The Core Values for Mainline Auto Body come from the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) model. They have six core components and the stronger you get at each of those components, the stronger your company will be. They are Vision, they are People, they are Data, and they are Process, then you have meetings and traction where you put the rubber on the road. So, the Vision component is, does everyone in the company know whey are turn up for work? Do they know where you are going? Do they know the set of guiding principles that you operate by?
Starting with the Company Focus of Mainline, they fix cars and try to make a profit but that is not why they do it, not why they do all this stuff. That is just an outcome, that is a result. Their focus is on building an exceptional company with outstanding people. It is hard to be exceptional, it takes stamina, commitment and everyone pulling in the same direction. Mainline are fortunate enough to have a whole team of truly outstanding people.
Next is their Niche, which is “late model auto body collision repair.” That is what they do and that is what they stay laser focused on. They don’t do restorations; they don’t paint RV’s and speed boats. They have done in the past and know that is not their sweet spot, not where they excel so they stick to late model auto body collision repair. If they can stay laser focused on that then things run a lot smoother.
Core Values Element
Onto the Core Values element – The Mainline Way, Customers for Life, Extreme Ownership, Remember Scooter & Be Like Betty. When they rolled out these core values for the first time, they were given a sideways look by people wondering what they were talking about. So, what does Be Like Betty and Remember Scooter mean? Inside the walls of Mainline they mean everything. It was during an EOS session that the leadership team sat and thought about the people they had on the shop floor and in the offices that are doing the work and what it was that they admired about those great people.
The team came up with a list of about a hundred attributes and qualities and then grouped them into things that were alike, such as positive and cheerful. They then came up with “isms” for them. So once they grouped them all together they thought about what they reminded them of. Clive said it must have looked odd to anyone watching on. They had their leadership team sitting around the table, eyes closed and as these qualities were being read out, they asked what‘s the first thing that comes to mind? So, when the words clean, organized and efficient, continuous improvement, innovative, two second lean, teaches others, one team, one plan, one goal, one Mainline, what came out of that was, yes it was the Toyota Way, but they agreed that is sounds like the Mainline Way.
Customers for Life is once again not original, but Joe has never claimed to be original and innovative in that sense, but he does lead the charge and put things into action. This came out of Carl Sewell’s book, Customers for Life and the essence being that they do not want a customer once. Mainline wants to see them every single time, they want to see their friends and family. It is more than a one time deal so to really deliver on customer for life, it means under promise and over deliver. Fix it like it is your mums’ cars, fix it once and fix it right. Everything they deserve and more and develop lifelong relationships.
Extreme Ownership, borrowed from the book by Navy Seal Jocko Willink, means always going to be counted on, find a why attitude, committed to excellence, make tough decisions, take part in work, overcome obstacles, solution orientated, disciplined and results driven. These are all similar, but the overall theme is extreme ownership. Take responsibility.
Remember Scooter came about when the words they were presented with were qualities like loyal, responsible, dedicated, inspires, trust, resilient, inquisitive, makes work fun and devoted. Clive remembers saying, that sounds like a loyal dog, mans best friend. When Joe had his old Mainline shop down in Lompoc on the Central Coast, he had a shop dog called Scooter and that thing meant the world to him there and he was a real character so when it came to these qualities like a man’s best friend, who better than let’s Remember Scooter.
Finally, Be like Betty, works for the greater good, puts others first, encourages others, positive, cheerful, caring, helpful and humble. That sounded just like someone’s mum. It sounded just like Betty Hinkens, Joe’s mum because she would come to the front office, and she would be just like that. Super cheerful, always happy and joking, she was a real firecracker. Joe was resistant at first when we said Be like Betty as he didn’t want to make it all about him but as Clive said, all this stuff is the fiber of the Mainline fabric, like it or not so why not celebrate it?
That was how the Core values came about and they don’t just go up on the wall or on a screen, they talk about this stuff all the time and they hire people based on how well they are going to resonate with their core values. Clive let us in on a little trade secret, when interviewing he looks at their body language and reactions. If you have people leaning in and smiling and nodding your head when you explain this then it probably resonates with them. If they lean back on their chair and give you a slightly crazy look then probably not. It is not going to be the place for them and that is okay, so these values are meaningful in the Mainline world.
The EOS program is set up so that every year we have a two-day annual offsite meeting with the Leadership team where they are focused on making sure that the vision is clear on where they want to go – even the BHAGS – the big hairy audacious goals. They look at the 10 year plan of where they want to be and then in three years to start making progress and then dial it back from there, where do they need to be in one year. Then what do they need to tackle in three months, the next 90 days to start moving the ball down the field to the end goal.
These Core Values were put together during one of the two-day sessions and it took them about three hours to really go through the exercise of what all the qualities were and then group them. They then lived with it for six or seven weeks to make sure they really captured everything and did a bit of tweaking. Clive said it was a brilliant process and an amazing journey and was pleased with how well they nailed it. This stuff was meaningful and resonates through the whole place and he would recommend it to anyone. Once you have decided on it, you must walk the talk.
Core Values Awards and Hall of Fame
They also have the Core Values Awards. The EOS program says that every quarter, every 90 days, human nature dictates that people just fall off the rails a bit, not through any ill meaning or any kind of malice but it is just human nature. They need a little nudge just to make sure they are all on the same page and heading in the same direction. So, at the quarterly meetings they discuss where they are at, where they have been and where they are going. They look at their major priorities for the next 90 days. They then close the doors of the shop and get lunch catered for and share with everybody a recap of the previous 90 days and then what is planned for the next. They share this information so that people are completely in the picture and can help get Mainline to where they want to go. To add to that, they have their Awards, and they are peer chosen. It is not who management, or the leadership group thinks deserves a mention, it is anonymous, and they are free to vote for whoever they like. It is based around, who has Been Like Betty over the last three months? Who has Remembered Scooter? There is no right or wrong, it is about who they feel deserves the recognition. They hand out certificates and awards, it is important in the daily grind to take time out to recognize the contributions that people make. They have fun, work is serious, but this is fun, and it means a lot. It matters to Mainline and one of the guys that won Remember Scooter for the third time looked at his certificate and said to Clive, that to know that people think that about him is brilliant and a great feeling.
They also have the Hall of Fame Awards which are located around the shop on display boards. They rotate with the Core Values and winners’ names, so it is not just a moment in time, it is a moment in history at Mainline. Creating this respect model and the core values and living and breathing them every day has had a positive effect on the employees work and life outside of work. Clive shared that one of the Painters who had been there only a couple of months said he just loves working there and that he had just experienced his first Core Values Awards and state of the Company address last week and it had such a positive effect on him. He loves turning up for work, loves being part of a team. He said he had been through some struggles but being surrounded by committed, positive and helpful people is now feeding into his personal life.
The Three C’s of Management
It has been proven over time that if you continue to do these things it creates repetition. The three C’s of management, you need to create it, be clear about it and be consistent with your delivery and this type of cultural stability and cultural inclusion will impact individuals internally. There will be a point wherever they are they will have a reflection on what extreme ownership means in their personal life. It is a bigger picture than just the work world, but it gives them a clear lens through which they can make decisions and drive some actions.
The Four Agreements
Here at Planning Plus, we work from a slightly different perspective and have a lot of belief in a book by Don Miguel Ruiz called The Four Agreements which we now call our Workplace Agreements. It starts with being Impeccable with your Word, we say it, do it, no excuses. Next is don’t take things personally, so speak your mind respectfully, hold each other to account and when interacting with other, listen first, listen second and breathe. The third agreement is don’t make assumptions so clear the pathway for open communication and then question to find resolution. Lastly is always do your best, be mindful of the power of always doing your best regardless of how you feel. From there we encourage and congratulate achievements. We use this as our meeting agenda, wherever you are be there and that comes down to, can you be anywhere other than where you are right now? No. So why not be there? They are quite simple. We are continually holding each other accountable to stick to our intentions and then look for the positive solution in everything.The next big thing that’s very valuable to us at Planning Plus is what are we giving to our customers, our prospects, our industry, our colleagues, each other, and then to close it off, the last statement is give to give and give freely. That is the drivers from behind our business. it’s similar to what Mainline have set up in relation to your core values and what are the drivers and the fundamental beliefs that trigger the Mainline Way and we’ve built that on the Planning Plus way.
Gavin loves to do his coaching and consulting and he loves to run his podcast 100 breaths, which is about experiences of life and being able to help people with certain things and they are the fundamental drivers. This is our perspective of another way to build culture and look at your values.