Start with employees and the rest follows from that...

A recent email inspired me to be reflective this morning on my dayoff - watch out!

One of the most important lessons I learned in my ten years in the airline industry had very little to do with airplanes - it was about people.

I watched leaders who understood that when you take care of your employees, they take care of your customers. It wasn't a slogan—it was a way of doing business.

When I left aviation, I found myself in a classroom.

Teaching reinforced the same lesson. Students don't remember every lecture or assignment, but they remember how you made them feel. They respond to people who invest in them, encourage them, and genuinely care.

The car industry - it’s not that much different.

Cars matter. Features matter. Pricing matters.

But people matter more.

The best businesses aren't built on inventory or pricing. They're built on culture. On teammates who feel respected. On managers who support instead of intimidate. On an environment where people enjoy coming to work because they know they're valued.

When that happens, customers notice.

They don't just buy a vehicle. They remember how they were treated. They remember the honesty, the patience, the follow-up, and the feeling that they weren't just another sale.

Every stop in my career—aviation, education, and now automotive—has taught me the same principle:

Take care of people, and people will take of you.

That's not just good leadership.

It's good business.

“Start with employees and the rest follows from that…” Herb Kelleher (Co-founder and CEO of Southwest Airlines)