A Unique Approach to Business Growth With John Teddy, CEO of Straightaway Tire & Auto

John Teddy is the Chief Executive Officer of Straightaway Tire & Auto, bringing over 15 years of leadership experience in consumer retail and services. Before joining Straightaway, he served as Vice President of Take 5 Oil Change and held senior roles at Driven Brands, including Chief Commercial Officer. His career includes strategic positions at The Home Depot and Lowe’s, where he focused on corporate strategy and performance improvement. John earned his degree from Vanderbilt University and resides in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife and their four children. 

In this episode…

The auto repair and tire industry is rapidly evolving, with shop owners facing consolidation trends, customer service challenges, and the need for sustainable growth. How can independent operators scale their businesses while maintaining control and preserving their brand identity?

According to John Teddy of Straightaway Tire & Auto, the key lies in a partnership-driven approach that allows shop owners to grow without handing over complete control. Operators can access resources, financial security, and strategic support by joining a more extensive network while keeping their local brand and leadership. This model fosters collaboration, helping businesses expand while maintaining the personalized service and trust that customers value.

On this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge welcomes John for a conversation about leadership, industry consolidation, and the importance of frontline employees. John shares insights on building strong customer relationships, creating sustainable expansion strategies, and why supporting shop owners through partnership-driven models benefits the industry.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• [01:58] How John Teddy’s unexpected journey began in strategy consulting
• [02:29] Why John transitioned from consulting to consumer retail
• [07:06] The importance of thick skin in customer service roles
• [15:21] Straightaway Tire & Auto’s growth strategy through local brand expansion
• [18:34] The long-term market potential for tire and auto repair
• [21:54] How servant leadership shapes Straightaway’s company culture
• [26:42] Leadership lessons from historical and military tales

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• John Teddy on LinkedIn 
• Straightaway Tire & Auto 
• Band of Brothers
• Patton
• Mike Edge on LinkedIn
• Tread Partners

Quotable Moments:

• “The tire and auto repair business isn’t just about fixing cars — it’s about solving problems and building long-term customer relationships.”
• “We partner with shop owners who want to grow without losing control, preserving their brand while gaining the resources to scale.”
• “Great businesses are built on frontline employees — our job as leaders is to support them, not dictate from the top.”
• “Customers don’t come to us on their best day, so it’s our job to turn frustration into trust and loyalty.”
• “Straightaway isn’t just about acquisitions — it’s about building a network of passionate operators who want to grow together.”

Action Steps:

1. Engage directly with frontline employees: Spending time in shops and talking with service advisors and technicians helps leaders stay connected to daily challenges and operations.
2. Preserve brand identity during expansion: When growing a business, maintain the local brand’s reputation and customer relationships rather than replacing it with a corporate identity.
3. Adopt a partnership-driven growth strategy: Instead of forcing full buyouts, create opportunities for shop owners to take financial chips off the table while retaining leadership roles.
4. Prioritize customer service and problem-solving: Train employees to turn customer frustrations into trust by offering clear solutions and a positive service experience.
5. Leverage industry relationships for growth: Build partnerships with other operators in the market to acquire new locations and expand the business while maintaining quality service.

• Gain Traction Podcast
• John Teddy
• Mike Edge
• Straightaway Tire & Auto
• Tread Partners

Transcript

00:02
John
Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast where we feature top tire and auto repair professionals, shop owners, industry executives and thought leaders and share their inspiring stories. Now let’s get started with the show. 

00:18
Mike
Hey folks. Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast, the official podcast for tire business. We have a great podcast show today. I am Mike Edge, your host. My guest today is John Teddy, CEO of a very cool with a unique strategy called Straightaway tire and auto. But before we begin, this podcast is brought to you by Tread Partners and its educational marketing highlight for today. When it comes to your PPC budget and ad spend for multi location shops, don’t put all your ad spend with Google in one bucket. Divide it up for accountability and control. If you’re combining one Google Ads campaign across all locations, you might miss what’s really happening. One shop could be struggling while another’s is overwhelmed with customers. By using location specific strategies, you can fine tune your approach to give each shop exactly what it needs when it needs it. 

01:10
Mike
So my past guest shout out for today is Scott Bishop, Vice president of passenger and light truck tire sales with independent channel for 6 of saloon tire brands. If you haven’t listened to it, please check it out at gain traction podcast.com so let’s just get, let’s get this podcast started. John Teddy, welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast. This has kind of been a few months in the making I think. 

01:33
John
Yeah, it has. Thanks for having me Mike. I appreciate it. 

01:36
Mike
Yeah. Well I, I, you know I’ve heard a little bit about you guys. I probably read a little bit about you somewhere entire business in the past. But I think you guys have a cool story. But before we begin, let’s talk about John Teddy and how you got to straight away. So maybe just for fun’s sake, where’d you start? What was your first job? Let’s start there. 

01:58
John
First job was I started in strategy consulting. So I think like many kids in college or you know, be told to try to figure out what you wanted to do and actually have no clue what you want to really do. They say, well if you don’t know what you want to do, like here’s some, you know, here’s some programs you can get into that might help you figure it out. And consulting is one of those. So, so that was me started out with the consulting role and then kind of moving. 

02:26
Mike
Now was that in automotive or was it completely different? 

02:29
John
No, general consulting and accident. Spent a little bit of time investment banking but then in both those services businesses, I mean I’m doing project Based work right. Where I’m helping a client try to solve some problem to do better. And and I had that itch to kind of stop the cycle of helping people do something and then moving on and wanting to go into like, hey, I actually want to stick with something here and you know, not just say good luck and walk away. And so I had the opportunity to start my career and what has now been a, you know, 17 year journey in consumer and retail, consumer retail and services related businesses. When I jumped into Home Depot at the time gotcha. 

03:20
John
And this wasn’t around, you know, kind of the 2010 time frame where they had just been coming out of the Great Recession. A lot of things going on in the country, but also certainly in the home space. And so experienced a lot there, a lot met. I mean just an amazing company, amazing people, learned a lot. But it was great to be on the other side of things and you really roll up my sleeves and get involved in the business in a more meaningful way. 

03:51
John
Yeah, before and then that led me down a path of, you know, a few different roles there on where I’ve you know, spent some additional time in home improvement space but then also got into the automotive space eventually with actually take 5 oil change, which had just kind of been acquired by Driven Brands and was trying to build out that business which has been an incredible run for that group. And so anyways have taken a number of jaunts through consumer retail and services businesses in the home and in auto and found myself here at Straightaway most recently. 

04:26
Mike
And so what do you think about the tire and auto repair space now? 

04:30
John
I’ll tell you what, you know, I like to, when I, whenever I get into. One things I’ve loved about consumer retail services businesses is, I mean they’re frontline businesses. 

04:39
Mike
Yeah. 

04:40
John
People on the front line, your customers on the front line. That’s what matters the most. And so always learn the value of, you know, if you’re going to go into one of these businesses, like get on the front line and really learn it, like really get involved. And so for me, my first couple weeks here at Straightaway it was going to all of our different brands and sitting behind counters, you know, with service advisors and going back at the back of the shop talking to technicians. And you know, when you start learning this business that way you quickly appreciate how complicated this business is. You know, we are doing a lot of different things for consumers with a lot of different problems and a lot of different cars and that is not an easy thing. To. To do. 

05:26
John
It’s not a conveyor belt that you push a button and everything works. It’s about people solving problems. And so that’s been my impression from day one that has stuck with me of like, man, you know, this is a people business and a solutions business. So how do you. Well, it’s together as good as possible. 

05:45
Mike
It’s cool that you picked up on that, especially after you got out there. I mean, not that you hadn’t experienced the service businesses before, but, you know, being at the counter, like you said. So last year about this time, actually, I kind of went on a streak where I was interviewing and I was reaching out to even past old guests, but I said, do you know any counter sales folks that I could get on the show? Because they’re front line and I think they need to be recognized to some degree. And if you got somebody. And I was putting it out there and of course I ended up interviewing about five of them. And what was really cool was, you realize, man, these guys, no one is happy to come in there. Well, most of the time no one’s happy to come in there. 

06:24
Mike
So they’re. They’re having to, you know, greet somebody having a bad day because they got to get a tire, you know, buy a couple tires or all four or they got to, you know, fix a problem. Right? So now you. This counter person has really got to engage them properly. Then, you know, they’re managing all these other work orders and everything and making sure that, you know, hey, is this car getting done? 

06:46
John
Yeah. 

06:47
Mike
When will it be done? Answering the phone, it’s. It’s a tough position to be in. And some of these people have the best dispositions and they really genuinely like people, and that’s what makes them successful, you know, but it’s not for everybody. I mean, you got to be, you know, you got to have a little bit of thick skin to deal with the public all day long. 

07:06
John
You remember those puzzles when you were a kid that were like the. It was a fixed plastic grid and there would be like nine squares. You have to move around and want to. I mean, that was the impression I got watching these guys behind the counters, like, trying to make. I mean, you gotta really be strategic and thoughtful and then stay to your point, like customer, like hospitality oriented. I mean, that again, it’s service advice, like, just tremendous. Respectfully. So, in fact, we, I mean, every quarter at our board meeting, you know, and we do this all the time in between too. But know, I. I’ll Always bring up to start the conversation. I’ll just bring up, you know, one. One good customer review from each of our brands from that court. 

07:51
John
And what we highlight in those is every time those good customer reviews start with, like, the first couple sentences is some terrible thing that has happened. I mean, people do not come into our shops with like, I was having a great day and I decided to go to this shop. It was like, no, my. My engine started smoking on the side of the road, or my tire, you know, walked out to take my kids to school. My tire was completely deflated. Right. Like, it’s. It never starts well. So to. So to be in any kind of successful position, to create a relationship with a customer that then becomes a lasting relationship was the ultimate goal of our business. 

08:28
Mike
Right. 

08:28
John
Because it’s such a. It’s such a retention kind of relational business. You want to, you know, we want to take care of your car for the life of your car. I mean, you’ve got to have just an incredible skill set to balance taking care of people, but solving problems and finding solutions and doing all those things. Well, it’s hard. 

08:47
Mike
And keeping people positive in a sense, like, hey, we got you. We got this. Just, you know, get them in a. You know, get them in a loaner or whatever and say, hey, we’ll take care of it. We’ll call you back, you know, and tell you what the problem is. But now I love that you picked up on that, because that’s something that I have a deep admiration for, because I just. I’ve worked in retail before, and when you and my parents actually had a convenience store growing up, so you get everybody in there. And, man, I. I had to deal with so many different personalities as a kid. You know, I was young, in college age or whatever, but, you know, and everybody. There’s. Some people come in, some like to bully you know, some are super nice, whatever, but it just. 

09:32
Mike
It’s part of that learning process. But to have, you know, like, straight away, and you guys have so many locations and whatnot. I do believe a big part of that success is those Frontline people. 

09:44
John
Absolutely. Absolutely. 

09:46
Mike
So fast forward now. We’re at Straightaway. You get the position of CEO at Straightaway. Let’s talk about Straightaway. Because you guys approach the market uniquely. I mean, you. You’re. You’re acquiring people, but at the same time, you don’t have to acquire them. You can partner up with them, right? 

10:06
John
Yes. So we. So just to walk you through our model here and kind of maybe back to where we started. So this business was started in April of 2023, was formed uniquely when five founders came together and said, hey, as a, you know, we’re all seeing what’s going on in the industry. We’re all seeing the consolidation activity. All of us kind of need to. Need to have a plan. Everybody’s trying to figure out what they’re going to do. And we have an idea to do something different. Like, none of us are ready and speaking four to five founders here, right. None of us are ready to hand over the keys, you know, and walk away. We’re not there yet. We’re passionate about what we’re doing. We think we’ve got opportunity to grow what we’re doing. 

10:52
John
But at the same time, like, none of us want to miss this consolidation wave either, you know, and miss the opportunity that. That can be created by that on the other side. Both, of course, personally for them as well as in, for, you know, folks who partner with the right people through consolidation and can maybe become stronger in that process. 

11:10
Mike
Yeah. 

11:10
John
So they very thoughtfully linked up and said, you know what, we’re going to form this business and partnered with a great financial sponsor, O2 Investment Partners out of Michigan, and straight away was created. And that’s really unique, right, as a starting point to have a place that we started where these five folks came together and stayed in the business as founder operators now under one umbrella. And maybe the other thing that’s really important to point out too, is they had grown up together in the industry. So, I mean, they were part of 20 groups together. These, they. Not only. This wasn’t like a marriage of five people who kind of met each other on the wedding day, like, all right, let’s figure this out. 

11:54
John
It was, this was a long time of really building relationships together and having shared philosophies around not just how you operate a shop, well, what good looks like, but, you know, how you treat people the right way, the hospitality mentality, some of the stuff were just talking about, right. How you build people, how you. And so, you know, again, that’s. That’s a really unique starting point that I’m privileged to have, you know, joined a year after they got going. So I didn’t join till April of 2024, but when you start there with a platform like, that’s. That’s really powerful to have that, those unique relationships. And that’s the beginning of our model. Our model is we are designed for the people who don’t want to hand the keys over, but want to become part of something that can make them potentially stronger. 

12:42
John
So what we do is grow and through. Let’s just keep it simple. On the inorganic side, two main ways we grow our business. Number one is we find a great brand in a market that has a founder with everything. I just described the passion for growth, the willingness to partner with other people in the industry and hear about their experiences to help them get better, the willingness to get some support from a platform that can provide them resources to get there. And we want people who want. Who have a passion for growing their brand and knowing that they can do more than what they’re doing today with the right partner. And so that’s one way we grow. And then when we partner with them, you know, we then seek to acquire shops around them in their local market. 

13:25
John
So if I take for example our. Our Denver leader, Brian Bates, who runs East Auto. He started with us with eight locations in April of 2023, and he’s now over 20 locations now as a part of Straightway in the Denver area. So, and that’s kind of our growth model. And then how we, you know, how we partner with our operators as well. 

13:50
Mike
So when he joined you guys, did. Did. Was this like his mission to find those other, you know, potential 12 locations, or did you guys help him? I mean, how that, how that work? Or is it just, hey, man, if we’re going to keep growing, was he identifying these things and then you guys were just naturally involved? How, how’s that work? 

14:10
John
Yeah, I mean, that’s. It’s a great question. That’s part of the we really like about our strategies. It really does start with Brian is a passionate leader and a great leader in his local market, saying, I’ve got a lot of relationships with, you know, other shops in this market that would, you know, love to join me and my team. I, I just needed a partner to help me, you know, tell me do that. You know, Brian really was the catalyst for a number of those initial acquisitions through the relationships and reputation he’s built. And again, that’s the kind of folks that we want to partner with. People that, you know, we know, again, have that passion for growth, but also great operators who, you know, therefore people in the market know them. They’re like, you know what? 

14:49
John
I would, you know, leave my shop in Brian’s hands for his care over time. But over time, we also start to supplement Brian with resource support from straightaway to find more opportunities. So, you know, because that’s look That’s a day job in itself, you know, trying to find opportunities. 

15:07
Mike
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. 

15:08
John
So, you know, we want Brian, you know, to be able to focus on growing the business and not have to spend all his time doing this. Of course, we’re gonna, you know, we’re gonna support him in that process too. So it becomes a kind of combination over time. 

15:20
Mike
But straightaway is not being the public retail brand out there either, is it? Right. So, like, he kept his own brand. Yes, that’s right. Yeah. 

15:31
John
I mean, we, we again, we partner with folks who have built a brand and operation they’re proud of and they believe they can grow. And we are big believers in, hey, we’re going to come behind you, alongside you and help you grow what you’re already doing at a greater pace and at home. You know, like, we’re going to help you accelerate here. 

15:54
Mike
Yeah. 

15:55
John
But we’re going to preserve the legacy that you’ve started. Like, we’re going to preserve and grow, not talk about how we dismantle, reconstruct, and then grow. No, we’re gonna, let’s take something great and let’s keep growing it to be greater. 

16:07
Mike
Yeah, your objective is not to sit there and change something. It’s, you know, though, that it’s, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Right. 

16:14
John
Let’s not go backward to then go forward. Let’s just talk about going forward together as best as possible. 

16:20
Mike
That’s awesome. So what’s the long term? Well, maybe not even the long term goal. Where do you’re, you’ve almost been in this role for a year now. Where do you see this in three years and then five years? 

16:32
John
Yeah, I mean, we’re really passionate about the model that we’re building because again, it creates different choice for folks who are your listeners or people who are out there in the markets and like, what are my exit scenarios? As this whole wave is playing out, everyone is thinking about it. Everyone’s being instructed by, if they’re in 20 groups or, you know, they’re talking to peers, they’re all saying, hey, you got to have, you got to start thinking about your choices. And we are just a new and different kind of choice. We’re, we’re the choice that is, again, I’m not ready to hand over the keys. I believe I started to build something special. I believe it can be even greater. 

17:11
John
Who can I partner with that can help me take that to the next level and really be a partner in that and not Again, it, you know, if someone’s going to tell me, well, here’s the eight things you have to do and there’s two things we’ll let you do, you know. 

17:23
Mike
Well, it’s kind of like yeah, and they, they basically say, hey, I’ll look at you in a year if you’ve accomplished these things, but you’re still out there on your own. Right? Yeah. You’re basically saying, hey, yeah, no, come to us now and we may be able to work out an opportunity where you’re going to like what we offer, we’re going to like what you’re doing. Let’s partner up. And now you’ve got your long term partner and exit strategy into the future too, because that’s going to be, I’m sure, baked in here. Right. 

17:57
John
Well and to be clear, we are acquiring these businesses, right? So we’re not just partnering commercially, it’s an actual acquisition. We take on a brand. But there’s those founders retain, they roll over equity into the straightaway platform. They’re owners now in straightaway, right. Together we’re all one team. But everyone’s an owner and everyone’s. That founder mentality, that entrepreneurial spirit, like this is all stuff we deeply desire to maintain in the structure. And so with that kind of model. Right. I mean we, this market is so fragmented of tire and automotive repair, right? Yeah, we, you asked what happens over the next three to five years. I mean we see a, we see plenty of Runway to keep doing exactly this. 

18:41
John
Like we want to keep finding our Brian Bates, you know, in, in different markets that wants to come on board and then let’s build your brand. So we will continue to be this house of brands, if you will, with one platform. You know, this would end straight away. That provides support for them to grow, simplify, preserve their businesses. We see a long Runway in finding more brands and building around those brands. 

19:08
Mike
Well, and that’s interesting the way you phrase it because I had a buddy of mine recently sell his company and he sold it for a nice chunk of change, but it was, and his dad was still involved, but the way he said it was, look, I keep, I, I get to do what I love to do, which is stay in the industry, but I get to take my chips off the table and I’m no longer at a certain risk level that I was at. So yeah, I’m not necessarily working for myself anymore, but I’m also, I am to a degree. I’m just answering to an organization that helped me remove my chips off the table. And, you know, it’s been good. 

19:41
Mike
It was good for him, but it was also really good for his dad because it made it easy for that whole exit strategy for his dad because otherwise his dad was going to have to finance him and his brother, you know, to some, I don’t know, however many years, you know, to get it paid, you know what I’m saying? And it was one of those structures where. But it got his dad out, right? His dad wanted an exit strategy, but it gave away for the two sons to remain involved. And they like what they do, but they. They got a little. They got some of that. Those chips as well, you know, so it was a. 

20:13
John
That’s important. That’s an important part of this. I mean, when I, you know, they’re. That’s some of the good side of consolidation. I know a lot of people out there kind of think, how’s this going to play out? And what’s going to be the. Any path you go down in life, any business, there’s always problems and opportunities, right? So consolidation brings opportunities pro like saint, same as anything else. Part of the opportunity for folks, you know, operators in the market is what you just said. 

20:38
Mike
It’s. 

20:38
John
It’s de. Risking a little bit taking some chips off the table and again, reiterate our model. We want to. We. We are the middle ground. We want you to take some chips off the table. Like, you take that opportunity, you know, to monetize what you built before. That opportunity is. Is. Is gone. And maybe now you’re sitting on your own and people are not looking to acquire as much. But we still want people invested in straightaway because A, they believe in the. The mission and what we’re trying to accomplish it straight away. B, they’re going to put like, that same entrepreneurial spirit, ownership mentality into helping us deliver on what we, you know, think is the opportunity. So we really like our founders keeping some chips on the table, but taking, you know, an appropriate chunk off the table. 

21:26
John
Because that’s important too, to be able to. To be able to. 

21:30
Mike
Well, and sometimes those chips that you leave on the table can be exponentially more valuable than just your chips by themselves someday. Someday in the future. Yes. 

21:39
John
Right. So that’s the theory, right? I guess keep the chips that you bring on putting on the table, you’re now putting into something bigger and something different, hopefully differentiated, that we continue to build. 

21:53
Mike
Well, and it’s still, it still follows that adage too. You’re still investing yourself in something, you know, right. And something you’re familiar with. It’s not like you’re just handing your money off to something else and hoping it works. No, you’re still directly involved in, and specifically with the stores that you built. I mean, and you can still make a big difference. 

22:11
John
Yeah, that’s right. That’s exactly right. 

22:14
Mike
Is there anything else that the audience needs to know about straight away that you want to kind of really highlight? This is an opportunity because I like your stories. I like what you guys have done. I think it’s. You guys are good for the marketplace. 

22:27
John
You know, I think the only other thing I’d highlight, I mean, you and I talked before this and joked around, like, I don’t know how much people in the industry want to hear from me as the CEO versus hearing from my great, you know, partners here that run these brands and operate day to day like Brian. And so I hope there’s an opportunity for them to actually, you know, through. Gain traction to be here from those folks. 

22:53
Mike
Because I’d love to have Brian on if he’s listening and willing to, then. Oh, yeah, we’ll have him on the podcast. 

23:00
John
We’ll make that happen. We’d love to, but I, you know, I think when it comes to me and the team we’re building at the platform level, what I’d love to, you know, reiterate to your listeners is, you know, you’ve got a group of people who have a strong servant leadership mentality running the platform. You know, we. I talk a lot, so go back to my Home Depot experience because it was so influential for me, again, first time on the operating side of things and learning from a company that I think is one of the best in the world at what they do. 

23:35
John
Their core philosophy sits behind this concept of the inverted pyramid, which is, you know, in any retail frontline business, you’ve got the customers at the top of the pyramid and that the frontline associates are right below that and the CEO is at the bottom. It’s. It’s just an organizational hierarchy just flipping it around, right? Entirely. It’s not, you know, even the corporate office is not called the corporate office. It’s called the store support center. Right. It’s all this mentality is completely framed around, you know, server leadership in effect. And like, the front line is what matters most in this business. And that’s something that, again, like, I believe Deeply in, I mean, I saw the power of that in action in terms of the, not just the culture we built at Home Depot, but the results that were delivered. 

24:19
John
I mean that business has done phenomenally, obviously, particularly in the last 15 years if you follow kind of their trajectory. And so again, I believe deeply in that. And we don’t hire people to be part of the platform team who don’t share that philosophy. 

24:35
Mike
Right. 

24:36
John
This is not a, hey, we’ve got these great brands that are out there doing their thing, but then we’ve now got this, you know, corporate leadership team coming in above that is, you know, gonna effectively kind of make it feel the same way as any big corporation network. The people we’re bringing into this business to is, are people who have the mentality of supporting our brands to grow faster, to be stronger, to preserve their legacy and not coming in to kind of dictate policy structure. You know, here’s exactly how things have. 

25:05
Mike
To be that just, that’s, that just sets a bad tone. It feels. Yeah, yeah. 

25:11
John
So that’s probably the last piece of straightaway I think is important for folks to hear is kind of, well, who are, you know, understand who the leaders are at the brand level. Like there’s relatable peers in the industry. But John, who are you and who’s your team that you’re building at the executive level? And that’s a critical litmus test for whether you’re going to make it here straight away or not. 

25:32
Mike
That’s awesome. You know, I, I think some of my listeners know this. I like history. It reminds me of, I don’t know if people realize this, but I like, well, like King David from scripture and he was a warrior king. And what that meant was he was actually in battle. He didn’t sit back and say, all right, I’m sending you in now. He was, he was known as a ferocious fighter. And people, I don’t know if they conceived that as a, because our modern day version of kings sometimes and the way our leaders are is they push all the other people out. But you know, a warrior king was one that was literally out there on the front lines showing his people how to fight. 

26:11
Mike
And he was really a tough dude, you know, like he wasn’t afraid to go risk his life in those moments. Well, it’s kind of like, you know, I think sometimes in our culture here, at least in America, you know, the corporate sea level gets a little bit full of themselves and they forget, hey, this is where the money’s made right here out there in the trenches. And you gotta, you know, you’re. If you’re going to be the real leader, then you got to show your people, hey, this is how you battle in the trenches. Does that make sense? 

26:41
John
It makes complete sense. And, and you know, I even just relationally with. In a biz, like for put aside for a second where the money gets made. 

26:51
Mike
Yes. 

26:53
John
If you’re building a good business, like you’re taking care of people, you’re creating livelihoods for them. You’re creating opportunity or create. And so especially in a business like ours, like, I just can’t fathom not being close to the front line in some way not, you know, having that kind of mentality. Actually, it’s funny you share that King David example. Now I’m version. Band of brothers before. 

27:15
Mike
Yeah, yeah, it’s been a while. 

27:17
John
But I have such reverence for. I was not in the military. I have such reverence for folks who are in the military. Ultimate, you know, self sacrifice and ultimate, you know, just. 

27:26
Mike
Yeah. 

27:27
John
True leadership in scenarios where everything’s on the line, I mean that’s when true leadership shines. And so in that movie miniseries, which is True Story, you know, this guy, Captain Dick Winters is his name and you know, famous. Famous on a first Airborne. And there’s a. One of the episodes, there’s a battle and he tells his guys to hold for a signal. They’re going to charge a field and he’s your hold until the signal. And then y’all go. And they’re going to. They don’t know what’s on the other side of that field. And he, they start the pro. He goes running first, right? He. He’s running as the captain across the field. And they’re like, what do we do? You know, he said wait for the signal. So they all wait and he listen to his command. 

28:10
John
They wait for the signal, but he’s already running halfway across the field zone. And that you can see in their eyes. These guys now, they’re in the mentality of like, okay, I was nervous before and I still probably am nervous. But like, that’s my. I want to follow this guy. I want to help him now. I want to behind him, showing me he’s building my confidence. He built. I mean, I think that is like the epitome of leadership is like ever roll up your sleeves. Don’t ever ask to be. Do people to do anything that you would refuse to do. Like. 

28:40
Mike
Amen. Amen. 

28:42
John
You can’t do It a different way. I don’t see how it’s possible, so. 

28:45
Mike
I’ll speak on another movie because I’m like you. I didn’t serve. I had family that did. But I have a great reverence for it and the good men, women that have come from it. And don’t get me wrong, they’re not all. I mean, there’s been but that. But one of my favorite was the movie Patton. You know, have you ever seen the movie? 

29:04
John
I haven’t seen that one. 

29:05
Mike
Okay, I’m on encourage. Anybody listening? You got to watch it because it gives a. Now, granted, Patton was so tough and broken from a different mode that, you know, he wasn’t soft. And he didn’t. He didn’t. 

29:18
John
He. 

29:18
Mike
He had a hard time with certain types of personalities. But what made him great was he did exactly what you’re talking about. Like, one time they were supposed to cross this river and he told his. His commanders, get, you know, navigate across this river. Figure out. Well, they were sitting there screwing around all day, and they couldn’t figure out how to get across it. Well, he figured it out himself. And I guess he had gone down maybe a mile down the river and crossed, and he’s back in front of them. He’s on the other side where the enemy is, and yelling across the river. He goes, get your, you know, Blankety Blank over here now. And they’re like, holy cow. He’s already there. He’s nuts. You know, but he. He never. He. 

29:52
Mike
He was never afraid of the battle, so he never, like, he literally lived the way he dreamed of battle. That mean he was a little bit bizarre right there. But his destiny was. He believed his destiny was World War II. I mean, you know, and I, I consider it a grace from God that we had a man like that because the. The Germans feared him. I mean, you know, he was the guy that. He just didn’t. He just. He just loved to battle. But he would lead his men into battle like he was not the general back there. And I don’t know. He was always close to the fire in a sense, but I, I’m. I’m like you. I have a great appreciation for that type of leadership. Because, man, you don’t. As a. 

30:30
Mike
As somebody on the other following, you’re kind of like, man, here. Here we go. What am I. What are you gonna do? Stay back, you know? Yeah, I mean, he’s. He’s. He’s way out there in front of us. I don’t have a choice but to keep up. Now it’s a great thing. Just, hey, just let our audience know a little bit more about you. Just on a personal level. Is there, is there like a standard code motto, something you live by? 

30:55
John
It kind of just said it. 

30:57
Mike
Yeah. 

30:58
John
From the front. I mean, that is. You could probably say a few things, but like, that for me is and has always been just so important to me. Yeah, it was important before getting into the work world. I mean, there’s things growing up that I had privileged opportunities to be leader in different situations, whether athletics or, you know, extracurricular things that I did that kind of instilled that in me. But. But then to. And really became fulfilling when I got into the working world and again, that Home Depot experience. Right. Where I was able to now be a part of a business that truly thought that way, lived that way, and you were able to change lives in the front line of the business with that kind of mentality. I mean, it’s people who start as cashiers and become executive vice presidents and company. 

31:51
John
That is what’s more powerful than that in terms of, you know, not just the, the culture that breeds, but in the way that speaks to how much the frontline roles are valued. Right. 

32:05
Mike
Yeah. 

32:05
John
It’s like, well, you didn’t maybe go to XYZ school, so therefore, you know, there’s only a certain place you can get to. It’s like, no, you learned the most important thing first and foremost here, which is how to serve customers on the front line and know all the challenges you experience with that now your knowledge is now immensely valuable. So again, lead from the front for. I just believe it to my core. And, and to be honest, if anything, I sometimes struggle as a CEO with like some. Sometimes probably pulling up a little bit and taking. I put my CEO hat on and needing to think about. Okay, some of the bigger picture things from some moments. 

32:41
Mike
Yeah. 

32:41
John
So deep in it at times. But, you know, that’s. That’s for me, my mantra for sure. 

32:46
Mike
That’s awesome. Well, I, I gotta say, I really enjoyed the conversation. I’m glad you came on Gain traction. 

32:53
John
Yeah, thanks for having me. 

32:54
Mike
Yeah, we’ll do it again and then be sure to tell Brian. Would be glad to have him on sometime too. 

33:00
John
And he’s already been called out live on the podcast. 

33:03
Mike
Well, he doesn’t have a choice. 

33:05
John
He has no choice that’s going to happen. 

33:08
Mike
So real quick, if somebody’s considering, you know, doing something with their operation, their stores, shops, etc, what’s the easiest way for them to contact you. Just go to the website. Yeah, contact, you know, the pro. Get into the process. 

33:24
John
Yeah, no, I appreciate that. I mean, so our website is go straightaway.com so geostraightaway.com and yes, we have a form you can fill out on our website if you have interest in us reaching out to you. We’ve got a great team of folks in our platform who run our and support our M A efforts and would love to reach out to anyone, even if it’s just, again, it’s. If it’s just a call to say, hey, I heard the podcast. That sounded interesting. Tell me more about it. I have no, I’m not even close. I’ve just started to think about my options. But tell me about what your option looks like. More happy to have that conversation again. This whole business is relational and that includes, you know, the way we build relationships to people or potential, you know, partners straight away. 

34:08
John
So we’re more than happy to take any kind of inquiry. 

34:13
Mike
Good stuff. Well, John, I mean, thank you for being part of the podcast. Greatly appreciate you. To all our listeners out there, thank you for being part of the podcast. We are grateful for you. If you’d like to find out more or listen to more podcasts just like this one, please visit gaintractionpodcast.com till next time, be the best and have a great day. 

34:36
John
Thanks for listening to the Gain Traction podcast. We’ll see you again next time. And be sure to click subscribe to get future episodes.