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What is Your Definition of Success?

by Mike Esposito, President and CEO, Auto/Mate Dealership Systems

 

3.3.16How do you define success: a financial goal, peer recognition or a title or position? Most people think of success in terms of their personal success, but businesses can also be successful.

 

How do you define whether your dealership is successful? Is it revenue goals, sales volume, the number of positive online reviews you have, or whether your employees are happy?

 

Without a clear definition of what success means for you in your personal life or for your business, success is impossible to achieve.

 

 

In the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey recommends starting with the end in mind.

 

One way to define your personal success is to start with your funeral or memorial service in mind. How many people do you want there? What do you want them to say about you? To determine what’s most important in life, you could literally write your own eulogy.

 

To define your dealership’s success, look at your exit or succession planning. Do you plan to sell the business or have a relative take it over? What kind of business do you want it to be at that point?

 

When we define success purely in financial terms, it seems kind of hollow. At your memorial service, do you want people to talk about how rich you were, but then have nothing else nice to say about you?

 

When you sell or turn over the management of your dealership to someone else, the same concept applies. Sure, a healthy balance sheet is a nice accomplishment. But what else are you proud of? What is your legacy as a leader that you want to leave?

 

Successful companies are much more than the sum of their balance sheets. When you look at the most successful companies, they tend to share the following traits:

 

 

 

 

 

 

To build a successful business, it’s important to first define what success is to you. Then, break those goals down into actionable steps.

 

What traits do you think the most successful companies share?

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