save you from costly mistakes, turn you into a next level decision making. So let's create some leadership fire. Most people stay stuck in the same problems. They react instead of reflecting. They don't need to spend more time working, they need to spend more time thinking. And leaders who build empires, they don't solve problems in the heat of the moment. They think their way to the right solution before the problem ever blows up. Welcome to the dealership war room. I'm Chris Hunsicker, and today we're breaking down how to install thinking time into your routine so you can stop putting out fires and start making high level decisions that actually move the needle. Let's start with Keith Cunningham and his brilliant book, the Road Less Stupid. A few years ago, I was coaching a brilliant new gm. He had just been promoted. He was sharp, motivated, hard working, but he was also overwhelmed. And that Christmas, I gave him a book that I knew would change the way he led forever. It was Keith Cunningham's book, the Road Less Stupid. And we had a conversation about one idea that separates amateurs from professionals. Thinking time. I told him, if you don't start setting aside time to think strategically, you're going to end up making the same expensive mistakes as everyone else. That one insight transformed the way he operated as a gm. So what exactly is thinking time? Keith Cunningham says that most business problems aren't because of bad luck, bad chance. They're because of one thing. Bad thinking. And thinking time is how you fix it. It's simple. First, write a problem or a question at the top of a blank page. Like, for example, what's the biggest bottleneck in our sales process? Second, set a timer for 30 minutes. No distractions, no phone, no email, just focused thinking. And third, write down every insight, every angle, every question that comes up. And fourth, and review your notes. The best solutions won't come when you're reacting. They come when you take time to think deeply. Remember that GM I had working with? Well, he made thinking time a part of his daily routine. Every single day, he cut unnecessary expenses that were draining his profit margins. He made better hiring decisions. No more rushing, no more bad fits. He improved team performance by because he saw problems before they ever blew up. By the end of the year, he wasn't just a gm, he was a top performing GM is an entire group and he credits thinking time as one of the biggest breakthroughs. There's a sad but powerful truth. The only people who have time to work out are the ones who actually work out, and the only people who have time for thinking time are the ones who make the time. My question for you is this. What major challenge have you been stuck on? Have you spent focused time thinking about it? Or have you just been reacting, worrying, stressing? Let me be your coach for just a minute. Please schedule 30 minutes of thinking time today. Write down a major problem at the top of the page, sit in silence and think. If you do this for one week, I promise you'll start making smarter and more profitable decisions. Because the difference between a struggling leader and an elite performer Thinking time. If this idea hit home for you, I'm pretty sure there's someone who came to mind as you listen to this podcast. If so, please send them this link. Let's commit to sharing what works and not complaining about what doesn't, and I'll see you next time in the dealership Boardroom podcast.