Closing Season 7 and Preparing for What’s Next

[Transcript]

[00:00:00] Jan Griffiths: Welcome to the Automotive Leaders Podcast, where we help you prepare for the future by sharing stories, insights, and skills from leading voices in the automotive world with a mission to transform this industry together. I'm your host, Jan Griffiths. That passionate, rebellious farmer's daughter from Wales with over 35 years of experience in our beloved auto industry and a commitment to empowering fellow leaders to be their best authentic selves.

Stay true to yourself, be you and lead with gravitas, the hallmark of authentic leadership. Let's dive in.

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[00:01:26] Speaker: Today, we are closing season seven of the Automotive Leaders Podcast. We need a break. The team needs a break. I need a break. And it's good to step back away from the day-to-day bi-weekly production of the podcast and think about: Who are we? Where are we going? Are we meeting the needs of our audience?

Are you getting the content that you want to listen to? The way that you want to listen to it? And that's why I want to hear from you. Please email me directly at jan, J-A-N, @gravitasdetroit.com and tell me, are there certain type of guests or certain type of content or subject that you want to hear on the podcast?

And we'll make sure that we'll line up the very best guests that we can to deliver that content to you.

Now, season seven closes, but let's talk about season eight. Season eight starts with episode 185. I can't believe I'm saying that. I remember the early days of the podcast, and I remember thinking, "Oh, I can't imagine what it's going to be like when I reach 100 episodes."

And here we are, close to almost 200. But season eight is going to open with a bang. We are all struggling in the automotive industry with our legacy companies. We know that there's a lot of history, that there's a lot of bureaucracy, there's a lot of processes that weigh us down. We're not known for speed, and it's further complicated when you're talking about a large tier one that has grown through acquisition.

We know those problems with different cultures, different ERP systems, different ways of pulling data. Maybe some of the plants are old, maybe they're dirty. You know, all the problems that we know in the auto industry.

But there is a CEO that has taken a massive, and I'm talking probably seven billion in revenue, maybe more, that kind of size. Massive product complexity, tremendous global complexity, a multitude of plants, tens of thousands of people, and he has turned that around in less than four years.

I know, right? How did he do it? Well, we're going to share that with you on the season opener for season eight. And this episode is so detailed and steeped in leadership and culture that I don't want you to miss any of it. So we're going to make it a two-part episode.

So we're taking a short break, but we'll be back on June 11th with episode 185. And don't forget, if you prefer to consume your content through video on YouTube, all of the Automotive Leaders Podcast episodes are on YouTube. The channel is under my name, so you have to search for Jan Griffiths- Automotive Leaders.

There are some other interviews out there in addition to the podcast content, and in the last several months, if you've been following us on LinkedIn or if you're following us on YouTube, you will notice that the background and the setting that we use for the podcast has changed. Sometimes we interview guests at their location, but sometimes we interview them in the studio, and we have been interviewing all of our guests over the last several months at the M1 Studios in Ferndale.

And I couldn't be more thrilled with the team that supports us, the podcast, at M1 Studios and the quality of the product that they produce.

So if there's anything that you want to talk to me about, reach out to me. I'm here for you, and we'll be back on the air June 11th.

And as always, be your 100% beautiful, authentic self and lead with Gravitas, the hallmark of authentic leadership.

[00:06:26] Jan Griffiths: Thank you for listening to the Automotive Leaders Podcast. Click the listen link in the show notes to subscribe for free on your platform of choice, and don't forget to download the 21 Traits of Authentic Leadership PDF by clicking on the link below and remember. Stay true to yourself, be you, and lead with gravitas, the hallmark of authentic leadership.