Moving forward, the next stage for Joe Woodriff is sustainability which is why they have now got to the size and scale they are at now. Woodriff’s need to be able to scale up and back when needed and to be able to lean on a different resource, if necessary, through times of maintenance of high production. It is also about investing in his people, so they are also sustainable and to relieve the pressure on different positions. They are building their systems internally so when someone is away on leave or sick leave they do not fall back and crumble which was previously a common thing which a lot of people could relate to that side of the business. Sustainability for that, means change and you must in today’s environment, otherwise you will get stagnant and that is not an exciting journey.
You must be adaptable
There is always plenty of excitement in the Collision repair industry because it is ever-changing, and the insurance companies or work providers can change their rule set on a regular basis, so you have to be adaptable to change and determine whether that change is a fit for your business. That can be a scary thing, determining if that new direction from that work provider is going to fit your business and if not, are you willing to say no. You need to make sure that at the end of the day you are taking something from the business, and it is generating profit so you can reinvest not only in the business but in the people and to do that you need to know the numbers. It is about spending the time to get the foundation right otherwise you are making decisions with a blindfold on.
Joe was introduced to business coaching a few years ago. Gavin had been giving Joe advice from a coaching and consultative perspective and he could see Joe taking on as much as he could and sucking it up like a sponge. It was from there that Joe engaged in a local business coach to keep them on that journey.
What price do you put on it?
Joe knew that there was a price involved but said you cannot put a price on it. He did admit at first that if someone had come to him with a proposal for a consultancy partnership or arrangement, he would have looked at the number and thought – “for what? Just for talking to me?” It was really about someone coming in and slowing it down and talking about things from a different perspective. It showed Joe what was important, what was critical and just being a support person. It started out quite casual but from the beginning Joe could see the benefits and decided just to go with it.
They took a break from it for a few years, but their most recent coach has done some amazing things with not only with Joe but also members of their senior leadership team. What he has taught them, they have been able to take back to the whole team and the vibe onsite now is good. To walk around the site now, everyone is productive and getting it done but they are smiling, and you can feel a good energy. All that is due to good lessons learned from the Coaches and putting it into the culture.
Coaching has also developed Joe’s own skillset as a businessperson and then ultimately a coach. What he was able to learn, he was then able to pass onto his team and now the evolution of the Woodriff Leadership Team.
Joe started with a Leadership Team of seven, including himself however as they have progressed and started to learn and delve deeper into coaching on leadership, they narrowed that down to just himself and four others. Leadership is much more than just coming to work and managing people. They have had a solid leadership team now for about 12 months.