Auto Care ON AIR

Women in Auto Care Special: Open Mic Sessions (Part 2)

• Auto Care Association • Season 1 • Episode 41

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Carpool Conversations host, Jacki Lutz, holds 15-20 minute discussions with Women in Auto Care Leadership Conference attendees about important professional development skills.

0:57 - Staying on Task: Megan Dineff & Jamie Carson, Ervine's Auto Repair and Grand Rapids Hybrid and EV

22:46 - Opening and Closing Presentations: Kirsten Von Busch, Experian & Kathleen Long, Yelp

46:35 - Standing Out: Brooke Peckham, AutoWares & Dawnn Devereaux, AutoZone

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To learn more about the Auto Care Association visit autocare.org.

To learn more about our show and suggest future topics and guests, visit autocare.org/podcast


Jacki Lutz:

Welcome to Auto Care On Air, a candid podcast for a curious industry. I'm Jackie Lutz, Content Director at the Auto Care Association, and this is Carpool Conversations, where we collaborate on today's most relevant power skills. We're all headed in the same direction, so let's get there together. Hello and welcome to part two of this special edition of Carpool Conversations. These are open mic sessions from the Women in Auto Care Leadership Conference. We put out an invitation for any of our attendees to participate in these 15 to 20 minute sessions and we invited them to talk about any professional development skill that they wanted and to also bring a guest along with them, so we will have two guests in these open mic sessions. Part two we cover staying on task, opening and closing presentations and how to stand out. I hope you enjoy it. Okay, we're here again with another open mic session from the Women in Auto Care Leadership Conference. I have with me a very dynamic doer. Doer, Doers, we're doers, that's what I meant to say. They're also a dynamic duo mother dotto, dotto.

Jamie Carson:

Oh, you're going to make me feel so much better because I'm going to talk just like that very soon, dotto.

Jacki Lutz:

Mother daughter combo Okay, I need to really write this stuff out before I start trying to spit it out here Megan Denef, who is the general manager of Irvine's Auto Repair and Grand Rapids Hybrid and EV, and then her mother, jamie Carlson, who is the owner of this fantastic repair shop. That has won many awards. I had to actually write them all out. So Irvine's has won the Auto Care Ace Award, which is the Continuing Education Award. You guys have won the Apex Shop Owner of the Year Award. You, jamie, won the Women in Auto Care Female Shop Owner of the Year a few years ago. And then Megan is also an awarded guest who has won the Women in Auto Care Woman of Excellence Award and has just also recently won our Auto Care 4 Under 40 Impact Awards. So this is like a very dynamic duo and that is what I'm going to say.

Jacki Lutz:

Correctly, that time and when we were talking about what to talk about, what the topic was, we kind of kept going around, kind of staying on task, trying to stay focused, time management, using your time effectively, because you guys obviously run a very good and impactful location over there at Irvine's. You keep getting awards and collecting awards, so clearly you're doing something right and doing something efficiently. So, yeah, let's talk a little bit about how you guys do that and maybe any kind of tips and tricks we can give to our audience on how they can do that in their daily lives. So let's talk about your chaotic environment.

Jamie Carson:

That is a shop Sometimes it's wonderfully chaotic and I think you know the very most important thing is somebody that needs our help. So even if you're in the middle of a bank reconciliation or trying to figure out something very complicated on a social media post, that phone rings. You listen. Because if someone doesn't pick it up on the first ring and then at the second ring and it's like I'm picking it up, and I think Megan's picking it up on the second ring if someone doesn't answer it.

Jamie Carson:

So even if we're trying to be focused, we also have to be delighted to not be focused and have that. I don't even call it a distraction, it's. Sometimes, it's kind of a break.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, squirrel, you just sit down and start to be productive and something happens.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, yeah, and I think I think in the you know more of like the corporate world world, I would I cannot say my words today in the corporate world. I would I cannot say my words today In the corporate world. I would kind of compare that to my team's chat, because I swear, every single time I sit down and actually start doing something productive and like deep thinking type of work, I get a ding and even though I know it's probably not urgent, just because of the nature of my role now, I still get distracted and I want to go look at it. But it breaks up. That time I have to actually be productive, which is really difficult.

Megan Dineff:

And then what's hard about that is you stop to take care of someone. Maybe you're out in the lobby helping get a car checked in or getting somebody into a loaner car. They're moving car seats over. Finding your way back to your desk and picking back up where you left off is nearly impossible, because something else is going to need your attention and I have maybe a little bit more attention to give to side quests than others do. And so I'll see oh, this thing out in the shop needs to be done, and I totally forget about what was on my desk, what my task was. Oh, I got to go this way, I need to clean this, I need to do these things. And then all of a sudden, I'm in the back of the shop picking up rags, which is nothing to do with me, but it feels like the right thing to do at the time. So it's hard to get back to the starting point. It's hard to get back to the starting point. It's hard to get back to where you started.

Jamie Carson:

But I remember when you started working full time or at least, and especially maybe when we weren't both in the same tiny up front area together, I'd hear you out there talking to people. I mean, you'd be out there for half an hour and I think some people could say get back to doing this or that. That was her job. That was the most important thing is, I mean, delight those people that are waiting and I would think I can actually finish this task while she's doing that and it was awesome. But I think, knowing that you have to have somebody, that that's what they do.

Jacki Lutz:

They pick up your slack when things like that happen Cause I know, like you know, just to describe what I feel when I hear you guys talk about, this kind of stuff happens to me daily. I will sit down because, say, I need to you know, edit one of these podcasts you know I have every single Tuesday we release this show, so every week I have to find time to sit down and listen to an hour episode of something you know and edit it throughout the way. And it takes, you know, it takes a little bit of time and during that, if I'm doing it during my workday, I'll get an email ping, I'll get a Teams ping or I'll get somebody who assigns me a new task in our project management software and, even though none of it is necessarily urgent, it's like you have to. I want to know what am I? Am I still prioritized correctly? You know the episode. I still have four more days.

Jacki Lutz:

It's one of these things, something I only have an hour on right, so it constantly takes you away from your current project and you move over to see if there's any other fires to put out, and then you come back and it's just, it's extremely inefficient. So do you guys do anything in particular to try to stay on task, because I know making sure that your customers are taken care of is very important. It's an important part of your job. But then not everybody has a second person that's picking up the slack when Megan gets taken away from a project. So what happens?

Megan Dineff:

I make to-do lists like crazy project. So, like what happens, I make to-do lists like crazy and I have started keeping them about a year ago, using my iPad and like an app called GoodNotes, and I have a planner with to-do lists in there and then I keep every single notebook that I would. I would like to have a notebook for everything. I would like an auto care notebook, I would like one for work, I want one for dealing with my daughter. Like I would have 50 notebooks, but I can't carry around 50 notebooks. I'm going to lose some of them. I'm going to write things in different notebooks. So in this GoodNotes app I can have all of the notebooks in one place, but including the planner and the to-do list.

Megan Dineff:

And I have also taught myself that you know, get in in the morning, write the to-do list down. A lot of the stuff is the same every day, but then I have new things and if I don't get it done unless it's something that is like a high pressure, like something urgent, like I don't care if it goes to the next day, it is fine. So I just, if anybody uses good notes, I throw that lasso around it and move it to the next day Okay, and I have learned to just be okay with that. I am not a perfectionist Like I'm going to do the best I can every day and some days that's like a 70%. But what did Ashley's? My sister's friend, said Like if you can only give me 70%, but you give me that 70%.

Dawn Devereaux:

you give me all of it, you give me every single bit of that.

Megan Dineff:

You're like you've done your best for the day, and that's what made me realize that if I don't get my whole to-do list done, it's totally fine. A lot of the time when I don't get the to-do list done is not because I'm following through on things, it's because customers are coming in and yeah and, I think, the to-do list.

Jamie Carson:

There's some things. It's not that you don't want to do them, but they're just more daunting. And um, kim aurenheimer came and who's our my good, good friend and a shop owner, but she also does a lot of um training as well. Time blocking, blocking. Hey, I can't talk either.

Megan Dineff:

You sound?

Jacki Lutz:

like you're from Michigan.

Jamie Carson:

I'm killing it today and Kim would say, time blocking. But that concept of okay, I'm not going to get this done, I'm going to work on this for half an hour and set a timer, and it's like holy cow, I got that done, and I think sometimes, when my phone accidentally goes on, do not disturb, it's a blessing, I think. However, if our phones are on, do not disturb, we just call each other twice real fast.

Jacki Lutz:

Because that's your secret code.

Jamie Carson:

You can't possibly mean me.

Megan Dineff:

Well, in time blocking I always think and I've asked Kim point blank how do you make that work? How can I time block in my position? She's like well, you just I don't remember what she said, but she's like you just kind of have to do it and like, if you get interrupted. Then I think she said like you, stop your time you go, do what you need to do and you come back to it. I'm like, well, we need some warmup time. Like when I come back like it's. That feels too hard.

Jamie Carson:

So, like it's, that feels too hard, oh my God, especially if you had to look at something on your phone that interrupted you, because then you might have to check.

Jacki Lutz:

But you know, like that's that is really good advice for you know, professionals, that maybe their their problem isn't that there's a phone call, like you don't necessarily always have to pick up the phone, like it's not a customer situation, like maybe some sales roles maybe. Or if you're in customer service yes, absolutely, roles maybe. Or if you're in customer service, yes, absolutely. But for a lot of us, like for me, like, if I have a phone call, somebody needs something, I can take it, or a lot of times I could let it go to voicemail, see what the voicemail was, make sure it wasn't really important and detrimental, and then go back to what I was doing. The time blocking is a really interesting concept. I almost feel like I want to try that and also writing things down People. I struggle a lot because I have so many things in my brain all the time that I want to do and they all just kind of float there. And.

Jacki Lutz:

I'm constantly not only thinking about all the things that I have to do, but also thinking about like, am I remembering everything that I have to do? Was there something that I else I had that I'm not thinking of right now and it's just not very organized and I've had so many people recommend to me to write more things down. I'll write like my business, like things I have to get done this week or today, whatever.

Jacki Lutz:

I have those to-do lists, but I don't have that to-do list for my life you know and what to do with my kids and to make sure they get their one-year doctor appointment and that their dentist appointment is done and that they get to karate and that they, you know, like there's just so many other things in your life that you have to try to keep track of, maybe getting a little more detailed in your schedule and just making sure it's all in one spot. I also like what you said, too, about you do it in the morning. You said I try to On your iPad. Yeah, and take a look at your day. I've heard that before too. I've always ignored this advice.

Megan Dineff:

Well, and it's nice because I'm looking at my to-do list. I have things where, like I get hours out to the technicians or do our daily report for the accounts receivable stuff, but then I also look at the schedule and see who has like training that day. So we work with a coach. And so who is Rena talking to today? How long are they gone? When does this happen? If we have any like connection circles or anything like, that so.

Megan Dineff:

I have it all laid out first thing in the morning, Not every day, but I would say three out of five days a week are pretty, pretty well planned out and it's and it's super helpful to have that written down.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, is that something you do?

Jamie Carson:

too, Jamie, I do and I I just started GoodNotes. Mine doesn't work quite technically quite as well as it does for Megan, but I do think I could write it on there instead, or I would put it on my phone Right now. I like not a legal, it's not yellow but like a legal pad and I want that list on there and then I'll redo it at the end of the day for the next day but like flip it over.

Jamie Carson:

So if you have to look back at something that's there and it's so satisfying. Then, when you can go through and go, that page can go that page can go because it's just more together. So I don't know if I would still keep writing it down there, because you know I might forget to bring in my laptop. And there's all of that. I think for you that's more automatic to bring it with you.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, that's nice too, because you can take it outside of work too, and you don't have to walk around your whole life holding a piece of paper.

Jamie Carson:

We'll talk about brain dumping, like if you can't sleep at night or something, and it's like because you just got all these things going on. And my life is much calmer now, with Megan stepping up more at work. It sounds like you weren't stepping up before.

Megan Dineff:

I was doing my job. It just wasn't this job.

Jamie Carson:

I think you only started full time during the addition and I think, the last maybe year and a half. I don't go in on Tuesdays anymore, and they don't need me there on other days either, but then what am I going to do? How are Megan and I going to hang?

Megan Dineff:

out. I actually want to go back to brain dumping, Jackie, because this is something, if you have not done, I think could be super helpful. In a very jumbled mind which most of ours are, we are constantly thinking of doctor's appointments, karate, soccer, who's going to?

Jacki Lutz:

eat this for dinner. It would be the bane of my existence. What do we eat?

Megan Dineff:

Nobody told us when we were having kids that we would have to plan dinner every night for the rest of our life. Yeah, awful, it's the worst. It's the worst thing. Ask your kids what they want to eat for the week, and then you'll automatically have two decisions. And then ask your husband, and then ask your husband, and then you get to pick the other two. So candy and cheese sticks Done.

Jacki Lutz:

That'll be all right. Did they eat?

Megan Dineff:

That's not a big deal Did they eat Did you eat, it's fine, but brain dumping is just grab a blank piece of paper and write down anything that comes in your mind. No, you don't get to sort it Like things that you have to do or just anything that you're thinking about, anything that that is in your mind, jesus, so like it could be there all day?

Jamie Carson:

Yes, absolutely.

Megan Dineff:

But it should be in your heart. West Michigan.

Jacki Lutz:

Hello, that's where I'm from, by the way. I don't know if you guys ever knew that. I think I did. Yeah, I'm from Greenville. I did know that.

Megan Dineff:

Oh, my goodness, I did know that, yes, yeah, but you take everything, you write, you write everything down, so you're like get the bacon out of the freezer. I need this from costco um eye doctor appointment, just everything.

Megan Dineff:

A card, a gift anything, yes, birthday cards anything, anything that comes out, um, and then you just let it be, because a lot of times it is in the middle of the night and I don't like to do it on my phone. But you could, but I would get, I would go on a side quest on my phone, like, like I might as well just do this now. It's here, here, it is right now, but then you can do something with the list later. Like, okay, I'm going to take everything that was in my brain and keeping me up in the middle of the night and now that it's on paper I can rest. It's very freeing. Now I can do something with this entire list. So are any of these action items I need to take care of right now? Can I order this gift for the four-year-old's friend really quick on Amazon and have it delivered? I think it's just a magical thing to do.

Jacki Lutz:

That sounds like it would be magical, I think, having it somewhere other than just my brain. I think sometimes. I don't trust my brain these days. No.

Megan Dineff:

And then we keep thinking about it over and over. You just keep bringing it up.

Jacki Lutz:

I think I saw like a reel, like a social media reel recently, where it was like the guy and what's going on in his brain while he's laying down at night to go to bed and it was like ah, this feels nice, my back hurts. You know, that was about it. And then the woman.

Jacki Lutz:

It was just like a thousand voices and stuff, and it's not just like the list of things to do, it was also like I'm getting fat, I really need to think about my diet, um, but like, when do I ever put in a time for exercise? Oh shoot, I forgot to make that appointment for so-and-so. Oh, we still don't have bread. What are the kids going to eat tomorrow? And it's just like thing after thing after thing after thing, where, like men seem to be able to. I actually just I swear.

Jacki Lutz:

It was like yesterday I heard someone say that a woman sleeps with only like 10% of her brain shut off or 20% of her brain shut off. Don't quote me on the actual percentage, but it was a very small amount and it was something like a survival thing that we brought with us from tribal days, where it's like you need to listen for the baby crying Right, so like, and for danger and things like that. So in women feel more vulnerable in general with like danger and things like that, so their brain never really truly shuts off like a man's does, and we all get so mad at our husbands who never wake up for the baby, like how do you not hear it?

Jacki Lutz:

Their brain is off, they cannot and ours is not. Yeah, so I can. I can imagine brain dumping is a really, really good technique. I'm going to have to try that one. Yeah, and just writing things down throughout the day we mentioned, and what was the other one Time blocking, time blocking.

Jamie Carson:

I think that that that would be great for me personally. This is kind of a good reminder for me to try it again.

Megan Dineff:

Yeah, I'm so glad we came here so that we could tell you things to remind us to do yeah. It's like a little review. We'll listen to this on some coming Tuesday and like, oh yeah, we got to do that, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's awesome.

Jacki Lutz:

Thank you guys. So much. We've talked about 27 minutes. Believe it or not, I know it flies. Um, but if I'm not done, cue the music, get the hook, um, but if we just want the audience to just come home like, go home with with one, uh, the most important takeaway that you think it is for somebody who's really trying to stay on task and stay focused and really, uh, keep their, their, the time that they're putting towards work and professional life efficient, what would you guys hope that is?

Megan Dineff:

I'm going first, okay, okay, I would say find what works well for you and then be accommodating to what works well for others, because we don't all work the same way. And to try to force someone into your box because that's what works for you may have a miserable coworker or employee. I'm very thankful that my mom has always known how I've worked and we're able to have conversations like I. Just need 15 minutes and then we can have this conversation. That's lovely. It's very helpful to be accepted with. This is how I'm working. I know that it's not the same, but we get everything done.

Jamie Carson:

But it's not like it's accommodations Although, like you, make them for me too, though, and I think it's the communicating. It's like I know this needs to be done. I'm sorry I can't answer the phone for half an hour, is that okay? And just having? I think you and Steve do that, and if you try one of these things and it doesn't work, there was just something online that had like all the different methods you could try for managing your time too. Find one that works well for you.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, and like stick with that. Yeah, and I love that message and I also just like the. I kind of like the ADHD talk that you guys were talking about, because I know so many people that struggle with it and so many people that are walking around I don't know. Like, obviously, I think it's a spectrum. It's not necessarily like you can have like a very little taste of it and not necessarily be diagnosed with ADHD and need medication.

Jacki Lutz:

But a lot of people do struggle with that that I talk to and a lot of people say it like it's a joke. They're kind of like oh there's my ADHD, you know, but like it really is something that can affect your career. It can affect your life. It can make things a lot harder than they need to be. You know overthinking.

Jamie Carson:

It can turn into overthinking and, just you know, overloading your brain and anxiety, yeah, all kinds of things. And if you think that, go find a reputable place and get tested.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah.

Jamie Carson:

You know and get properly treated for it and get those tools.

Megan Dineff:

Yeah, and you know somebody, I know that, like while I'm on Connection Circles, like I'm like, oh guys, adhd, I'm so sorry, like I forgot what I was talking about. To me it's just easier to be like this is where I'm at, so like I let it out. But I had someone come up to me yesterday and she was like you know, I really just want to tell you. I appreciate your honesty with your struggles. And she goes I know you laugh it off, but I know it's not always easy. And I was like you're damn right, it's not always easy, especially in my mom life. Like work with ADHD is so much easier than being a mom with ADHD, but that's again, that's a whole nother thing. And she just said you know I was diagnosed. I don't feel comfortable talking about it, but I really appreciate that you're open and I wondered if I could like contact you if I had any questions. And I was like, yeah, pretty much all the time. Like get me off track, girl, let's go Interrupt me, I don't mind. Yeah, pretty much all the time.

Jacki Lutz:

Like get me off track, girl, let's go Interrupt me, I don't mind. Yeah, I don't care, I like it. So yeah, that's. I mean. Like we talk all the time on this show about being upfront about your issues.

Jacki Lutz:

You know and like telling people, when you fail, what mistakes you've made and being open and humble about those things, because there's always people that can learn from your mistakes or learn from your struggles, who also want to be able to talk about it or also having the same struggle, and if no one ever mentions these things, then nobody can help each other. So that's something we talk about all the time on the show, so I'm so glad we get to end with that.

Megan Dineff:

Well, good.

Jacki Lutz:

I'm glad. Thank you guys so much. This was fun having you both on. Thanks for having us.

Megan Dineff:

You guys are a hoot.

Jacki Lutz:

Okay, welcome back. We have another open mic session. We are at Women in Auto Care's Leadership Conference in Atlanta, georgia, and I have with me now Kathleen Long. May sound like a familiar name to you. She was on an episode a couple months ago about having a digital presence. So if that name sounds familiar, that's why. But she's the Senior Director of Business Operations and Strategy now, because RepairPal got bought by Yelp, yeah, so a little different title. Same face.

Kathleen Long:

Same face, yeah, welcome back. Different iteration, yeah.

Jacki Lutz:

Welcome back to the show and, kirsten Von Busch, doctor, doctor, sorry director, you've been promoted Fantastic Director of product Marketing at Experian. Yes, thank you for having me. Yeah, welcome, and this episode was really. You came to me wanting to put together. You just did a lightning talk yesterday at the conference about openings and closings of presentations. It was fantastic. So this is more of a tactical topic than we've been doing, which is really cool. People will have some great takeaways from it, and you chose this guest, kathleen, who, if anyone's been to conferences lately, have probably heard Kathleen speak, and you always have great ways to open and close them, so this should be a really good conversation. Awesome yeah.

Kirsten Von Busch:

Kathleen is who introduced me to women in auto care and she encouraged me to attend conference but also to submit to present. So I've had the opportunity to see her present a number of times and it was really flattering and honoring that she suggested that I do. So I'm here today because of her initial suggestion and it only seemed right that when we talked about well, who else could you know be on this podcast with us, and I was like, well, kathleen, obviously, of course.

Kathleen Long:

Well, I'm always dragging my friends to women in auto care. That's how it works and you know industry people especially, but I see you know people who have amazing content that would actually enrich the aftermarket, speaking in a lot of dealer spaces, as Kirsten does, and so I was like, oh well, come and share some of what you know, slash do, because actually Experian has a whole mountain of data that really enriches like a lot of our understanding of like what consumers are doing.

Kathleen Long:

So yeah, lots of important topics of, like, what consumers are doing. So, yeah, lots of important topics that Kirsten could share. But we have been on this presentation kick for a while now. Yeah, so because you have a friend who wrote a book about presentations we've been talking about it, yeah.

Kirsten Von Busch:

Yeah, absolutely so. There is a woman that I know, deborah Shames, and she wrote a book out front and written by a woman for women, and one of the things she talks about is a number of things in her book but openings and closings. Specifically, I went to her and her husband have a company, eloquii. I went to their immersive training program years and years ago and it was one of the most impactful things in my career and just how you can really engage your audience and different techniques and approaches and things you can do to just stand out and stand up.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah. So like if we kind of dive into it, I don't know, does it make sense to start with openings?

Dawn Devereaux:

Sure.

Jacki Lutz:

So what are the tips and tricks to opening a presentation in an effective way?

Kirsten Von Busch:

Yeah, there's so many different ways and techniques that you can do it and I mean, debra has a lot of them in her book. But the one thing that I always really encourage people to do is you want to stand out and you want to capture your audience's attention, whether it is, you know, a small group or a keynote opportunity with hundreds of people in the audience. But how can you do that right away? And the best way to do it is to just dive right in, where so many times it's human nature we're nervous initially. Right, of course we are.

Kirsten Von Busch:

I still get nervous every single time, but I force myself to just dive right in because it's easy to sort of build up and lead into the conversation with hi, thank you so much for having me, and my name is and my, you know, education, my background, my experience, so on and so forth. All of that is still relevant. I'm just saying maybe you don't need to lead with it, right? How can you lead with something different where people kind of sit up and take notice and think, well, what's she talking about? What's she going to say? I want to listen, because otherwise, what are we all doing? Our mind is wandering, we're kind of scrolling on our phone. We're like I don't know who this is. Why should I listen to her? You know, do something unexpected, so I position it as dive right in right. No better way to acclimate to that cold pool than just jumping in.

Kathleen Long:

Yeah, I mean, I think that's really key is people are a little trepidatious, and so then that translates when you're hesitating too long or doing something, and don't be afraid to occupy space, like march right to the center of the stage or you know, come out from behind the podium and just launch into whatever the story is, whatever the point is. You know there's techniques you can use. Of course, you used a number technique yesterday and like what does this number mean? You know that captures people's attention, but yeah, in the first few minutes, if people are not like keen to listen to you, you have lost it, because then, by the time you get to the point, no one's paying attention anymore, unless it's like your best friend that you said Would you please record this? Otherwise nobody's paying attention.

Kathleen Long:

And so I think that's really important and you know, if your voice shakes a little bit or there's something going on, people will forgive you for that Really not a big deal. And so I try to encourage people to also like focus on the content. Focus on, you know, starting to tell the story or leading with a, you know, really interesting fact, or, you know, often, like me, with a joke and business audiences are so much kinder. You know, in terms of all that. I've actually done stand-up comedy, by the way, and it is nerve-wracking because you have to make people laugh, but in a business context, everyone's freaking bored.

Kathleen Long:

They've been sitting in the room forever and they're like, please just say anything to break the monotony of my day, and so you know, the smallest little joke will get a laugh. Like I'll tell people I'm like I'm about to make you laugh and that makes them laugh, See, that wasn't planned.

Megan Dineff:

I swear, see, see how it works.

Kathleen Long:

That wasn't planned, I swear, I know. So yeah, because we all want, you know, we want to be into it. Actually, that's what we're there for. And so we're ready for that moment.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, and I you know, listening to Sheila with RepairPal, who is a mentee, I would say, of yours, today she got on stage and obviously she was nervous and she said that you told her. Advice you gave her is that you know if you're nervous and it's kind of visible to just say that you're nervous, and I thought that was kind of a really good kind of takeaway for myself, because I feel like if you put it out there, it's no longer a secret, so you actually don't have to hide it anymore. You can focus on what you're going to say.

Kathleen Long:

Yeah, set the table, you know, and I encourage people to do that Like if somebody speaks really fast, all you have to do to get them to listen more intently to you is to say I speak really fast, let's see if you can you know, if you can, you know, keep pace with me, or whatever. And then people are like, oh, they speak fast, I'm gonna have to turn my brain on and yeah, you know, silence is also effective, amazingly.

Kathleen Long:

As a meditation teacher, I would be remiss if I didn't talk about silence, but it is really effective for commanding people's attention. So, you know, if you have that moment of like mindless oh my gosh, what was I about to say Just stand there for a second, take everyone in, you know, and just kind of sit in the moment and then speak. It's actually amazing.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, I bet that probably because I think if a speaker stops speaking, I pay attention again. Right, the silence fills the room.

Kathleen Long:

Yeah, totally, I mean, we should probably not do that on a podcast.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, that's fair. Yeah, so what happens after you dive in?

Kirsten Von Busch:

Well, I think then, of course, you need to practice right, and the second thing I talked about yesterday was I refer to it as swim lessons but if you're jumping into the deep end, you better practice right. I'm certainly not advocating that just like oh well, get out there without a life preserver or without ever you know, learning how to tread water or any of that.

Jacki Lutz:

Sink or swim in like the public eye.

Kirsten Von Busch:

Exactly, I mean practice, practice, practice, right when winging it. Some people can pull that off. That's a very difficult thing to do Because they have the skills and the experience and the longevity of having done it so many times.

Kirsten Von Busch:

where they have the practice that then they can quote, unquote, wing it, but reps, reps, reps, reps. And it doesn't have to be an enormous audience, right, it can be. I'm like, start small, right At your team meeting, it can be at a family event. It is a speech that you have to give for a graduation, at a chance to just gain that experience and build that confidence. But practice, practice, practice.

Kirsten Von Busch:

And for me personally, what works well is I write it down and not verbatim. That doesn't work well for me. I can't memorize something because you know what I'm going to forget a random word and then shoot, I'm stuck. So I'm more of the approach of okay, what are the highlights, what are the bullets that I want to make sure I hit on. And then I do rehearse it mentally, but I actually have to say it out loud Now, whether that is to somebody else or in front of the mirror or whatever it may be, but we can write it, we can read it. Until we're saying it out loud, the delivery is always going to be different in practice than what it was in your head. So I advocate for practicing early and often.

Kathleen Long:

Yeah, I mean, I even have been in an airport lounge recording myself talking to myself on Zoom, just to have it on video, so I could kind of watch it back and go, okay, well, what parts of this worked or didn't. But I almost always workshop with my team because I'm like I've created all this great content, like if it benefits any of them, why would I not, you know, why would I not try it, at least to have it out, and you know sort of go, oh, you know that didn't work, but it's like a friendly audience. So that's fine.

Kathleen Long:

And speaking of weddings, I've officiated a couple of weddings and that was interesting, and so practice there takes on a whole different kind of concept, you know, because the rehearsal dinner, as I found out, isn't really not for the officiant to practice what they're about to deliver, I mean, and no pressure, it's only the most important day of someone's life.

Kirsten Von Busch:

So if you screw, it up, it's fine, Exactly, Exactly. It's not as though all their you know family and friends are there. So yeah.

Jacki Lutz:

Well, interestingly enough, I've had the opportunity to do so as well.

Jacki Lutz:

So I've done three weddings and it is such an amazing is actually something that I write down. So I literally do sit up there and read because I'm like, oh, I'll mess this up Something too. Like you were talking about how you practice and listen to yourself and you were saying like how you write it down, but not verbatim. You know, I have to sometimes write it down verbatim too, even though I don't plan to go up there and read and I don't plan to memorize this. But sometimes, like I have a thought or like a point I want to get to, and if I'm just talking, it's really easy to get distracted and start thinking like, oh, I feel like I have something in my teeth or my hair, like something, and then you forget where you were or you're having trouble bringing that point to a close and things like that, before you know it. So I have to actually do that exercise of writing down verbatim that thought, so that I can organize my own words in my head.

Jacki Lutz:

And even if I don't say them verbatim in real life it's like I have the thought organized enough to where I can like articulate it in front of an audience.

Kathleen Long:

Yeah, I think, if, especially if you have like a specific metaphor, or like a joke that has to land or something like that. It can be tough if you don't write it down word for word, because you can get lost in your own sauce. You know where you're trying to make the metaphor come together and then it starts to get away from you. And you're like oh man, and you're trying to pull it back in Like that's the worst and it really does have to hang together or else people kind of get lost in it.

Kirsten Von Busch:

And I'll do the same for like a phrase or for kind of like from a marketing perspective, like an elevator statement, right, If there's something key that I really want this to land absolutely. I just can't do like the whole thing where people I memorized my entire presentation. I'm like oh my gosh, that's not me.

Jacki Lutz:

Now we're at our recital, so what do you do after you practice?

Kirsten Von Busch:

Yes, after practicing, practicing, practicing. So with the openings, right where you are jumping right in, you are practicing your delivery, kind of I'd call it swim lessons, but you also need to transition it to what is the topic at hand, right when I mean there has to be some type of like segue, some connection, right when what is, why did we introduce this and how are we carrying it forward. So I do think that's really important as well, and there's certainly a number of different ones that I've tried over the years where I'm like this one's great, I'm using this again. Or well, that didn't land as I expected it to, that one's off the list. So I think, just recognizing that and being able to modify it and adjust where this is a skill set that is ever evolving. I think that it's a craft you're always working to improve upon and just continue to develop.

Kathleen Long:

Yeah, I mean, ultimately, you know you got to have messages. You know in your mind or in your heart that you really want to share. That's the point. The point isn't to get up on stage and be cute. I mean kind of the point, but it's hard not to for some people.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, I mean, look who's talking.

Kathleen Long:

But but yeah, I mean the point is really to you know, to make a difference for someone or to share something that you know and so you want to get into that, you want to make sure that's effectively delivered and there can be a little bit of repetition to it. That's, I think, a big lesson that I've learned is I don't actually like repetition, and I was feeling for a while like every time I got on stage, every single thing I said needed to be something novel or new that they never, heard from Kathleen before Because I thought, well, what if some of my team members are in the audience they hear me say this thing all the time and they're going to be like, oh you know, or whatever.

Kathleen Long:

But actually as humans, and especially where we're a lot of us are in remote working environments I find one of the biggest things there is just repetition really helps to carry it home and I've learned that in my meditation too. So when you write meditations, actually for something to soak, you know you find a couple different ways of saying something or you know letting it land, creating some pauses, like really making sure that the primary points are in there and that they're probably in there in more than one way or more than once.

Kirsten Von Busch:

Yeah, from an adult perspective, right? I mean, I think the number I'm going to give the number don't quote me on it I believe, though, it's 19. As an adult, on average we need to hear something 19 times to really truly absorb.

Jacki Lutz:

That actually doesn't surprise me, at least for me.

Kathleen Long:

Oh my gosh 19.

Kirsten Von Busch:

19. And you think about that, and it's such an overwhelming number. But then, like well, was I tuned out at that point, was I not listening and did I not hear you know, message number four, seven and 12?. Or maybe I wasn't in a place to absorb it. And suddenly I'm in a different mindset, where I'm like oh, this really is, you know, landing today and you know, perhaps the person delivering it's like. I've told you this 16 times yeah. Today, but no, actually that's today today.

Kathleen Long:

So I shouldn't be frustrated with the guys that I work with where I'm like. I've told you this five times, it's just not enough.

Jacki Lutz:

It's not even close, not even close Times that by almost four.

Kathleen Long:

And then you're there, got it, got it Well yeah, clearly the problem is, I'm just not saying things enough times Still.

Kirsten Von Busch:

Yeah, where it's kind of like louder for the ones in back. Yeah, yeah, yeah, one more time, one more time.

Jacki Lutz:

So what about closings as we wrap up? What about?

Kirsten Von Busch:

Well, closings. Okay, so everyone thinks of what I'm going to do to start, but so many times we don't really give any time or energy to well, how am I going to end? Give any time or energy to well, how am I going to end? And I encourage everybody to give the closing as much energy and planning as you would the opening of what's the last thing I want to leave the audience with. What is the final thought? You know, if they didn't capture anything else, what's the one thing I want them to take away? And you know, even when you're practicing something so many times, just as humans, what do we do? We go back and we start from the beginning. And then we go back and we start from the beginning. And we go back and start from the beginning. How many times do we actually even get to the end? And if we do get to the end, how many times do we go through the whole way? Not very often.

Kirsten Von Busch:

I'm guilty of this myself, where you know sometimes. So finish strong is just the number one thing I can recommend. Where sometimes we're like I made it, I did it, hooray, I got through this Especially as you're getting started right, where you have that nervous energy and that anxiety carrying you through and then you're like, okay, I made it, like mentally your mind's racing and then you kind of just like fizzle.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, nothing memorable.

Kirsten Von Busch:

So I think of it as what is the lasting impression you want your audience to have. Make sure that you're focused on that as well.

Kathleen Long:

Yeah, I mean I think you know you pretty much said it all there about the closing. But it is one of the most important things because it's the last impression, you know, and that's when people are going to be taking all the photos and everything. So you know you can have a real cute finish. But also, I think so often I see people saying that's about it. So I think so often I see people say and that's about it.

Kathleen Long:

You know your ending should feel like an ending, so that you don't have to say that you know and really like your mic drop moment. That's what you're trying to create without actually dropping the mic, because I learned they don't really like it when you do that.

Kathleen Long:

So, but yeah, so I think that's key and ideally you're a little more comfortable by that time, right? So if you have something really profound or your final best joke, or whatever the thing is that you're going to be delivering, hopefully you're a little more comfortable in the space by that time. The audience has been a bit kind to you, you're feeling good and you're ready to land the plane, so to speak. So I think the end is actually the really fun part.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, yeah, it's fun Because, like, what you guys are talking about is really like the impact of a first impression and how important that is, but that last impression to when people walk away from it, you know, are they still empowered or were they fizzling off for the last, you know, 10 minutes? So, yeah, that's great. And then speaking of closings, as, believe it or not, we're at that 20 minute mark, so let's just go around the room real quick. If there's just one takeaway that you're hoping somebody walks away with, since we didn't say anything 19 times, right? So if you want everyone to walk away with one, what do we hope?

Kirsten Von Busch:

it is All right, well if you are interested in doing more presentations, do more presentations, get started. Whether it is a small audience, you know, submitting for a workshop at a conference, you can grow to a larger space, but you can start anywhere right. So, big or small, you've got to start.

Jacki Lutz:

That's a great one.

Kathleen Long:

Yeah, and I do think I think everyone should be interested in giving presentations, just from the standpoint that it's so important for your career to be able to speak to people effectively, like that's. You know well, for me personally, that's 99.9% of my job, but for any career really, it's important to develop these skills, and so I think the key is to just really own it, and I liked the where you started, which is, you know the, dive right in, get right into the juicy part, the point you know, and then let it flow from there.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, and I guess mine would be, and it's not something necessarily that we touched on. But when it comes to presentations, something that's really helped me is to make sure you're bringing in that human element, like no one's expecting you to go up there and be a robot and never say um and, you know, never lose your train of thought. I think it's okay to go up there and show your human side. I think a lot of people relate to that and you'll probably get a better response through that. But try to be like a remarkable human right. You have something to share. Be excited about it. If you're excited about it, everyone else will be excited about it. So just to kind of try to stay authentic, even though first thing you want to do when you get on a stage is hide behind a mask and start acting right.

Kathleen Long:

Yeah, and it's the worst, when people use that voice that they think you want to hear, rather than this voice they're like so today I'm going to be, you know it's like it's obnoxious and you know it's not their real voice. It's terrible. But yeah, the humanity. That's really how we connect both to the information and to the person.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah.

Kathleen Long:

Yeah.

Kirsten Von Busch:

I love that advice, that genuine authenticity. It shines through and, as you said, kathleen, it's so apparent when it's not there either. And people will forgive a mistake. They'll forgive a misstep because they want the grace.

Jacki Lutz:

You're authentic, exactly, yeah, awesome. Well, thank you guys so much for doing this. This was an awesome episode. Welcome back to another open mic session at the Women in Auto Care Leadership Conference. I have with me Brooke Peckham. She's the Human Resources Manager at AutoWares and also a Women in Auto Care Scholarship winner in previous years, so really excited to talk to her about that. Welcome to the show, thank you. And then I also have Dawn Devereaux. She is the Divisional HR Manager of AutoZone. Welcome to the show, thank you, and you have helped choose the winners of these scholarships for several years. Yes, what do you love about that process?

Dawn Devereaux:

I love hearing all of the stories, all of the creativity Some of the scholarship winners submit, or the scholarship candidates submit videos, and so they're showing different projects that they've worked on. You know I'm always so passionate about helping others and just to see the lengths people have gone through to try and communicate what they're doing on the side of really really to try and communicate what they're doing on the side of really really and some folks are already in school, right, so they have families, some of them and just to hear their stories as to why they feel like they should get it over the next person is great, so rewarding for me.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, and it's such a good kind of segue because what we're hoping to kind of hit on today as far as a professional skill is being able to really sell yourself, how to talk about yourself, how to help yourself stand out in a crowd or, in this case, in a stack of applications for scholarships. Absolutely. Right.

Jacki Lutz:

So, brooke, tell me a little bit about that process for you. What made you like, where were you at when in your life when you applied for one of the scholarships, what made you want to do that and how did you sell yourself?

Brooke Peckham:

Yeah, absolutely For me, scholarships. That was the only way that I was able to attend college. I came from a very poor family with seven children, so college, honestly, was not even in my ideas at the time. I really didn't think it was possible for me. I was working in fast food and I had a really great leader, Jim Harthorne, who really encouraged me that I could do more and be more.

Brooke Peckham:

And I had moved over to Ottawa and started working as a stocker there and through that process I encountered many different mentors Bob Joint, Aaron Roach many people who just encouraged me that I can reach whatever my goals are. And in the beginning I was actually going to school to be a teacher. And what was really cool about that process was, you know, during that time AutoWear supported me. Regardless of what my journey was, you know, even though it had nothing to do with the automotive field, I had such a great support system, especially when it came to scholarships, because those individuals were the ones who wrote letters of recommendation and helped me with that application process. And, as it turns out, I ended up falling in love with the aftermarket and changing my degree and I ended up graduating from Ferris State University with a bachelor's in human resources, and it is because of their support, and the support of Women in Auto Care and that scholarship foundation, that I am where I am today.

Jacki Lutz:

Well, that's amazing. So what do you think made you stand out in that process?

Brooke Peckham:

I think it was really about just being authentically myself. You know, too often when we're writing those we're like, what do they want to hear?

Brooke Peckham:

And I'm lucky enough, now that I've been on both sides of it, that I've been on the selection committee for the scholarships as well, so I've got to see what that process looks like on the other side, and when I'm reading through those, what I'm looking for is that authenticity as well, because that's what I really was told from my mentors that, at the end of the day, they just want you to be yourself. That's who they're looking for.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, I love that. You kind of brought it full circle and now you're kind of giving back to something that you received as well.

Brooke Peckham:

Yes, definitely, that's. Amazing.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah. So, dawn, tell me a little bit. I know both of you actually because you're both reading them. I actually didn't realize, brooke, that you also read the scholarships. So tell me, what other things do people do on these applications that really help them stand out? What's the skill that we can talk about that you know people can try to work on to help them stand out in a crowd? I think?

Dawn Devereaux:

just as Brooke stated, you want to make sure that you're very authentic. You know, when I'm, when I'm reading the scholarship applications, I want to make it seem as though the person's right in front of me telling me their story, like there's nothing left out. You know, I can hear the passion as I'm reading it aloud. But of course, with the system that we have, we have the ability to be able to go back and review, so you can mark it, because you go through a ton of them, right, you can mark it and then come back and just kind of sort of not necessarily prioritize, but put one. Hey, I want to go back and review this one, I want to go back and review that one, so that's that. So, again, a great skill to have when you are, you know, to make you stand out amongst your peers, is to don't take anything for granted, put it all on there. You never know what the tiebreaker is going to be. You never know how your impact in the community, your ability to have that community service or any additional club you may have been a part of, and different projects you worked on in that club, are going to determine the outcome of what you get and not only what you get or if you get picked, but also how much. Right, because there are different tiers of a scholarship as well. So community service is huge, obviously.

Dawn Devereaux:

Quite honestly, I don't see how some folks have the time to be able to go to school, do the family and still do all this volunteer work and, you know, make an impact to women that are in auto care, but most of them are always blazing trails, right, the first person in their family to have gone to college.

Dawn Devereaux:

Or you know they've had family members that have said, hey, you know you're not going to do well in this area, go be a teacher or don't try and work on cars. Or, you know, don't try and do this. So, and a lot of times it may be their parents and so their ability to be able to push through that and still communicate that and be very authentic and vulnerable and be able to communicate the fact and still communicate that and be very authentic and vulnerable and be able to communicate the fact that, listen, I'm doing this, this is what I've been doing, here's why I want to do it, this is what I need. I have nothing. I want to do this. So to really answer your question is being authentic. Just as Brooke stated, it's also being able to sell yourself and also not leaving anything out, making sure you include that community service, et cetera.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, I'm trying to think of like how this is applicable to people Maybe not even if they're just applying for scholarships just in day-to-day life and really bringing your authentic self.

Jacki Lutz:

And one thing, like I just recorded an episode with Shari Thezand and that'll be airing in a few weeks from now. But something she said that's kind of relevant here is that sometimes when we walk onto a team or any kind of group environment and it's new, it feels like the first thing you want to do is kind of fit in right and you see people with these skills on your team and you also feel like you need to have those skills too. Or you're not going to be relevant there or you're not going to be impactful there. But really her point is that you bring a unique set of skills and you bring a unique experience to the table and that you really need to embrace that your authentic self. Like you're saying, you need to embrace, like, what you do have and know that that is valuable and equally valuable to all the other skills that you're seeing around you, as long as you're in the right place and they're hiring you for the right reasons right.

Jacki Lutz:

So that's one thing that I hear you saying, like in this application form, in a day to day. For any professionals, I think embracing your authentic self is a really, really good tip, because it's so easy for us to put on these masks and try to be other people, because we think that that's what's that we need to do.

Dawn Devereaux:

And really I think that that can harm you, if anything, that you want to try and understand your environment, understand the business, whatever it may be. I mean, we're all in the auto parts business, or some facet of it, and we're both HR. But in order for me to best service my customer, both internally and externally, I have to know the business. I have to know their needs. Whether it's from a staffing perspective, you know all the way down to that customer that we're servicing right, you know across that counter. So again, I think that not just with applying for a scholarship, just go out there and be all that. You can be right. Whether you're HR, go out there and be all that. You can be right. Whether you're HR, you know loss prevention. Whether you're a shop owner, you know a student. You want to take it all in because the more you understand the business and the environment, the better off you're going to be and the better leader you're going to be. So I think that that's a great life skill as well.

Dawn Devereaux:

Yeah.

Brooke Peckham:

I definitely agree with that, and I think that's where your passion comes from too is actually understanding and especially understanding this industry.

Brooke Peckham:

Something we do at AutoWears with our internship program is make sure that all of our interns understand not only AutoWears but the automotive aftermarket as a whole and how they fit into that. So whether you're in HR or accounting or distribution or out on the floor, we make sure they know how that role fits into the bigger picture and during the course of their internship they go through all of the classes from the different departments to learn about what they do and to understand how they fit to the bigger picture of auto wares and then the aftermarket as a whole. And we've really discovered that by doing that. That's where that passion lies, because once they understand who we are, who this industry is and what a unique group we are, that's really where people start to fall in love with it and understand that their specific degree focus is unique in the aftermarket. I always tell people that it's not human resources that I love. It's human resources within the automotive aftermarket specifically, and that's the passion that I want to give to my interns as well.

Jacki Lutz:

That's fantastic that you really take the time to open up their eyes to this industry, because there's so many opportunities and I think sometimes if you don't know what those opportunities are, you really just try to grow wherever you're planted, even though you might find that there's a better environment for you, that you could really excel. But if you don't know what those opportunities are, then you can't pursue those, absolutely. Yeah, and another thing we mentioned before we started recording was the importance of making connections, and I think connections can really help set you apart in a lot of ways, and I don't know if either of you have ever had any experiences where somebody has spoke up for you when you weren't in the know, if either of you have ever had any experiences where somebody has spoke up for you when you were in the room or thought of you and gave you an opportunity that you wouldn't have necessarily thought yourself ready for, anything like that. But that's another way that you can really work to stand out is making sure you're making the right connection, especially in this industry, absolutely.

Dawn Devereaux:

I think that I know not too long ago you all did a podcast on mentorships. Well, you know there's a mentor and a mentee, and so part of what the mentor's responsibility is is to be a sponsor, right To speak, to advise, to speak up on one's behalf, and so networking that's a result of that, and so I think that you have to have the ability to be vulnerable enough to go up to people and open yourself up and ask questions, and also, you know you have to be very welcoming, because you never know who you're impacting, you never know who's looking at you or who admires something in you. But then to also understanding what space they're in and what space they want to be in, and then closing the gap to help them get there. So networking is super important, especially in HR.

Brooke Peckham:

We do that all the time. Yeah for sure. In the HR realm, one of my greatest mentors is Tim Sackett. So from a professional standpoint, in public speaking, he is somebody who recognized me at one of my Disrupt HR speeches and said hey, I really think you're good at this, and I even took some time on the side to do a webinar with me and just go over some coaching tips. So it's really great, from both the automotive side and whatever you're specific to, to have those mentors and to really lean into them. And from the automotive side, having Missy Stevens really get me involved in everything with regards to women in auto care, and she has been so gracious to help me along the way and get me to being in the councilwoman position. So I'm just very thankful for all of the mentors in my life. She has a way of doing that.

Jacki Lutz:

She sure does. So we talked about standing out, making sure that you know what you're bringing to the table, you're being your authentic self, about connections. Is there anything else that any other tips or things that our audience can take from this that can help them stand out in a crowd and be able to talk about themselves a little bit better?

Dawn Devereaux:

For me, I think the best piece of advice I have is for people to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. If you're comfortable, you need to work a little harder, because you need to be uncomfortable Right so that you're able to, you know, push those boundaries and network and meet people you never met before, and talk to people you never talked to before, and do all of those things that may potentially make you feel uncomfortable, because it's how you learn, it's how you grow and that's what this is all about growing one another, learning, strengthening our network, not just as in auto care, but just as a people period. We want to make sure that our relationships are strong and that we're getting accurate information out there to best service the customers, both internal and external. So that's my advice.

Brooke Peckham:

Yeah, I would say don't ever take a networking opportunity for granted. I think sometimes, especially when we're new in any group, we kind of shut down and we want to sit in that corner. And if we don't have that person to come to, maybe somebody else in our company, we're just. You know what? I'm just going to sit here and wait for this thing to be over. But honestly, you never know where those connections will lead you, and it may be down a completely different path than where you intended. But that's why I encourage you to just really lean into those networking opportunities and put yourself out there.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, and I think I really want to drive home to at these networking opportunities to bring all these things with you. You know these are all little tools, like being yourself. It's really hard to take those masks off when you've lived with them your whole life.

Jacki Lutz:

right, If you've always kind of felt like an actor, like you're trying to fulfill a certain role, that maybe doesn't feel natural, all these things even take that to networking events, take that to you know, applying for a promotion, all those things. Just know that exactly what you have, if it's enough for that promotion, they'll see it. But don't try to hide all of the unique things that bring that you bring to the table too. Now, the things that make you stand out, because sometimes it's like sad, like you want to stand out, but the things that are going to make you stand out are the things that you're trying to hide.

Dawn Devereaux:

Right, and don't downplay yourself either. You know, so many times we do so many extra things and we don't really consider them extra because that's just what we do. If you will, whether it's volunteering, it doesn't even have to be at work. You know, hone in on those things that you do. So even if you got to jot them down I mean, we all have vision boards, right.

Jacki Lutz:

So even if you got to, you know you do something good or you know something that's out of the ordinary, or, you know, jot it down.

Jacki Lutz:

You know, jot it ever do like a, I'm like a public speaking thing or something, and somebody will be like, oh, it's such a good job. You know you did awesome. And I'd be like, oh, I messed this up and this up, like that's the first thing that I say. You know, I had another open mic that they were talking about imposter syndrome and they were talking about taking compliments and how the first thing that they do is just downplay the compliment somehow.

Brooke Peckham:

But yeah, it kind of goes along with what you're saying, and to your point about having that imposter syndrome, I think it's really important to recognize that we can be a mentor and a mentee at the same time, right? So when we're thinking about our own authentic self and the knowledge that we have, it's okay to talk to our employees and tell them hey, you did a great job. Call them out too, because they need that mentor that you had along that journey as well, and we can be mentored at the same time as we are growing.

Dawn Devereaux:

You're absolutely correct, but that's and it's the same thing. You know, in order to be a good leader, you have to be a good follower. So if you have people that work for you or work with you or whatever, you learn from them and they learn from you as well, and I'm very open about talking to people about that, because I think that everyone has something that they can bring to the table. It's just realizing that. You know, even in HR, you have all these different set of eyes and you may have three different ways to get there, but we all have the same end goal. So you're absolutely correct Always be a mentor and a mentee, because the day you're only one, we have problems.

Brooke Peckham:

And also encouraging them regardless of where their journey is taking them to. And I think that's really hard because of course, we don't want to lose good employees, but sometimes they have other talents and we've got to recognize that. One of my team members, megan. She is incredible at graphic arts and she's in human resources, but she designed the T-shirt for the Women in Auto Care Conference. So I've always encouraged her to really lean into her design side because since the beginning I've really noticed that that is a talent of hers and I'm so excited that she is able to take that journey or auto bears from both the site and HR side. But from our employees too, we've got to recognize their talents and really be a champion of those that's awesome.

Dawn Devereaux:

That's cool and I'm happy we picked that design. Yes, that's wonderful. That's what I voted for.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, they're talking about a T-shirt. So they're trying to wrap up the auction, like auctions done that brings in money for the scholarships, like what Brooke won. But they also have a little t-shirt I don't know what you call it t-shirt stand set up here where they're doing kind of live printing of t-shirts. Yes, that's the one I'm talking about.

Jacki Lutz:

Yeah, they did a contest of who wants to design that shirt, and it sounds like that was your colleague. Yes, it was Awesome. Yeah, so if we had, you know, the audience could really take away one thing from everything that we talked about today what?

Dawn Devereaux:

do you guys hope that that is? I would hope that the audience would take from this what we're talking about here today. Take the time right, slow down, that's what I would say. Slow down, you know, give people the opportunity to do things. Not everyone's great at speaking up, but you never know who you're impacting. So we want to make that impact. We want to network with folks. We want to make sure that we can hone in on what it is they need from us, because maybe they're drawing that energy from us. And if they have the opportunity to read scholarships, take the time to go through all of it to understand what the application is all about, because it is a process and so you have to take bite sized pieces. Don't be in a rush. So that's what I would. I would suggest Absolutely.

Brooke Peckham:

I would say, as cliche as it sounds, never give up on your goals because they may seem out of reach. But, like you said, if we're taking small steps to get there, at least we're on a pathway. We haven't given up and, yes, we're going to stumble and we're going to fall, but we have an amazing community around us our co-workers, women in auto care, so many different wonderful people that are going to support us along our journey and we are so thankful for that.

Jacki Lutz:

Absolutely, and I think mine would probably be to show up, because we kind of mentioned it before we started recording. But everything that we're talking about here it doesn't happen if somebody doesn't first take that first step, raise their hand, make that connection, go to that networking event. So you know, when you're trying to stand out, you also kind of have to show up and kind of step in to lean into different opportunities to help you, help you get there as well. Absolutely, yeah Well, thank you guys so much for stepping in and doing this.

Dawn Devereaux:

You're welcome. It was a pleasure. Yeah, it's nice to meet you, awesome.

Jacki Lutz:

Nice to meet you. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Auto Care On Air. Make sure to subscribe to our podcast so that you never miss an episode, and don't forget to leave us a rating and review. It helps others discover our show. Auto Care On Air is proud to be a production of the Auto Care Association, dedicated to advancing the auto care industry and supporting professionals like you. To learn more about the association and its initiatives, visit AutoCare.

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Behzad Rassuli

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Jacki Lutz

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Michael Chung

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Stacey Miller

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