The latest episode of LotTalk, powered by Lotpop, continues the series on leadership with guest Frank Knox, Chief Operating Officer of Auto Acquire AI and a respected industry veteran with experience at CarMax and Unique Auto Sourcing. In conversation with hosts Chris Keene, John Anderson, and Reynaldo Leonard, Knox delivered a masterclass in what separates true leadership from simple management—and why so many dealerships struggle to sustain meaningful change.
Knox began with a deceptively simple observation: “What you do in between working car deals is what really matters.”
Leadership, he explained, isn’t proven in the high-energy moments when the showroom is full. It’s what managers choose to do when no one is watching that defines how their people perceive them. Are they out walking the lot, inspecting inventory, and checking in with staff—or sitting in the office talking about their next boat payment?
People follow example before instruction. “Leaders talk about the why and the where,” Knox said. “Managers talk about the how and the when.” Visionary leaders, in other words, inspire purpose; transactional managers just chase the next deal.
One of Knox’s key insights was the distinction between results and behaviors. Many dealerships fixate on KPIs—turn rates, gross, volume—without understanding that those numbers are the byproduct of consistent, teachable behaviors.
“When I sit with a manager,” Knox explained, “I don’t want to talk about KPIs. I want to talk about the behaviors that drive them.”
He outlined five core competencies that every great leader should be able to model and identify in their team:
Courageous leadership – The ability to challenge upward and make tough calls.
Knox noted that even communication—often taken for granted—looks different depending on a person’s level. For a porter, it might mean speaking clearly to peers; for an executive, it’s the ability to articulate strategy across departments. Great leaders tailor expectations without lowering standards.
One of the most powerful parts of the discussion came when John Anderson pointed out a pattern he’s seen in his own work with dealers: leaders who bring in a new process or software, celebrate a few early wins, and then disappear. Knox didn’t mince words:
“Until I get to sustainment, I can’t take my foot off the gas.”
He described the typical failure of change management as a lack of commitment, not a bad product or process. Dealers get initial wins, ease off involvement, and lose momentum before the behaviors can take root. “They think the tool didn’t work,” Knox said, “but the truth is they stopped working.”
It’s the difference between coaching a team through pre-season drills versus showing up only for the championship. Sustainable success requires consistent repetition, feedback, and accountability—long after the novelty wears off.
Knox’s most memorable quote hit like a lightning bolt:
“The number one derailer for poor decision-making at the executive level is ignoring data that contradicts personal views.”
It’s a problem that echoes across the industry. Leaders often cling to their opinions about what a car is “worth” or how much gross they “should” be making—even when the data says otherwise. The result is aged inventory, missed opportunities, and frustrated teams.
Chris Keene summed it up perfectly in the recap: “Stop ignoring factual data that contradicts your gut.”
Knox called this behavior “acting on assumptions without verification,” a derailer he sees not just in executives but across all levels of an organization. True leadership, he said, is about humility—trusting objective information over personal bias.
John Anderson steered the conversation toward another critical element: approachability. Are your managers visible and accessible, or are they hiding behind glass offices and titles?
Knox described the best leaders he’s worked with—those who walk the store daily, greet employees in every department, and pick up trash in the parking lot without thinking twice. These small acts, he said, signal teamwork, humility, and ownership.
“Those are the managers I gravitated toward,” he recalled. “They break down silos. They don’t hoard information. They’re servant leaders.”
And when a leader behaves that way, the culture shifts. Employees not only respect them—they emulate them. The result is a team that’s more likely to seek feedback, make better decisions, and challenge upwards rather than silently complying with bad ones.
Knox compared leadership development to fitness training: “No one got out of shape in a day, so you can’t expect to become a Greek god overnight.”
Dealerships that expect instant transformation are setting themselves up for disappointment. It took 90 days to develop bad habits, and it’ll take at least that long to rebuild good ones. The key is focusing on daily discipline, not just monthly reports.
This mindset shift—from chasing numbers to building behaviors—helps dealers navigate tough markets with confidence. When everyone else panics over dropping grosses or rising age, teams that have built consistent habits are ready to adapt rather than react.
Chris Keene closed the episode with a rapid-fire summary that captured the heartbeat of the discussion:
Knox’s words cut to the core of dealership leadership: if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten. The real challenge isn’t finding the next shiny tool or strategy—it’s developing the discipline to apply what you already know, every single day.