O'Connor: Catch Someone Doing Something Right

On a long drive recently, we came over the crest of a hill. Sitting quietly off to the side of the road was a state trooper, lurking in the shadows. Someone in our car said, “Well, they’re certainly not trying to catch someone doing something right today, are they?” It was funny because it was true.  

Nobody sees a police car and thinks, “I bet he’s looking for people maintaining the speed limit, using their signal and driving responsibly.” We assume he’s there to catch someone making a mistake. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how often that same mindset exists in our businesses. 

As operators, even when we’re not directly responsible for a given action or reaction, we spend a lot of time looking for problems. We notice the comeback, the key performance indicator (KPI) that’s off target, the missed step in a process, the technician who forgot something, the advisor who mishandled a call, the inventory discrepancy or the negative review.  

To be fair, part of leadership is identifying issues before they become bigger ones. That matters. But if your messaging, regardless of the role, is frequently counter-positive, eventually your dealership’s culture starts to feel like that state trooper sitting over the hill. Employees and customers notice it and that changes how people behave. Shortly thereafter, that changes morale. It changes confidence. It changes initiative. And over time, it changes the culture of your business. 

One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that people tend to repeat what gets recognized, not just what gets corrected. I know what you’re thinking: “I bet you slowed down when you spotted the state trooper!” And you’d be right, but only for a short period of time. That distinction matters.  

Most tire dealers are pretty good at correcting problems. Far fewer are intentional about recognizing the behaviors they actually want more of. Think about the technician who consistently does thorough inspections without being asked or reminded, the advisor who professionally de-escalates a difficult customer, the employee who helps a teammate finish a job late in the day and the store manager who calmly handles pressure during a chaotic week. In many cases, those moments pass quietly because nothing went wrong. But those moments are your dealership’s culture — not the mission statement on your wall or the slogan on your website. Culture is the result of repeated behaviors that happen every day inside the business. If you want more of those behaviors, you need to get better at noticing them. This doesn’t mean handing out participation trophies or pretending problems don’t exist. High standards still matter. Accountability still matters. Corrections still matter. But recognition matters, too. 

Most people in our industry work incredibly hard. Tire and automotive service is physically demanding, mentally demanding and increasingly complex. Long days, difficult customers, staffing pressures and constant operational demands can wear people down over time. Most employees don’t need constant praise. Some might even be annoyed by increases in positivity. But they need to know someone notices when they’re doing things well. Because recognition creates reinforcement and reinforcement builds culture. 

One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership is believing that culture is built through big gestures or occasional speeches. Most often, culture is built through repetition — in the weeds and away from the center of attention. What leadership consistently notices, addresses, rewards and tolerates eventually becomes the standard. That’s why the best teams I’ve been around operate differently, but they make a habit of noticing the right things — not just ownership or management, but everyone. 

It could come in the form of technicians recognizing another technician for helping on a difficult job, advisors acknowledging someone who handled a customer well or managers pointing out an employee’s consistency, effort and growth in real time. Over time, those small moments shape the culture just as much as policies or processes do. 

There’s a saying that fits this perfectly and I’ve shared it many times before: You reward what you appreciate and deserve what you tolerate. 

Most businesses already track KPIs around productivity, efficiency and sales. Maybe it’s worth asking whether recognition should become part of the daily routine, too? The behaviors we consistently acknowledge are usually the behaviors we get more of. And in an industry where stress, pressure and negativity can easily dominate the day, sometimes the healthiest thing a tire dealer can do is intentionally look for what’s going right. 

That doesn’t mean ignoring problems or avoiding difficult conversations. Good businesses still require standards and accountability. But if we throw more darts than laurels, eventually people stop taking initiative. They stop feeling ownership. They start working cautiously instead of confidently. Nobody does their best work when they feel like someone is always waiting for them to fail. Maybe that becomes the challenge — not just for owners or managers, but for everyone in the building? Catch someone doing something right. Then say something about it. Because over time, people rise or retreat to the environment created around them.