Dick Stricklen: Owner of Motor City Auto | Focusing on Company Culture Rather Than Profits

11/03/21 • 53 min

Dick Stricklen is the owner of Motor City Auto Center in Bakersfield, CA, a sprawling campus which includes a Buick/GMC dealership, a Lexus dealership, and a large used car & truck operation. Dick’s team devote themselves to helping and serving their customers and providing staff with the opportunity to develop their skills and interests. Dick took over the GMC dealership at the age of 19 after his father’s death and since then has followed his passion for building authentic relationships with team members and clients alike.

Dick joins me on the show today to share how he started in the automotive business and why he’s grateful to his late father for starting him as a porter at the dealership at a very early age, allowing him to learn from the ground up. He tells the story of how he managed to put together a proposal that saw him successfully take over one of his father’s businesses, and why he walked away from a critical bank loan at the 11th hour. Dick also shares the core values of Motor City Auto Center and why promoting the company culture is so important to him as a leader.

“Let's all get focused on what we have control over.” - Dick Stricklen

“I always get in the other person's shoes; I develop a relationship with them a personal relationship.” - Dick Stricklen

“Bottom line is important to manage, but that's not what we're about. The bottom line is a result of the major motive, and that is to help people get what they want, see them grow, give them opportunities.” - Dick Stricklen

“We are really in the people business that just happens to sell cars.” – Dick Stricklen

This Week on The Wow Factor:

Why Dick switched his sales team from wearing suits and ties to casual wear and how that small decision impacted his business
How Dick developed the core values of Motor City Auto
Why the fuel shortages of the 1970s and the jump in interest rates caused Dick to think creatively about how to pull his team together
Some of the things that Dick as a leader has found to be helpful in growing and developing the people in his stores
How Dick felt during the recession of the late 2000s and the implications for the business
Dick’s philosophy on developing his team members
Dick speaks to the moment in his life when he realized that making money was not his true purpose in life
What inspired Dick to write down the guiding principles of his company and why he believes that those principles are at the source of his success

Dick Stricklen’s Words of Wisdom:

Take time, either with prayer or just quiet time, analyzing yourself to figure out what gives you the greatest heartfelt satisfaction in life. Examine your motives and align your behavior as a leader with the values that are truly important to you.

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“Let's all get focused on what we have control over.” - Dick Stricklen

“I always get in the other person's shoes; I develop a relationship with them a personal relationship.” - Dick Stricklen

“We are really in the people business that just happens to sell cars.” – Dick Stricklen

This Week on The Wow Factor:

Why Dick switched his sales team from wearing suits and ties to casual wear and how that small decision impacted his business
How Dick developed the core values of Motor City Auto
Why the fuel shortages of the 1970s and the jump in interest rates caused Dick to think creatively about how to pull his team together
Some of the things that Dick as a leader has found to be helpful in growing and developing the people in his stores
How Dick felt during the recession of the late 2000s and the implications for the business
Dick’s philosophy on developing his team members
Dick speaks to the moment in his life when he realized that making money was not his true purpose in life
What inspired Dick to write down the guiding principles of his company and why he believes that those principles are at the source of his success

Dick Stricklen’s Words of Wisdom:

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Previous Episode

Mark Danzo: Founder of Maverix Solutions | Pursuing Opportunity Rather Than Security

Mark Danzo, chemist, and founder of Maverix Solutions, Inc., created Mavcoat(registration mark symbol) mold release coatings, which are critical to manufacturing processes worldwide. He also created Mavcoat(registration mark symbol) Steel Shield, an extreme corrosion prevention coating that waterproofs untreated metal for the consumer market. Maverix Solutions was established in 1999 and quickly became recognized for novel technologies that revolutionized mold release performance. The increased thermal performance that Mavcoat® provides has yielded approvals from the Navy, Air Force, and other critical aerospace, defense, medical and marine agencies.

Mark joins us on the Wow Factor today to discuss his career trajectory and the roles that led him down the entrepreneurial path to start his own business. He shares why he made a conscious decision to pursue opportunity rather than financial security in his choice of job roles. Mark also describes how his opinion on managing a team has pivoted and why he embraces team members who follow their instincts.

“I knew I had found that thing, that fulfillment that I’d been searching for all my life and it was a great company, great people... it really taught me how to get in front of a customer, make promises, deliver on those promises and grow the building blocks.” - Mark Danzo

“I named the company Maverick solutions because it is an attitude, and a business style and a leadership style that I wanted to, you know, bleed and breathe. And I wanted everybody around me to have that belief in that culture.” - Mark Danzo

“Today’s an adventure. Take risks, create opportunity, and enjoy the fruits of success.” - Mark Danzo

This Week on The Wow Factor:

Mark’s adventurous childhood and how it triggered his salesmanship skills
Why having discipline was essential in Mark’s family
Why Mark’s early experience as a teacher’s aide helped him learn how to build bridges later in life
The job that led to Mark publishing a paper that now sits in the Library of Congress
Why Mark turned down a job at Exxon in favor of a different opportunity
Some of the Important mentors in Mark’s life
The revelation Mark had while he was getting his MBA
How Mark discovered that he was not cut out to be a corporate guy
How his wife inspired him to start his own company

Mark Danzo’s Words of Wisdom:

Treat your life as an adventure — be bulldog persistent, learn to take risks and create opportunities, then enjoy the success that stems from your actions.

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Next Episode

Emerson Eggerichs: Public Speaker and Author | Honoring Marriage and The Four Wills of God

Dr. Emerson Eggerichs is an internationally known public speaker on marriage, parenting, and communication. Based on over three decades of counseling and scientific and biblical research, Dr. Eggerichs developed the Love and Respect Marriage Conference, which he presents to live audiences around the country. Emerson has authored several books, including Love and Respect in the Family, Mother & Son: The Respect Effect, and the New York Times bestseller Love and Respect. Emerson is also the Founder and President of Love and Respect Ministries.

I welcome Emerson to the Wow Factor today to discuss how God directs our steps and frees us to use our free will to direct our own lives. He believes that the Bible prompts people to recognize the answers to the big questions in life by understanding the four wills of God, which he calls the B.A.G.S, (Believe in Jesus, Abstain from sexual immorality, Give thanks always, Submit to the Lord). Emerson also shares how he realized that men and women communicate differently and why he was prompted to set up the Love and Respect conferences.

“It doesn’t hurt to ask God to bring about a coincidence every once in a while, and see what might happen.” - Emerson Eggerichs

“The two key ingredients for a successful marriage are love and respect.” - Emerson Eggerichs

“I just want to see the hand of God in my life; I really don’t care what’s in it.” - Emerson Eggerichs

This Week on The Wow Factor:

How the challenges in Emerson’s family situation prompted him to know Christ and lead his family to Christ
What Emerson learned about leadership in the early years of being a senior pastor
Why Emerson made the decision not to write any books until he was 50
Why Emerson was inspired to develop some way to help people experience, love, and respect
Emerson describes the four wills of God and shares why they remain central to almost every part of life
What the ‘crazy cycle’ is and how it can damage a marriage
The importance of being honest with yourself about where you can do better in your life
How the Bible gives us constant reminders of the critical factors in life
Emerson’s thoughts on the state of marriage in the US today

Dr. Emerson Eggerichs’ Words of Wisdom:

God is using you to lead, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be rich, but the most successful people in life are those that have loved God and loved others.

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