Chris Hunsaker explains why accountability fails: ambiguity, not laziness. His Clarity Code requires defining the behavior, the win, and the way. At John's dealership, specific standards for CRM logging and role play cut follow-up time and boosted appointments.
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Foreign. If you don't define the win, you have no right to demand it. John thought he had an accountability problem. Spotty follow up. The team was dropping leads and he was tired of excuses. So he sent out the classic GSM group text that says, this is it. No more excuses. Every lead will be followed up and logged within 10 minutes. And you know what happened? Nothing. No lift, no urgency. Just more ghosted customers. Because the problem wasn't lack of effort, it was ambiguity. They weren't being lazy. They were playing a game that had no scorecard and they didn't know the rules. So before you demand more effort of them, demand more precision from yourself. I'm Chris Hunsaker, and this is the dealership war room. Leadership fire built daily, fueled intentionally, and delivered relentlessly. So let's dive in and find out what's really going on with John and how you can apply that to your store. Let me be as direct as I can. You cannot hold someone accountable to something you have not made unmistakably clear. And I call this the problem of the dog. So often we use language that we think is so simple and easy, like a dog. And if I say dog and I'm in a room of any group of people, one person's going to see it in their head, right? The picture they make in their head is a German shepherd. And. And the picture that someone makes in their head, another one is a Yorkie and another person has a pit bull, but I have a little shih tzu latsa apsa mix, and her name is Tonali. And that's the dog that I picture, and that's a dog. And the rest of you guys are wrong. And you should have paid attention and you should have listened to me. Can you see the problem with that? That just because it's clear in your head does not mean it's clear in someone else's head. A matter of fact, what real communication is is the ability to build a picture in someone else's head that exists in your head. And you can't create accountability until you have that level of clarity. Most managers think they communicated right. They said dog so clearly. You know what dog means? No. What they've really done is nudged, hinted, and usually just assumed. And in that gray space, people don't rise. They stall. And that is why you need this tool. The tool is called the Clarity Code, a three part precision formula. How do you bring more precision to your language? Number one, define the behavior. What exactly do you want done? No fluff, no buzz. Here's an example, log the lead in the CRM with name, number, source and first contact time within three minutes of speaking. Number two, define the win. What specifically does success look like? Make it visual and feelable. Here's an example. The follow up call is scheduled before the customer leaves. If not, you've missed the window. Number three, define the way. Anchor it to the mission margin or meaning for that particular person and that particular behavior. Example. Speed is a weapon. The average Internet lead is reachable for seven minutes. Ms. That and they're gone. So let's get back to John. Once he installed the clarity code, he didn't just get louder, he got clearer and significantly more effective. He started but, but he made a laminated follow up standards card. Then he role played it in a meeting. Then he had everybody on the team use the three elements of the clarity code that we just went through and graded each other on how they're doing. By the end of the week, speed improved, logs were accurate and appointments jumped. Not because he got stricter, but because he got clearer. One of the greatest challenges I see managers face is getting caught into what I call the tell, sell, yell cycle. And this literally is management communication, 101 at least how most of us are taught it or we absorb it through the walls and that is first. What you want to do is tell your team what you need them to do. So clearly just go do this like better follow up, respond to the leads, be quick. Then when that doesn't work, we start to sell them on it. Hey, come on guys, you got to do this. We're going to make more money. It'll help our close rate. Look what you're going to be able to do. You're going to hit your goals. When that doesn't work and you're still frustrated now, now you yell at them and then once they get pissed off, which will always happen because when you yell, you're never being effective. All you're doing when you yell is you're relieving your stress in front of an audience but you're not changing behavior. So then once that fails, you cycle wreck. Back to. Well, let me tell them again. So we have a back to basics meeting. We go over it one more time and you just keep cycling through. Tell, sell, yell. Tell, sell, yell. Tell, sell, yell. So for today's dealership war room challenge, let's go ahead and break that cycle and let's be real, let's be honest. All right, I want you to pick one area where your team is still consistently underperforming. And I want you to write it down. Now that you've got that written down, I want you to ask these three questions. Number one, have I defined the exact behavior that I want? Two, Have I defined what winning looks like? Three, have I explained why it matters if the answer was no to any of those three questions? Then start there today and go into the clarity tool, each of those three and get absolute clarity. Then share that in your next team huddle or one on one, and then set that as the new standard starting today. Remember, clarity scales and vague fails every single time. Let's wrap up on this thought. Don't confuse intensity with leadership. Clarity is what moves people. With that, go into your store today and start attacking small areas. Run the clarity code and let's create some leadership fire and I will see you tomorrow in the dealership war room.
