Chris Hunsicker explains how dealership leaders build culture through daily practices he calls bricks: clarity in defining standards, consistency in repeating routines like five-minute huddles, and conviction in developing people. He challenges leaders to lay one intentional brick each day to improve showroom culture and performance.
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Your culture isn't created in one big move. It's created by what you repeat and what you allow every single day. I walked into a dealership for the first time, and I felt it before I even saw it. The numbers, they were okay. The showroom was clean, the energy dead, completely flat. No laughter, no ownership, no tension in a good way. Just that slow, subtle creep towards mediocrity. Have you ever felt that way in your store? And I thought to myself, this isn't a sales problem. This is a culture crumbling in slow motion. And it wasn't because of a bad month. It was because of a leader who stopped laying bricks. Hey, guys, I'm Chris Hunsaker, and this is the dealership war room leadership fire built daily, fueled intentionally, and delivered relentlessly. And today I want to talk to you about bricks and what it means as a leader to lay bricks. And whenever I think of bricks, I immediately think of Pink Floyd. Just another brick in the wall. I know all of you are singing the song in your head right now. That's totally okay, because I'm not going to sing it. But we also talk about a brick wall between us, like in a marriage, in a relationship. So there's a brick wall between us. And today I want you to understand that the same bricks that build a wall of separation also build cathedrals and fortresses. So what does that have to do with your culture? Let's dive in and look at that. Now. This week, we talked about on Monday winning the war within. On Tuesday, we talked about playing the long game. On Wednesday, the middle of the week, we talked about the messy middle. And yesterday we talked about hope and as a steel structure strategy, not some wishy washy kind of feeling. And how critical it is for a leader for you to be able to build that belief, that strength, that conviction in other people. In other words, anyone can light a fire under them, but can you light a fire in them? Today we're going to bring that all together, because you're not just running a team. You are building a culture brick by brick. Here's the truth. Culture is always under construction. And if you're not shaping it, something else is. Apathy, inconsistency, drama, fear. So let me show you what intentional cultural architecture looks like. Let's start with three bricks that build culture that you need to lay every single day. Number one is the brick of clarity. Number two is the brick of consistency. And number three is the brick of conviction. Let's start with brick number one and dive into clarity. Brick number one, clarity what does great actually look like? Most managers assume their team knows the standards, but assume standards always produce inconsistent results. You don't need to yell louder. You need to define with greater clarity and more precision exactly what it is that you expect. I'll share with you a great example. With my own children when they were growing up, everybody had to do the dishes and I got very frustrated that the dishes were never done right. It was never fully done. It was kind of like, you know, half assed and gone through. And then everybody went away and I realized that was a me problem. And so I sat down with each of the kids and we went through this is what clean and mom's standard was, the standard of clean. And we went through exactly what it was. And so the kids would yell out, I'm done with the dishes, dad. And I would say, is it mom clean? No. Okay, make it mom clean. And then go back and do the last couple of stuff. Because once there was absolute clarity on standards, there was much better execution. That's what we're driving for. Let me share with you a few brick examples that are specific and clear so I can create some clarity for you in this example. Think of a clarity brick as a one on one where you model for your team the tone or the process steps or the specific ways you'd like them to overcome an objection. It's a team meeting where you revisit expectations and behaviors and not just review the scoreboard. It's developing KPIs and revisiting them daily every single time. So so it stays clear and top of mind. Clarity creates confidence and confident teams execute. And that's what we're going for. Brick 2 consistency. What do you reinforce every day? Now I have a question for you. Do you have a Red Bull based leadership style? And I have nothing against a well placed Red Bull and it can be incredibly helpful. But energy bursts are not leadership. And just like the physical energy burst you get from a Red Bull, you is not physical fitness. Energy bursts do not build culture. Consistent leadership patterns repeated over time, that is what builds culture. If clarity is the blueprint, then consistency is the construction crew. So here are a few brick examples for consistency starting every single day with a five minute focus huddle. Ryan Seaman, one of the GMs that I coach, is absolutely amazing at doing this. It's addressing behavioral issues immediately when they come up, not later on when it's convenient. It's your ability to lead steady even when you're tired and under pressure, because what you repeatedly do is your identity Repetition builds identity, and that's what becomes reality. Brick three is conviction. Why does this work matter? You can't build an elite team with lukewarm leadership. Your team doesn't just need feedback. They need belief. They need to know that they can do it. That's what yesterday was about. Your ability to transfer that leadership fire from yourself into them. Remember, anybody can light a fire under someone. It takes a great leader to light a fire inside someone. That's why that hope as strategy, hope as steel is so valuable and why, as a leader, one of the skills you must develop is the ability to transfer belief into another person. They want to know you're not just chasing results or numbers that you genuinely want to help them become a better person. This is the whole purpose of leadership. It's not just to inspire them from time to time. It's to fundamentally transform them. Their mindsets, their beliefs, their habits, their behaviors. And you've all witnessed this happen before. You've seen that salesperson that could not sell their way out of a paper bag. But week after week, month after month, two years later, they're your best closer, and nothing can stop them. That's what leadership is. That's what I'm talking about. And that's what this conviction brick is all about. So a few specific conviction brick examples. It's coaching through belief and not just metrics. It's recognizing character and effort and not just results. It's holding the line even when it's uncomfortable, because conviction is what makes your belief transferable even when you're not in the room. Together, these three clarity, consistency, and conviction. They're not just soft skills. They're structural steel. And every day that you show up with them, you're laying bricks that will outlast you, build a culture, and fundamentally transform everyone who is part of that culture. So your war room challenge for today is this morning, after you get in the car, while you're driving to work, I want you to stop and pause for a moment and ask yourself these three questions. Number one, what brick am I going to lay today? Be absolutely intentional before you ever step in the showroom floor or ever step on the service drive. I want you to decide in your mind, what's a brick I'm going to lay today? Number two, I want to ask yourself, where is the mortar starting to crack? Where I might need to give it a little bit more attention. And then number three, how do I want my team to feel? How do I want the showroom floor to feel? Remember I talked to you in the beginning of this podcast that I walked into that showroom and I could feel it before I saw it. What's the feeling that you want in your showroom? Not just today and this week, but a year from now, a decade from now? What feels, what are you building, and what do you want to have happen? Here's another great mantra you can use. I'm not managing the noise. I'm building a culture, and I'm laying bricks that last. You don't need to build the whole empire today. You need to lay one brick today on purpose. One brick of clarity, one brick of consistency, one brick of conviction. Now, I want you to imagine, what if you did that for 365 days and every single day, laying a brick, I dare you to show me at the end of the year that you will not have improved performance, culture, and profit. It is amazing what you can do. If you will do this, you will lay these bricks every day for an entire year. Because that. That's how you build culture. That's how you build something that lasts. So today, let's go out, create some leadership fire, and absolutely crush this weekend. And I will see you Monday morning in the dealership war. Sam.
