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Episode 03

A CONVERSATION WITH 
SPENCER YOUNG II

Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube

BUILDING AN AUTOMOTIVE EMPIRE WITH SPENCER YOUNG II

This is how you build a business empire: “Win the day.” Over and over and over. 

 

I had the opportunity to sit down and interview Spencer Young II, current President of Young Automotive Group—a family-owned business that started back in 1925. Spencer started doing small jobs for the business as young as 13 years old and grew up learning all the ropes until one day he was eventually able to become its president. Family businesses often come with many challenges involving culture and stability as they move from one generation to the next. 

 

But Spencer was able to take the reins and has since expanded the company far beyond what it was before and is continuing to build it into the automotive empire he knows it can be.

 

When I visited their business, I could just FEEL how deeply ingrained the company’s core values were into every employee’s DNA—and that’s not an easy thing to do at scale. So during our conversation Spencer and I had the opportunity to discuss how you can maintain exceptional culture at scale, how to make sure that your company’s core values are actually making an impact on people’s lives (and not just hanging on the wall), and why giving back and allowing people to grow is such an important part of any large corporation.

 

One key thing Spencer said is that

“Everyone who wants to win in business needs to learn how to win the day.”

Every business knows it’s important to have a vision, but have you clearly and concisely broken that vision down into the day-to-day tasks so that every employee knows EXACTLY what they need to do to “win the day” in their specific role? And do they have the room and autonomy to do it?

 

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your business empire won’t either. Every business has its highs and lows, but if everyone is clear on the vision and clear on what must be done to “win the day”, then no matter what happens you can rest assured that you will surely and steadily move forwards and upwards until you reach that vision.

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MY TOP 7 INSIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE:

  1. You must have an insatiable appetite for learning. Markets move fast, and your competitors will always be trying to find innovative ways to get the upper hand. If you’re not constantly expanding and growing as a person and a business, then you will simply get left behind.

  2. There is value in building friendships with other people in your space, even competitors. If you have an abundant mindset then you believe that everyone can be friends and we can all win.

  3. Top-level employees have their own dreams and goals, and they won’t stay with a company that isn’t growing. Make sure your company is constantly growing and giving people the room to reach their own goals. That’s how you attract top 1% performers.

  4. The way to ingrain your company’s core values into everyone’s DNA (and not just have your values hanging on the wall), is by constantly talking about and sharing real-life experiences where those values affected an employee or a customer. Stories are the greatest teachers!

  5. How do you win in business? By learning how to win the day. Daily habits are the lifeblood of success.

  6. Most “failures” and learning experiences come from not having the courage to take action fast enough on something you know must be done—have the courage to have the hard conversation, to make the leap, to make the purchase. Great leaders are decisive and act quickly.

  7. Meditation is key as a leader because it allows you to connect with “the divine mind”. Great leaders understand that their thinking is limited and based on their own life experiences. Giving yourself time for reflection and quietness allows for out-of-the-box ideas and solutions to flow to you when you need them most.

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