"A 2025 Year in Review" - The Real Lessons of 2025 and Why 2026 Demands More
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EVs
EVs stands for electric vehicles, which are cars that run on electricity instead of gas. They are considered better for the environment because they produce less pollution.
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The real reason why there are a disproportionate number of
dealerships who are perpetually not succeeding is
because 1% of people are willing to do what it actually takes in
order to achieve lasting and sustainable growth. That's a big
change that needs to happen and people are just statistically
speaking afraid of change. Something Paul Daley said this
morning actually in a morning meeting with our more than cars
team, he said, everything good in life comes as a result of
change, full stop period end of story. When we go to
conferences and we sit on panels and I conduct trainings, the
wrong question that I keep getting asked is, well, what
tools or technology or marketing strategies to those
organizations, those high performing organizations have
that we don't like what are we missing? What could we be doing
differently? And my answer every single time is one of the
things that I enjoy most about producing the dealer playbook is
hearing from you, the messages that I get of people who are
getting so much value out of the podcast, applying it to their
day to day workflows, and finding a thriving career right
here in the retail auto industry. It means the world to me. And
you know, one of the ways that we make doing this possible is
through my agency Flex Dealer. And of course, in the spirit of
providing value, I think this is a perfect time to head over to
www.flexdealer.com to show even further support for you, my
beloved DPB gang. Right now, if you go to my website, flex
dealer.com, you can get a full free PDF of my number one best
selling book, don't wait dominate. And the reason I
think it's so special is that a lot of the topics that are
discussed in this book are even more relevant today than ever
with this surgeon popularized AI and people wondering, well,
what can I do next? How can I have a competitive advantage? Well,
that's all here in this book. And so I'd love to be able to offer
you a free copy of this. If you go to flex dealer.com, it would
mean the world to me, because that is how we continue to
produce this show for you.
Hey, gang, welcome to this episode of the dealer playbook
podcast. I am so glad you're here. I feel like I'm getting old
because it is that time of year where all of the us old people
say it's the end of the year already. Where'd the year go? I
can't believe it. What happened? It just started. It just
started and now it's the end of the year. We are, as you can
imagine, going to be doing a year in review recap 2025 year in
review recap here so much has happened in this year. But before
we dig in, I just want to take this opportunity to express my
gratitude to you for being here this year. This has been a
tremendous year for the show. We just looked at our Spotify
year and review or whatever it is that the wrapped or whatever
it is. I mean, 852% growth this year. What? What? Oh my gosh.
Tremendous. It's crazy to think that going into our 12th year
that there is still this much demand for the show. And I am so
incredibly grateful. I mean, my heart is full. And I just want
to thank you for being here and for sharing your attention with
me. It really does mean the world to me. And I'm excited to see
what we do in the new year. You might have noticed the set
looks different. The sound is probably different. I mean, for
those that aren't watching it, watching or listening only. I'm
using my little DJI cell phone mic setup. We have moved our
studio. And you can't see it. Maybe we'll get to it at the
end of this. But right on the other side of me here is where we
will set up and do in person more in person content in the new
year. I'm really looking forward to it. But it's a mess. Okay,
it's in it. There's boxes everywhere. There's cables
everywhere. I am sitting at my desk here on this side of the
office. And so I wanted to just get this episode out. Because
there's so much that I want to talk about. I've got notes right
in front of me here. Gosh, where do I start 2025 was a year of
challenges and opportunities. And I want to just put a pin in
that there to suggest that the best operators and the most
innovative people never waste a good crisis. And I think there
were several quasi crises this year, that the best and most
successful operators in our space took advantage of and
absolutely thrived. I think we're going to see more of that in
2026. I think there's going to be some challenges. There's going
to be some difficulties. But with those challenges and
difficulties, we are going to see some incredible opportunities.
One thing that stood out to me this year, and I wrote it down
in one of my notes is this, I wrote down why me? Why me? And I
want to talk about that for a minute, because it is a theme
that I think runs through pretty much every episode of the
dealer playbook. But it's not why me from a victim mindset, it
is why me like, of all of the people in the world, that could
be experiencing what I'm experiencing these challenges
and difficulties. What is it about me? Why me? Why am I the
one in this position? And I think if you really dig into
that, and you examine the experience and the wisdom and
the stature and the resilience that you've gained while
working in this industry, the answer to why me is because you
are the best one suited for the circumstances that you are
experiencing. And so as we move into the new year, I just want
to place that pin there for you, as maybe a wayfinder or as a
compass, that when we experience the difficulty in the new year,
because it will come, there's a lot of unknowns, that you are
remembering why you, because you're the right one for the job.
You're the right one for the job, I believe that. Okay, let's talk
about some of the things that have happened this year. I mean,
we have covered a lot of territory on the show, we've
had a lot of conversations, we've talked about marketing,
we've talked about AI, we've talked about SEO, we've talked
about innovative new and emerging technologies, we've
talked about leadership and culture, and discipline and
accountability, we've talked about the importance of
personalization, we have covered the gamut, we've talked
about fixed operations. Gosh, we have seriously covered a lot
of territory. Some of the things that have stood out to me,
though, that I want to want to get into. Let's start with
marketing. I've got notes here. And hey, why not? Let's just get
into AI. Okay, let's just get into the AI conversation.
Probably the most prevalent and prominent conversation that has
been had out there in our industry this year has been
around artificial intelligence. It is still a tool, it is still
technology. There is a lot of hype around it. But I think that
it's merited because it is the newest type of technology that
we've had at our disposal in quite some time. The acceleration
that it facilitates in so many different things is unparalleled.
We've not I don't think we've ever seen anything like it. I
mean, imagine, you know, ancient civilizations building
pyramids or the Mayan temples or whatever, what have you, how
much faster those structures would have gone if they had
access to chat GPT to tell them how to do it. I mean, I was in
my bedroom the other day, and we've got this corner of our
bedroom that my wife and I just don't know what to do with. And
so I said, you know, I'm going to try something and I pull out
my phone, I open the GPT app, I took a picture right inside the
app, and said, we've got this area, we don't know what to do
with it, give me some ideas. And it went and it listed out, you
could do a reading nook, you could do a little writing desk,
you could do all these sorts of things. If you tell me it says
if you tell me what option you like the best, I can mock it up
for you. And I'm like, okay, I'll bite. Let's see what it does.
So I said, well, I'd like a little reading nook. Guys, the
output of GPT in a matter of a minute, and its ability to tell
me what products it had placed in there to get me that vibe. I
will not lie, my wife and I went out that evening and we bought
some of these products so that we could go and build this
reading nook. I mean, like the speed at which we can come up
with ideas or shape ideas, I've never seen before. It's a
absolutely stunning what you can do with AI. And I mean, we've
seen a lot of hype around AI as well. A lot of people that, and
this is my caution, who say, all you got to do is use AI. Well,
I'm not, I'm kind of with Marcus Sheridan, we had a big lengthy
conversation about AI in one of our previous episodes, you
should definitely go check it out, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
And I would agree with his position, he is neither a hype
or a zealot when it comes to AI. He's not doom and gloom, and
he's not like, oh my gosh, this will absolutely lasso the sun,
moon and stars for you. Some of the takeaways for me about AI
are while it is incredibly innovative, fast, can speed you
up and do all sorts of incredible, amazing things. It still
requires critical thinking. And if I were to make a prediction
for the new year and beyond, especially as we get deeper and
deeper into the whole AI thing, I would say my feeling is that
those who develop critical thinking skills, and who can
really hone those skills, are going to be a very, very precious
asset to an organization. Yes, AI can do so many things, but
what it cannot do is replace the critical thinking of a human
being. And I would also say this, I hope that we've learned
that things never end up the way we imagined in the beginning.
Like Web 2 did not end up the way that we thought it would. The
applications of Web 2 nowhere near the hype or the zealot,
you know, narrative in the beginning, 35, 40 years ago or
whatever. And I would anticipate that's going to be the case
with AI. We don't know what we don't know yet, and we're
learning rapidly, and it has definitely accelerated so many
things. Critical thinking is going to be a hot, hot, hot
asset. And I would really recommend that we don't look
to AI to replace our ability to think and to think critically.
I think that's going to be critical. Have I said critical
enough? That's my thoughts on AI. The other thought that I have
about AI, and this kind of ties into human behavior and human
characteristics, is that if we are thinking about AI to
replace people, then we've already lost. If we are looking
at AI as a way to accelerate or scale people, then we are
going to be on the winning side of the artificial intelligence
narrative. Because things are changing. But I look at these
organizations, and I think it's really short-sightedness that
are saying, oh my gosh, we're going to lay off 30% or 40% of
our workforce, because AI is going to do replace all those
jobs. I think that is such short-sightedness. Why do I
think that? Well, for starters, because if people keep being
born and people keep existing on this planet, then we inherently
will want to be productive and to do things. We will want to
accomplish things. We will want to achieve our goals, desires,
and ambitions. But if something else completely replaces that
for us, then we do kind of lose a sense of purpose. How do we
know this? Look at people who retire. There is such a large
percentage of people who retire from work, who get extremely
bored, who get depressed, who lose all sense of their purpose,
and it's absolutely demoralizing for them. They desire to be
productive. It's like innate in our DNA. Again, if we are
looking at artificial intelligence as a way to scale
the human and also as a way to speed up human connection,
something else that we innately desire, then we will win. We
will be on the right side of this narrative, in my opinion.
So that's something to think about with AI. All the new
innovation that's coming out, for me, a compass, especially
with NADA around the corner, a compass is if your narrative as
a company is that this will replace the jobs of people, I'm
not interested. But if you're telling me that it will speed
up, make more efficient, make more productive the people that
I have so that we can scale the organization and still keep it
centered on the thing that we all want, which is human
connectivity, then I'm interested. So that's something
that I'm thinking about, especially over the course of
the year as I've been observing the narrative.
Hey, does your marketing agency suck? Listen, before we hop
back into this episode, I know you know me as the host of the
dealer playbook, but did you also know that I'm the CEO of
Flex Dealer, an agency that's helping dealers capture better
quality leads from local SEO and hyper targeted ads that
convert. So if you want to sell more cars and finally have a
partner that's in it with you that doesn't suck, visit Flex
Dealer dot com. Let's hop back into this episode.
All of that ties into the marketing narrative. The whole
point of marketing is to move people to action, right? And I'm
just thinking about the ways in which we are not prominently
discussing innovation and marketing tools and resources. And
that is to speed up human connection, the thing that we
want. I that is my official position, by the way, my
official position is, if it speeds up human connection, I'm
interested. If it replaces human connection completely, I'm not
super interested. Think about this even. Because some of you
might be thinking, Well, have you never bought groceries
online and had them delivered to your door? Yeah, I
absolutely haven't. It is incredibly convenient. But
look at what happens. People even find ways to create human
connection or personalization and that they leave treats out
for the delivery driver, the drinks and snacks, ways of
showing appreciation to another human being. It just sends a
signal to me that that humans care about one another and we
we desire to care about one another. Think of how that
plays into your dealership operation. You know, as an
advocate for the dealer body, human connection is critical. We
hear this all the time. I mean, in our agency, we hear this all
the time with our client partners, that the client
partners will say things like we know that once they come into
that through those doors and put their butt in that seat, our
ability to find them the right vehicle for them increases
exponentially. Well, that's a human connection thing. It is a
relationship thing. As an advocate for the dealer body, I
have to also then advocate for human connection because it is
the thing that accelerates all of the things that we want to
be able to do to grow our businesses, to have an impact in
the community. That is something else that stood out to me
this year in 2025. So I had the privilege of going to Kazakhstan
where we did trainings and consultation with large
organizations there. And one of the things that stood out to me
in the vein of human connection and community was how the
individuals we met with viewed the auto industry. They viewed
the auto industry as a real catalyst for building the
country of Kazakhstan. It blew me away. It was so inspiring
actually to listen to and participate in. And why? Well,
we talk about this sometimes in the car business, like, well,
that's not a car. It's not a luxury. It's a utility. It's a
freedom machine. Yeah, that's all true. But in Kazakhstan,
that was brought to a whole new level. Some of the
conversations we had revolved around the fact that because
of the auto industry, we create mobility for families, right?
But then we also need infrastructure, roads. We need
fabrication. We need assembly lines. We need mining. We need
transportation, logistics, infrastructure. All of these
things that put thousands and thousands and thousands of
people to work who can then go home and provide for their
families and create experiences for their families and their
colleagues and their church groups and so on and so forth.
And I thought that was so inspiring. Yes, marketing moves
people to action. And when we can move people to action
appropriately and elevate them and scale them and make them
more productive and efficient, then we are contributing to
what truly builds a nation, I think is so fascinating.
Okay, so even look at like Amazon autos, for example, that's
been a big thing in the last quarter of the year. We're
talking about Amazon auto, its pilot program selling new
vehicles through its platform. The delivery mechanism
still happens at the dealership. And I mean, think about that
in terms of retention and lifetime value, fixed operations
plays a huge role in that mix in that part of what I call the
hyperloop and keeping people in that hyperloop. And if I can,
you know, work out the details of the, you know, work out the
pencil of the vehicle through Amazon autos, great. If I can
bypass the whole test drive and this and that, that's appealing
to some people, right? But I still have to go to the
dealership to pick it up, which means it's incumbent upon
that dealership, whoever is the distribution partner there,
to build a relationship with that individual, make sure they
are coming in for service and that their vehicle is well
maintained, and so on and so forth. I don't believe this is
the be all end all in the way that some of the zealots think
it is, because there are still enough touch points even in
that model in which I can facilitate meaningful human
connection and build relationships of trust. And I
think that's where we need to be thinking in that regard.
We've had a lot of conversations about leadership and culture.
This conversation, I mean, if you're new to the dealer playbook,
this conversation is not going to go away. It's one in which I
am incredibly passionate about. And the reason for that is
because it is the thing that will actually bring about the
meaningful change that we desire to see in the industry.
Think about this, okay? The best marketing and most expensive
marketing in the world will not compensate for a broken
system and a broken culture and bad leadership. The best tools
and the most expensive tools will not compensate for broken
process, bad leadership and people who are not bought in
and broken systems. And so the reason that I care about this
topic is for a couple of reasons. One, because it is the
topic that actually facilitates true and lasting change in an
organization. And number two, it creates the largest gap
in, you know, competition that we have. Why? Well, because not
everybody is willing to be disciplined enough and accept the
change enough for it to stick. And so when we go to conferences
and we sit on panels and I conduct trainings, the wrong
question that I keep getting asked is, well, what tools or
technology or marketing strategies do those organizations,
those high performing organizations have, that we
don't? Like what are we missing? What could we be doing
differently? And my answer every single time is leadership,
culture, systems and processes. And it's interesting to think,
man, how many people kind of slump in their seat. But that
excites me because that's the real competition of it all. The
real reason why there are a disproportionate number of
dealerships who are perpetually not succeeding is because of
the 80 20 rule. And in this case, probably like the 99 versus
1% rule, which is that really 1% of people are willing to do
what it actually takes in order to achieve lasting and
sustainable growth. 1% of organizations are willing to have
the meaningful discussions about change are willing to do the
hard things. 1% of leaders in our industry are true leaders.
The rest have leadership titles. There's my controversial
opinion for this episode. Real leaders are those that
demonstrate the behaviors worth following.
People with leadership titles
tell others what they have to do or they're on the chopping block.
One of the behaviors that's worth following is understanding the
important role that a healthy workplace culture plays in
service and hospitality and employee buy in and happiness and
all these sorts of things. And you've heard me say this on the
podcast before and I'm going to say it again here just in case
you're new and you haven't heard it, which is I don't believe
it's the leader's responsibility to make people happy to be
clear. It is the leader's responsibility to create an
environment in which happiness can exist. And I've seen some
incredible operators this year who do it really, really well.
My buddy, Tustin, who I've had on the show a couple of times,
does this incredibly well just to stand up human being.
And so we need to be thinking in 2026 about leadership and
culture. The organizations that win are going to have healthy
workplace cultures. They're going to have leaders who
demonstrate the behaviors worth following. They're not going to
be afraid of accountability, but accountability won't be
perceived as a negative thing. And it is not perceived as a
negative thing in the right culture with the right
leadership. That's a big change that needs to happen and
people are just statistically speaking afraid of change.
Something Paul Daley said this morning actually in a morning
meeting with our more than cars team, I wrote down because I
think it's so poignant. And this was a non-negotiable for him
and it's a non-negotiable for me. He said, everything good in
life comes as a result of change, full stop period, end of
story. Everything good in life comes as a result of
change. And there are changes brewing. I mean, we saw lots of
changes this year. The EV, you know, tax advantages went away.
It was a tariff storm. So many things that caused
change and so many great things that came as a result of that
change. I would challenge you to look at the challenges that
have happened in your career and in your life to recognize
that something positive has always come on the backside of
that change. I mean, gosh, speaking of EVs, I could have
used that as an example earlier when I said that things rarely
end up the way that we thought. You remember like three, four,
five years ago, we were like by 2035, everybody's has to drive
an EV, right? Now we're like, okay, and don't get me wrong.
There are some operators who do EVs incredibly well.
EV Otto Alex, Alex Lawrence, who's been a guest on the show,
who's a tremendous operator, who's all in on EVs. I mean, that
guy is super innovative, but you know what he also has? He has
a good culture and is a great leader. He's great at marketing
and taking advantage of being in places where there is
attention. I mean, he has gone all in and I mean, that could be
part of this conversation as well. Are you all in? And if
you're not all in, what is keeping you from going all in?
2026, by the way, is a year that we have to be all in. I'm
telling you what, 2026 is the year that I unapologetically
aggressively attack my definition of success. And I would
encourage you to do the same 2026 relentless is a word that
comes to my mind needs to be a year that you relentlessly attack.
I'm not saying go after I'm using this word strategically
guys. It is the year that you must attack your definition of
success with fierce focus unrelenting. Why? Well, it's one
of the reasons we do the show and have been doing it going
now into our 12th year, which is that I believe so deeply that
you deserve what is waiting for you on the other side of
your unrelenting attack to achieve your goals, dreams, and
ambitions. 2025 was an incredible year. It was a
challenging year and it was a year full of opportunities.
More of that is coming in 2026. I hope it's my prayer that you
do what it takes to ethically achieve the things that you
deserve in this new year. 2026 is going to be amazing. Happy
new year to you. Thank you so much for joining me on this
episode of the podcast. Listen, if you're getting value from
the show or have gotten value from the show and any of the
guests, would you do me a favor and go and leave a review on
Apple or Spotify? Leave me a comment. By the way, if you
don't know this already, you can watch full episodes of this
podcast on YouTube and also on Spotify. So if you're a
Spotify lover, we got full video episodes that you can go
watch there. I love seeing your comments. I love all of that.
Please, please, please let me know how we're doing so that we
can improve this show for you even more in the new year. And
until next time, guys, keep this playbook open and dominate.
Hey, thanks for listening to the dealer playbook podcast. If
you enjoyed tuning in, please subscribe, share, and hit that
like button. You can also join us and the DPD community on
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episode. Thanks so much for joining.
About this episode
Reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of 2025, this episode emphasizes the importance of change for growth in the automotive industry. The host discusses the critical role of leadership, culture, and human connection, particularly in the context of emerging technologies like AI. With a focus on the need for critical thinking and adaptability, the conversation highlights how successful operators leverage crises for innovation. As 2026 approaches, listeners are encouraged to embrace change and relentlessly pursue their definitions of success.
Original notes
What if the reason things didn’t click in 2025 has less to do with your tools and more to do with your willingness to change?
In this solo year in review episode, I’m slowing things down to reflect on what 2025 actually taught us. Not the highlight reel. The real stuff. The hard conversations, the uncomfortable growth, the moments where leadership, culture, and discipline mattered more than any shiny new strategy.
This year reminded me of something I’ve believed for a long time. Sustainable success isn’t about finding the missing tactic. It’s about becoming the kind of leader and organization that can actually handle success when it shows up.
In this episode, I break down:
- Why change—not technology—is the real competitive advantage
- How AI is accelerating opportunity (without replacing human judgment)
- The leadership, culture, and discipline gap separating top performers from the rest
- Why most dealerships ask the wrong questions about success
- How critical thinking will become one of the most valuable skills in 2026
- What it actually means to “go all in” on your definition of success
We explore AI without hype or fear, marketing without shortcuts, and leadership without excuses, connecting the dots between human connection, culture, and long-term profitability in retail auto
If you’re heading into 2026 feeling pressure, uncertainty, or opportunity, this episode will help you recalibrate your focus and attack the year with clarity and conviction.
Free Gift:
Get a FREE PDF copy of Michael’s bestselling book Don’t Wait. Dominate.
👉 Visit FlexDealer.com
Who this episode is for:
- Dealership Owners & Operators
- General Managers & GSMs
- Marketing Directors & CMOs
- Fixed Ops & Service Leaders
- Automotive Professionals serious about growth in 2026
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
02:20 Year-End Reflections and Gratitude
07:18 AI in the Auto Industry: Opportunities and Challenges
14:52 Marketing and Human Connection
20:04 Leadership, Culture, and Sustainable Growth
26:20 Looking Ahead to 2026: Relentless Pursuit of Success
27:53 Conclusion and Call to Action
The Dealer Playbook
Michael Cirillo
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