True Story. In 1995 I worked for a large multi-franchise dealer who sold 50-100 cars per day. One day in 1995, the dealer, who rarely came to the store, delayed opening all departments to have a breakfast for the 450+ employees.

The topic or theme of the breakfast was "Teamwork". The Dealer spoke as well as a guest speaker who had written a book on teamwork. We all left with a coffee cup with "Teamwork 1995" on it and a copy of the other speakers book. We all left pumped up and ready to work together for a better work environment and a better store.

About 30 minutes after returning to the store, word went around that 5 sales managers were fired. 17 years later I am still mystified by the timing.

Teamwork is a great word and a great theory. Now I always thought of myself as a "company" man who worked well with other departments. Dealers or GM's who point blame at one department or another help to destroy teamwork and morale of the store. If a store succeeds, all departments succeed. Everything leaders do should be to promote teamwork throughout all departments. The closer the departments work together, the more productive each department will be and the more profitable the store will be.

Attitude is king in a dealership and the leaders need to lead by example. Words are words. Actions get results.