Focusing on Helping Independent Tire Dealers With Mike Burns of ITDG

Episode 152

Mike Burns

ITDG

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Mike Burns is the Sales Director at Independent Tire Dealers Group, a company that supports independent tire dealers across the US by providing competitive buying power and networking opportunities. Under Mike’s leadership, ITDG has achieved a 40% increase in locations over the past four years, expanding to 1,174 points of sale. Originally from New Jersey, Mike’s career in the tire industry began at a Pep Boys store. He now resides in Houston, Texas with his wife and four daughters.

In this episode…

In an industry where competition is fierce, how does one independent tire dealer stand out and thrive? What strategies can turn a set of challenges into stepping stones for growth? Is there a way to leverage collective experience and resources while maintaining one’s independence?

Mike Burns, the Sales Director for the Independent Tire Dealer Group, offers insights into these questions by sharing his own journey from dishwashing at Boston Market to a leadership role in the tire industry. Through his career progression — from working at Pep Boys and Bridgestone Firestone to eventually joining ITDG — Mike underlines the importance of real-world experience, networking, and continuous learning. He emphasizes how ITDG helps independent dealers by providing a platform for growth, offering competitive programs, and fostering a network of like-minded professionals to share knowledge and support. The discussion also delves into the importance of balancing professional demands with personal growth, highlighting how skills learned in retail environments can translate to executive management.

On this episode of Gain Traction, Mike Edge talks to Mike Burns about empowering independent tire dealers. They discuss ITDG’s growth strategy, the significance of next-gen initiatives, and how Mike advises and supports ITDG members. The conversation paints a vivid picture of the tire industry, emphasizing the importance of relationships, adaptability, and strategic growth. With anecdotes from his personal and professional life, Mike highlights the value of community and collaboration in a competitive market.

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

[01:34] Meet Mike Burns: a voice made for radio
[04:21] Mike’s unlikely journey from New Jersey to Texas
[05:57] How Bridgestone shaped Mike’s future
[17:05] Preparing future leaders in the tire industry
[19:26] ITDG membership: listening and offering the right solutions
[29:06] Mike’s golden rule for success: treating people right

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Quotable Moments:

“You learn how to manage people. You learn how to manage your expenses. You learn how to handle customers.”
“Our mission is about enabling them to make the best possible decisions for their business.”
“Buy like you have 1,100 stores. We’re like an equalizer.”
“Our story for as long as ITDG has been around is really one of growth.”
“Treat people the way that you would want to be treated, because it all comes back to you in the end.”

Action Steps:

Build strong industry relationships: Networking with peers and industry leaders can provide valuable insights and opportunities for growth.
Seek continuous education and training: Pursuing further education, such as a MBA, or engaging in industry-specific training programs can enhance leadership and business management skills.
Utilize technology for efficiency: Implementing technology and digital tools can streamline operations and improve customer service.
Embrace a customer-centric approach: Focusing on customer satisfaction and service quality can lead to business success.
Engage in next-generation leadership programs: Preparing the next generation to take on leadership roles ensures the continuity and success of the business.

Transcript

Announcer:

Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast, where we feature top automotive entrepreneurs and experts, and share their inspiring stories. Now let’s get started with the show.

Mike Edge:

Hello, folks. Welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast. I am Mike Edge, your host. I have a big announcement today. The Gain Traction Podcast has collaborated with the industry’s leading publication Tire Business. We are now their exclusive podcast partner, and Tire Business is Gain Traction’s exclusive media partner. It is an honor and a pleasure to let you know that you can now find Gain Traction’s podcast on our website as always, but even more conveniently, tirebusiness.com. That’s tirebusiness.com. While you’re reading their publication online, you can just navigate to the podcast section, and check out the podcast of your choice because we’ll have them all listed there.

This podcast, as usual, is brought to you by Tread Partners, the leading digital marketing agency for tire and auto repair operations that five to hundreds of locations. Check them out at treadpartners.com to learn more.

All right. Our guest today is Mike Burns, a guy that’s become a good friend of mine. He is the sales director for ITDG, the Independent Tire Dealer Group, in the Central and Eastern United States. Mike, welcome to the Gain Traction Podcast.

Mike Burns:

Mike, thanks for having me. It’s a pleasure to be here. I guess you could say I’m a longtime listeners and first time caller.

Mike Edge:

I knew you’d have something clever to say. That’s awesome. Yeah, you have been a loyal listener and I appreciate it. You actually have the best radio voice, man.

Mike Burns:

Wow. Hey, thanks. I always thought I had a voice for radio, and a face for radio, too.

Mike Edge:

Well, everybody knows I do that’s seen me. That’s why they go, “Why don’t you have a video of your podcast?” Well, if you’ve seen my face, you’ll know why I don’t do that.

Mike Burns:

Oh, that’s good.

Mike Edge:

I like a little mystery there. People have asked us why we don’t. Honestly, we keep them so short and brief, under 30 minutes, 25 minutes typically. Sometimes around 20. Most people we get, they tell us they like running, or walking, or listening to them when they drive. I don’t think you’re going to be able to watch it very well anyway.

Mike Burns:

Yeah. I’m a big fan of the podcast format. I’m also a very big fan of the audible book format.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

Folks that work on the road, whether you’re in a car or you’re in an airplane, both lend towards some kind of downtime. You can plug the podcast in, or an audiobook, or whatever it happens to be, and listen to it while you’re actively working on something else. Or it’s something that you can put 100% of your attention on and absorb it while you’re doing some other activity of some kind. It’s great for that. I enjoy it very much.

Mike Edge:

That’s a fantastic point. We’ve had a lot of people say … Well, not a lot. We’ve had a few give suggestions, “Hey, are you guys ever going to grow to video?” We’ve thought about it. It’s not too far removed. But the challenge is we interview so many people across our industry. Then they have to worry about what they’re wearing, or they have to worry about their background, or they have to worry about where they’re sitting. The whole thing just changes. If we can just interview them, it makes it so much nicer and more accessible to a wider group of people that make good interviews.

We’ve just left it the audio format. I’m glad we touched on this, explained it to our audience, but it makes it easy.

Mike Burns:

Absolutely.

Mike Edge:

We think it makes it easy for our guests. It makes it easy for the listener as well.

Mike Burns:

That’s the theater of the mind, right?

Mike Edge:

Yeah, that’s it.

Let’s talk about Mike Burns. Mike Burns was born and raised in New Jersey, is that right?

Mike Burns:

Yeah, that’s right. That’s right.

Mike Edge:

Now you reside in the big city of Houston.

Mike Burns:

Yeah. Houston, Texas. Houston, Texas. Kind of an unlikely story, how we got here. The tire business I think is what brought us to where we are.

I grew up in the mainland community in Southern New Jersey, not far from the beach. They coined it the Gateway to the Shore. Northfield is the town where I grew up. Everybody in New Jersey goofs on, “Hey, what exit are you?” Ours was 38-A off the Garden State Parkway.

Mike Edge:

Oh, that’s funny. Good to know.

Mike Burns:

Yeah.

Mike Edge:

But you grew up. Then, when did you start in tires or any automotive work?

Mike Burns:

Yeah, absolutely. I always had an interest in that. I went to a high school, it was a public high school, a lot of the kids went to big name schools, that sort of thing. It was all college prep. They also had programs like auto shop, metal shop, kids that wanted to become architects, businessmen. They had course work that was designed for that, too. I benefited from that.

Yeah, I guess it all started, I was in the junior year of high school. I was working at Boston Market. I was washing dishes.

Mike Edge:

Nice, nice.

Mike Burns:

It’s a fun job.

Mike Edge:

Yeah. It’s a good experience.

Mike Burns:

It didn’t last long.

Mike Edge:

Yeah. See, that motivated you to something else, right?

Mike Burns:

100%.

Mike Edge:

That’s what it takes sometimes. Yes.

Mike Burns:

Absolutely, yeah. You come home every night, and your clothes are wet and you smell like chicken. It’s like, “Okay, there’s got to be something better out there.”

Mike Edge:

Hey, I’ve done that, too. Then you got the dish-clean hands, too.

Mike Burns:

Yeah. That’s right. That’s right.

Yeah, no. It was that summer I said, “I want to do something better.” I walked into a Pep Boys, and I had this car that I was always working on, it was always breaking down. I figured if I can get a job there, I can be around other people that like cars, that like working on cars, that like tires and parts, and stuff like that. I went in, and I ran into the manager. His name is Rob Everett, he’s still in the business. I think he works for somewhere else now. He hired me, he gave me a chance. I always admired those guys, because they had the white shirts with the checkered collars, and I always wanted to be like that. They ran the store.

They gave me the job. It was entry-level. I changed the trash cans in the parking lot at the end of the night. Sweep the floors. Every once in a while, when they got busy up front, the sales guys would let you come up to the counter, and then you could look up parts. You could help put parts away, and stuff like that. It was a great education in learning about auto parts.

Mike Edge:

Heck yeah, man.

Mike Burns:

Tires, and service, and all those different things.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

Yeah.

Mike Edge:

That’s awesome. Then continue on. How did you finally get to where you’re at today?

Mike Burns:

Yeah. After high school, I moved down to Tennessee. I went to college at the University of Memphis. Great school. Studied business. Experimented with radio, college radio for a little bit. But I went to work for Bridgestone Firestone. They had the store right off campus. Went over there, and then they hired me.

Mike Edge:

You’re talking about a retail tire store, correct?

Mike Burns:

It is a retail tire store, absolutely.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

It was a big one. Yeah, they had 13 or 14 bays.

Mike Edge:

Oh, wow.

Mike Burns:

Yeah. I got involved in their management training program. Graduated up from manager of tire sales. Eventually went to a business development workshop. Then after college was over, I got my first store.

I’ll tell you, education’s important. It’s a very, very, very important thing to do. But there is nothing like the classroom of experience. What you learn at a Bridgestone Firestone store is indispensable. You learn how to manage people. You learn how to manage your expenses. You learn how to do all of these different … Handle customers. Sometimes you have customers that walk in are very difficult. Some people aren’t, some people are very … All those different skills are really important in a retail tire environment.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

Yeah. That was-

Mike Edge:

What a great experience for you at an early age, to get let’s call it a very professional training environment, and still getting the experience, on your feet, out there with Joe Public.

That’s one thing I think about retail, about my experience growing up in retail and just so many other people, if you can get it at a young age, you really get a taste for people. And the fact that you got to deal with the transition of people. It’s not like all the people were one way one day, and all the people are one way the next day. No. You got good people and bad people within minutes of each other, and your mood’s got to be … That’s the tough part. You learned that in college then, right?

Mike Burns:

Absolutely. I had, at the time, a great manager. A fellow by the name of Eric McGee taught me all the ins and outs of running a store. It was tremendous. It’s just indispensable education. The classroom of experience.

I did that for a while. Then I decided eventually that it was time to go back to school and get the Master of Business Administration, so I did that. I discovered something. You get used to running a store in the retail environment, and the demands that go with that. You’re working 7:00 to 7:00, you’re working seven days a week. When somebody calls out, the manager fills in. It’s very rewarding, it’s a very financially rewarding environment, but it’s also very demanding.

I figured it out, that when you go and transition into more of an office environment, it’s a different set of skills. It’s a different social dynamic. You’ve got to learn how to transition that. In the tire and service space, it’s similar subject matter, but it’s a completely different experience.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

You have to learn how to do that. That took some time.

Mike Edge:

I bet. I bet. A little bit about you on the personal side. Married with kids?

Mike Burns:

Oh, yeah.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

I have my beautiful wife. She’s a CPA. She also a stay-at-home mom. I have four beautiful daughters. They’re great kids. They’re aged 10 all the way down to three, and they’re growing so fast. They’re growing so fast.

Mike Edge:

Well, let me tell you, I’ve got five. I look up, and I feel like I’m my dad now saying, “Hey, time will fly.” I’m like, “What the heck just happened here, man?” Anyway, yeah, it’s really crazy. But that’s a fun, fun time you’re in right now, so I envy that for you.

Well, on the tires side, when did you get to ITDG? Because I want to talk about who they are, and what they provide the market, and why you guys are great for dealers.

Mike Burns:

Absolutely. No, for sure. It’s a story where I went to work for a big, big, big cooperative down in Memphis, Tennessee. A lot of great people. I distinctly remember a conversation I had with the VP of sales there years ago, a guy by the name of Randy Gates. I think you know that name. He’s a tremendous guy, very successful in the business. He says to us one day, he goes, “You know.” He goes, “It’s economics, boys. It’s economics.” He was talking about this tire brand coming through from this group called ITDG. They didn’t have any warehousing. They didn’t have any inventory. They had a great program and a great price, and people absolutely loved it. I made a mental note of that. I said, “Man, these people are really interesting. I wonder how they do it?”

Mike Edge:

Basically, you were at a warehouse that ITDG utilized?

Mike Burns:

No, not at all. No.

Mike Edge:

No?

Mike Burns:

We were competing. I was the marketing manager at that point.

Mike Edge:

Oh!

Mike Burns:

We were competing against ITDG.

Mike Edge:

Gotcha, gotcha. Okay, gotcha.

Mike Burns:

Yeah.

Mike Edge:

Man, that’s [inaudible 00:13:34].

Mike Burns:

Yeah. Tremendous, tremendous. I went to work for an import, Sutong Tire Resources in Houston. Through that experience, we created a partnership between Sutong and ITDG.

Mike Edge:

That’s when the light bulb came back on and you were like, “Hey, I know where-“

Mike Burns:

100%.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

100%. At that point, we’re saying, “Okay, this is going along,” then COVID hits. COVID hits right in the middle of it. We’re getting ready to launch a brand through ITDG. But it did well. We did that for about a year-and-a-half.

Then Mike Sullivan, my predecessor, announced his retirement. He calls me one day and he says, “Hey, Mike, you should really think about this. You should think about coming to work for ITDG. I think you would be really good at this.” I said, “Hey, I’ll give it a shot.” I sent a resume to Dave Marks. Dave Marks was the president and CEO of ITDG at the time, and that’s where things got going.

Mike Edge:

That’s awesome.

Mike Burns:

Yeah.

Mike Edge:

That’s awesome. That’s a great story.

Mike Burns:

Yeah.

Mike Edge:

Let’s talk about ITDG, because one of the things I want to touch on is you guys had us speak, my parent company particularly speak at your Next Gen meeting in July.

ITDG, I’d like to give the audience a little clarity of what they do. And then let’s talk about Next Gen, because that’s a very important committee involved there.

Mike Burns:

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah, no. ITDG, we are the independent tire dealer. That’s what we are. Our story for as long as ITDG has been around is really one of growth. If you go back four years ago to the beginning of COVID in 2020, we had 121 shareholders, 164 members, and 843 locations. Since then to this day, we now have 125 shareholders, 185 members, and 1174 points of sale throughout the United States. I think our locations, that’s a 40% increase in four-and-a-half years. It’s tremendous.

Our members are green-fielding new stores, they’re building new warehouses. They’re acquiring smaller retailers in their area, that sort of thing. All of this is going on. We’re also adding membership in key areas that has traditionally been white space for us, markets where ITDG hasn’t been represented. That’s been pretty rapid growth for us.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

We’re pretty proud of that.

Mike Edge:

Well, the other thing is that you try to protect your members. You’re not trying to have overlap. That way, with the buying power and the different members that you have in the group, they’re not necessarily butting heads with each other trying to sell the same products.

Mike Burns:

Absolutely. There’s states where we’re really well represented. The mission changes at that point. It’s more about giving them tools to grow with them at that point, to grow their business. Rather than trying to add more members, there’s no reason to when we have folks that are doing a great job there already.

Mike Edge:

Well, mention some of those tools, if you would. What’s a tool that comes to mind?

Mike Burns:

Oh, yeah. Oh, absolutely. Next Gen is a great tool. Let’s talk about that.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

Let’s talk about the Next Gen. One of the big stories that you’ve seen has been companies buying other companies, retailers selling out, wholesalers selling out, and that sort of thing. Coming through the COVID years and all, you had a confluence of events where you had very, very low borrowing costs. You had a lot of folks that were aging out of the business. There were Baby Boomers and whatnot, that were getting ready to look forward to enjoying their retirement years, those kinds of things. At the same time, there’s a lot of private equity out there looking to grow, and get bigger, and provide better returns for their shareholders and whatnot. So a lot of that going on.

The Next Gen piece is there to help prepare the next generation leaders in their respective business. Get them familiar with the connections, the people that they’re going to be networking with for the rest of their career.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

Talk to your peers, talk to the leaders in this group of suppliers, that sort of thing. Really formulate those lifelong relationships that are going to be something that you leverage and depend on for the rest of your career.

The other part of that is we really want those folks, as they graduate and they come up through the ranks, to engage and participate in the leadership of ITDG. I can give you at least two or three examples of folks that have come from that Next Gen group, and then moved up to the ITDG board of directors, which is a tremendous thing. They’ve got the skills, then they got the experience, and they understand it.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

It’s an important thing to have.

Mike Edge:

On a daily basis, Mike, give us an idea of what you might do in your position, because I know you’re representing ITDG out there. You’re dealing with a lot of conversations with, it’s not dealers that you don’t really know, you know your prospects, you know the people that would be good members in certain areas of the country, or whatever. But what do you do on a daily basis in talking to these folks, and whatnot?

Mike Burns:

Yeah, it’s a lot of listening, Mike. It’s a tremendous amount of listening. Finding out what’s going on in their business.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

I have folks that come to me from time to time saying, “I’ve got a supplier in my product screen. I’d like to find a way to get this on-program through ITDG. What are my options? What are the best available programs that we can utilize through the group?” Sometimes there might be one or two, sometimes there might be three. It just depends on what their particular needs are.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

Are they somebody that’s going to be able to take in a full tractor trailer from a domestic supplier? Is it somebody that’s looking for a deeper margin? Maybe they want to buy a 40-foot container from overseas, that sort of thing. Are they looking for a private brand that they can control and nobody else has in their market? We offer all of those things.

Mike Edge:

That’s awesome.

Mike Burns:

Yeah.

Mike Edge:

I think one of the biggest ones. Man, I’m utilizing or thinking about certain friends of mine in the industry that are smaller shops, but they do sell a lot of tires. They could do that much better if they were part of ITDG, in the sense that they would gain that much more buying power so that’s straight to the bottom line for them. Is that not-

Mike Burns:

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely. Buy like you have 1100 stores. We’re like an equalizer, we’ll put you on an equal footing with some of the biggest automotive retailers and wholesalers out there. That’s the whole concept, is to level the playing field for the independently owned businesses.

Mike Edge:

Well, if I could beat your drum a little bit, I got to be the speaker at you all’s event this year in April. One of the things I learned is the connections that you guys have, and the friendships that you have among the members is awesome. The fact that you guys protect them with that exclusivity or their turf or their products within their turf, et cetera, that makes it into a real family. It makes it into a real brotherhood of, “Hey, I’ve got somebody that’ll give me honest advice in my situation, help me in my situation, or whatever that I need.” That’s not to mention all the other tools that you guys are bringing to the table. Not just related to tires, but parts and other relationships out there that they’re going to need.

Mike Burns:

100%. Mike, that’s such an important part of ITDG. It’s the relationships. It’s the friendships that folks have. Again, it’s something that goes back to Next Gen. These are relationships that are early. Starting all the way back with the six original members of ITDG in Southern California in 1994, some of those guys are still around. They are friends and they talk to each other. They like to hang out. They like to go on vacation together at these tire events and whatnot. They share information, and it’s not just about tires. It’s about your family. It’s about your background. It kind of becomes part of who you are.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

For me, my role has always been about being a trusted advisor more than anything else to the independent tire dealer. The programs that we put out to the memberships, they have to meet a very, very, very simple framework. They have to be consistent, compelling, and competitive. If it’s part of ITDG, it’s going to meet that benchmark.

Our job is more about enabling them to make the best possible decision for their business on any given item that comes up. We’re never going to tell our members what to do. We’re never going to tell them how much to buy or when to buy it. That’s just not part of our DNA. These are fiercely independent tire and service people.

Mike Edge:

That’s not just in your name, you guys live by it, right?

Mike Burns:

100%.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

100%. In my experience, it’s again, it’s about listening. It’s about being a clear communicator, keeping it simple. It’s about facilitating that relationship between the vendor and the member, transparency, honesty. Humility. Nobody’s perfect.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

There’s going to be things that come up. You have to have an air of humility about it as well. It goes a long way, I think, in earning that role as a trusted advisor for our members. That’s extremely important.

Mike Edge:

I love it.

Mike Burns:

Yeah.

Mike Edge:

It’s a great story. I felt it, that’s why I bring it up. That’s why I like having you as a guest on here, I like other representatives of ITDG on here because you guys are really there for the industry. You guys as a group lift the industry up very well, so I congratulate you on that.

Mike Burns:

Well, thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Thanks.

Mike Edge:

Everybody knows I like to do a little bit of the back story and everything. But I think a fun way for people to get to know you is tell us a little bit about yourself. One of my favorite questions is what’s your favorite movie?

Mike Burns:

How much time do you have?

Mike Edge:

We got just a little bit more. Let’s touch on it, because I think I know one of the answers and I’m excited, actually.

Mike Burns:

I love Tommy Boy.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

Tommy Boy, it’s a parody, but it’s so true. If you’ve had life on the road as a sales guy in the tire business and the automotive business, brake, parts. Wayne Zalinsky, “We make car parts for the American working man, because that’s who we are and that’s who we care about.” Callahan Auto Parts.

Mike Edge:

Oh, yeah.

Mike Burns:

All the different situations and everything that they get into in that movie, everybody’s got stories like that from the road.

Mike Edge:

Well, you’re right. That’s the fun part about it is to think that anybody that’s done any form of sales or whatever has experienced at least a segment of that movie.

Mike Burns:

100%, yeah.

Mike Edge:

If not all of it. Then he has his little buddy David Spade riding along that had to go with him, was told, “You’re going to go.”

Mike Burns:

Yeah.

Mike Edge:

Yeah. There’s so many one-liners in that that we can all relate with. Like you said, it is a parody to a form of extreme, but it’s, golly. It’s like I told you, I think I was watching … I have YouTube TV, and most of the time I’m just watching ball games or the news. I was flipping down through there, and there was 15 minutes left in Tommy Boy. I had to stop and I watched the last 15 minutes. That’s when he came up there in that conference office with the sticks of dynamite wrapped around him.

Mike Burns:

Of course.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

Yeah. You get a pretty good look at a T-bone, right?

Mike Edge:

Oh, yeah. Sticking your head there, yeah. Anyway, yeah.

Mike Burns:

Just take the pitcher’s word for it.

Mike Edge:

Yes.

Mike Burns:

Just take their word for it.

Mike Edge:

But I love his line, when he finally gets it right. He looks in the camera and he’s like, “Yeah, I did it.”

What’s another one? Because I know you wanted to mention two.

Mike Burns:

Yeah. There’s two movies that come to mind. Obviously, Tommy Boy’s one of them. I’ll throw you two more out there. Trains, Planes, and Automobiles. Del Griffith, the John Candy character, the Steve Martin character.

Mike Edge:

Oh, yeah.

Mike Burns:

Again, it’s a movie for salespeople.

Mike Edge:

“Because I sat with Del Griffith.”

Mike Burns:

Yeah. Yeah.

Mike Edge:

How do you sit through those insurance meetings so long? How can you sit through seven hours of insurance? He goes, “Because I’ve been with Del Griffith.”

Mike Burns:

It’s so true. It’s so true. It’s really about personality.

Mike Edge:

Yeah.

Mike Burns:

It’s about personality and how you get to know people. At the end of the day … It was a John Hughes movie, I think it was?

Mike Edge:

I think it was, yeah.

Mike Burns:

Yeah. Yeah, I think it was John Hughes.

Mike Edge:

Either him or Harold Ramus, but I don’t think it was Harold Ramus’. I think it was John Hughes.

Mike Burns:

Yeah. Yeah. At the end of the day, it’s about people, it’s about kindness. It’s about you’ve got all these characters that really are hard to get used to in so many impossible situations, but at the end of the day, it’s about that human connection at the end. It’s really cool.

Mike Edge:

It is. It softens up there, right at the end. He recognizes … Well, it’s not a spoiler. This is a 40-year-old movie probably. He recognizes the dude’s lonely.

Mike Burns:

Yeah.

Mike Edge:

That’s why he talks so much. Yeah, you’re right. It’s a John Hughes, I had to look it up just to double check. You know it well.

Mike Burns:

I’ll throw out Kelly’s Heroes, too. I was always a big fan of that one.

Mike Edge:

That’s a good one, too. Tell me, you got a mentor or somebody that stood out to you? I know one of them I think you mentioned earlier, Eric McGee, because you had mentioned him before to me. Anything, like a line or a motto that you live by, stand out to you?

Mike Burns:

Yeah. I think it’s really important to treat people the way that you would want to be treated. Everybody lives by that.

Mike Edge:

It’s so simple though, and yet we screw it up pretty good.

Mike Burns:

Yeah. Yeah. It’s not always easy.

Mike Edge:

No.

Mike Burns:

You’ve got to have … Everybody’s going to take an impression away from every encounter that you possibly have. Somebody could take away just a small sliver of your time and have a complete opinion about you, if that’s fair or unfair, whatever the case is. At the end of the day, it’s just the way it is. You have to project good into the world, treat people right. Take care of people, treat people the way that you would want to be treated because it all comes back to you in the end.

Mike Edge:

It does. It really does. I think you and I are both old enough to recognize that and seeing that in how people live their life. That’s a big deal.

Well, Mike, I got to thank you, man. I was excited about having you on the podcast. I’ve always enjoyed our conversations. Thanks for being on the podcast.

Mike Burns:

Mike, thanks for having me. Yeah. It’s a pleasure. Hopefully we can do it again.

Mike Edge:

Absolutely. Before we go, I want to encourage you guys to learn more about the WTSBC. That’s the Wheel Tire Suspension and Brake Council of SEMA. If you’re in this industry, we are always looking for new and solid members. To learn more about the WTSBC, go to our website, gaintractionpodcast.com. You will find a direct link on the internal pages of SEMA for the WTSBC. You can also contact Council Director Nicole Brettle at 909-323-2149.

To all our listeners out there, thank you for being part of the podcast. We are grateful for you. If you’d like to recommend a guest to me, please email me at [email protected]. Mike Burns with ITDG, thanks again for being part of the podcast. You were a great interview.

Mike Burns:

Thank you, Mike.

Mike Edge:

Until next time, be safe and have a great day.

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Contents hide

1 In this episode…

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

1.2 Resources mentioned in this episode:

1.2.1 Quotable Moments:

1.2.2 Action Steps: