Jan 24, 2017
In this episode, Dave interviews Richard Bryan. Richard inherited a $120M auto dealership in the UK at 28 years old. With the help of his mentor, Frank, he was able to turn around the business over the next 10 years. Richard has become an author and a keynote speaker who shares about the evolution of his business and his leadership role in that change.
Time Stamped Show Notes:
- 00:33 – Introducing Richard
- 01:58 – Richard is British and his wife comes from Denver
- 02:07 – Richard sold the auto dealership and started a commercial real estate business
- 02:46 – The auto dealership was Richard’s father’s business
- 02:59 – Richard’s book is called Being Frank
- 03:11 – Richard’s relationship with his mentor, Frank
- 03:34 – Richard put his ego aside to find a mentor
- 04:41 – Frank was very realistic and understood the issues Richard was dealing with
- 05:17 – Frank was very successful in his own career
- 05:19 – The results from inheriting $120M to losing $3.5M/year
- 05:38 – 10 years later, they made a couple of million again
- 05:58 – He was concentrated in retail and local areas
- 07:07 – Richard knew the business was dysfunctional
- 07:26 – “We lost focus on our customers”
- 08:14 – 26 family shareholders were bought out
- 09:04 – Richard’s dad has been sick for a long time prior to him taking over
- 10:17 – Richard’s transition from being a 28-year old guy to handling a 100 million dollar company
- 10:45 – In a year, Richard became the general manager of their largest dealership
- 11:08 – He was a CEO of 12 senior managers who didn’t really take him seriously
- 12:15 – The reason why he brought Frank in
- 13:22 – Richard shares an incident that happened that made him bring Frank in
- 14:20 – Going into meetings with Frank enabled Richard to focus on management
- 15:23 – Frank is in the UK, in his 70s, and still working
- 15:40 – Frank was surprised about Richard’s book
- 16:00 – How Frank got paid
- 18:24 – It’s not about what we have achieved, it was what I learned in those 6 months
- 19:09 – What Richard learned from Frank:
- 19:11 – Not being held by self-limiting beliefs
- 19:48 – Not second guessing yourself
- 20:22 – Lots of businesses fail because of indecision
- 21:19 – Good and done is better than perfect
- 22:34 – Taking over the business from Richard’s father
- 23:15 – The sales department was carrying far too much costs
- 23:33 – The finance director took advantage of Richard’s father’s sickness
- 23:51 – Richard’s father has invested wisely in real estate which was the reason they survived
- 24:53 – Richard’s mother was not involved in the business
- 25:28 – Richard’s father got well after his operation and he “un-retired”
- 26:36 – His mother told Richard he has to find a new meaningful role now for his father
- 27:32 – The best thing was Richard’s father lived to see the business turn around
- 29:15 – Richard’s learning from his father
- 30:07 – You don’t want to sacrifice your life to do something you don’t like
- 31:32 – Ending the family business was an evolution
- 31:58 – Become an enterprising family rather than just a family business
- 33:04 – Gaining respect from people
- 34:18 – Work hard and prove that you’re there for merit
- 34:51 – Richard has a sister who worked for the business before she got married
- 36:38 – Richard shares his wife’s role in business and the family
- 37:32 – Approach in strategic planning
- 37:45 – Coming back to school to learn
- 38:07 – “Where are you now? Where are you going? How would you get there?” analysis
- 40:02 – You don’t have to do everything yourself
- 40:28 – Be clear on what value you add
- 40:51 – If you can change people, change people
- 42:13 – From a culture based on inward-looking to a culture that is customer-centered
- 43:19 – Aligning leadership to the culture
3 Key Points:
- Know when it’s time to STOP a bleeding business.
- It’s not always about your achievements, but what you’ve LEARNED in your journey that counts.
- You don’t need to be trapped in a family business—EVOLVE and start ANEW.
Resources Mentioned:
- Entrepreneur's Organization – The EO Network
- Being Frank – Richard’s book
- Richard J. Bryan – Richard’s website