The automotive industry will see more change in the next seven years than in the last 100.
In this special 100th episode of the Automotive Leaders Podcast, Jan sits down with two influential industry thinkers — John McElroy and Jason Stein — to explore the massive changes ahead.
“You have to go back to around 1905 to find the similar situation in the auto industry that we face right now,” says John, creator of the auto industry’s first news webcast. Traditional OEMs that think things are already changing quickly “haven’t seen anything yet,” says Jason, former publisher of Automotive News.
Now, more than ever, leadership models need to shift to shepherd the industry through massive change.
➡️FULL PODCAST EPISODE LINK: https://theautomotiveleaderspodcast.com/episode/auto-revolutions-john-mcelroy-jason-stein-on-shaping-industry-culture
Themes discussed on this episode:
-The challenge of creating long-running podcasts and build a faithful listenership (with stats to back it up)
-The importance of servant leadership in a time of monumental industry change
-The uphill battle of changing a century’s worth of business processes
-The nature of EVs and what OEMs need to do to stay ahead of the game
-How company culture is trickle-down, starting with the board
-Why culture can’t change if purchasing and supply chain executives are measured by bottom line cost results
-What the new generation of authentic leaders really need to embody to get themselves etched into the automotive Mount Rushmore
-Why there’ll be more change over the next seven years than there has been in the last century
Featured Guest: John McElroy
What he does: Journalist, lecturer, commentator, and entrepreneur, John is the influential thought leader in the automotive industry. He created “Autoline Daily,” the first industry webcast of automotive industry news and analysis. With a deep knowledge of the industry, John talks about its many facets, and remains unrivaled in his dissection of its inner workings.
On leadership: “If you don't have a motivated, dedicated workforce that comes into work every day excited to do new stuff that's going to make the product or the services that the company offers better, there's no way that you're going to compete against those that have that. So culture and leadership in the auto industry are more important now than ever before.”
Featured Guest: Jason Stein
What he does: Jason is a former VP and publisher of Automotive News, and a long-time producer of compelling content. He is now owner and CEO of Flat Six Media, as well as host of “Cars & Culture with Jason Stein” on SiriusXM. Jason is focused on unique stories — from business leaders to automotive legends — bringing automotive history to life and distilling future trends.
On leadership: “It all starts at the top: What leadership dictates transcends and trickles down to everyone else and … motivates behavior. … When [Toyota] decided they were going to move from California to Texas, Akio Toyoda had a 100-year vision. I don't know of many companies who lay out roadmaps that are that long and in that detail.”
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Episode Highlights
[29:35] EVolution: HEVO CEO Jeremy McCool called Detroit OEMs “antiquated.” Forget about moving forwards without more nurturing, coaching-based relationships with tech startups. But there’s a tougher, cut-throat edge to EV startups that both John and Jason emphasize.
[35:06] Traditional vs. EV: What came out of the conversation with Dr. Andy Palmer, ‘Godfather of EV’ and former CEO of Aston Martin, was that there’s no right and wrong culture for auto suppliers and OEMs — you have to do what works for you when developing a new culture. But that’s no easy feat, as John explains.
[41:01] Building an automotive Mount Rushmore: Andrew Savvas, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer of Volkswagen, is an exemplar of authentic leadership. How do we celebrate these kinds of leaders?
[47:33] Advice for auto industry leaders: John says there’ll be more change this decade than over the last 100 years. Jason’s advice is to listen to John: If you think it’s fast-paced now, you haven’t seen anything yet.
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