Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher is recognized for his quote, “change is the only constant in life,” dating back to 500 B.C. Long before our current environment of what seems like constant chaos and change, it was known that no matter what, we can count on it like death and taxes, and change requires dealership owners to be proactive with succession planning strategies.

Change is inevitable as we navigate a new presidential administration.  The chaos that has recently ensued is most likely to be a foreshadowing of the future. The outgoing president created an environment where the incoming cabinet will undoubtably enact change in potential historic proportions. Are you prepared?  Not to be confused as a political writing, rather a call for dealership owners to focus on being proactive and prepared to be ahead of what new lawmakers may propose for changes that will have an impact on your business and personal finances.  

Like a potential candidate running for president who is then elected, there is a lot of thought and planning around what the first four years will look like. In addition, there are no guarantees a second term are withstanding, so you have to plan for the time known to be in office. The change in presidential office directly correlates to the paradigm of succession planning in that you must stay engaged in developing a plan, and importantly, be very flexible. With the right strategic planning focused on succession; you are inherently creating a better ability to flex in the face of change.

Succession planning is a proactive effort that focuses on through the next generation of dealership owners and leaders.  It’s really easy to think of it as something as simple as a transaction or sale. But succession planning takes into effect all factors of our Succession Matrix®.  And developing a strategy starts with developing your goals. Once you have developed your goals you can start with a strategy.  And there has been no better time than the present of 2021 with the election results to turn your strategy into a plan.
A factor of the succession planning matrix is strategic planning, and now is so important to use strategy to develop a plan. In strategic planning we think of the current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to an organization that could impact the desired goal or future legacy. No president, party, or policy can derail someone committed to planning. While it can change rules, structures, and laws, proactive succession planning can work around any change that may come your way.

In the recent inauguration speech of the incoming president one key theme emerged. Unity. At the core of anything successful and fruitful is unity. With succession planning this is also a core foundation. Once a plan is developed, it is so important to have unity toward a common goal. Any party who has their own priorities in contrast to the overall goal will either slow down the process, stop it dead in its tracks, or hold everyone hostage to their whims. I have seen it happen, where everyone verbally agrees to the goal, but the self-serving priorities of one or two can derail even the best laid out plan. I have no problem with someone looking out for themselves, but when they are not honest about their individual priorities in contrast to the plan, it can really cause pain. A proactive engagement in consistently communicating with all parties who have a vested interest in the ongoing success of the organization will ensure you will be able to hear all those around you and decipher if they are working toward the stated plan or toward their own agenda.

One example I always like to share with my clients is that of John Boyd.  Almost every time his name is mentioned I get a blank stare in response. John Boyd was a military strategist who develop the OODA cycle. He deployed a strategy that involved observing, orienting, deciding and acting and is a theory today that the US Military continues to use.  
As we navigate into a new presidential term with understanding that change is inevitable, we also know that by setting proper goals and establishing flexible strategies, we can overcome almost anything that 2021 and beyond have to offer.  

Being a part of his own family’s business, Champ Rawls has a unique insight into the difficulties, challenges, and triumphs families face when combining family and business. Champ has been officially associated with The Rawls Group since 2012, although it could be said he become a part of the team in 1984, when he was born into the family business. For more information visit www.seekingsuccession.com

On January 14, President Joe Biden proposed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 response package that would include additional direct stimulus payments to individuals, an increase in the minimum wage, additional grants and loans for small businesses, and fund OSHA programs and issuing national workforce safety guidelines. This proposal, which is unlikely to pass in this exact form, would build upon Congress’s $4 trillion in coronavirus relief packages passed since March. The White House and Congress are shooting to have a package wrapped up by March 14 when the current unemployment benefits expire.

The American Rescue Plan is a really ambitious proposal with a tight path to being implemented. It is likely that this would need to be passed through a legislative maneuver called Budget Reconciliation which would avoid a filibuster, and only need 51 votes in the Senate to pass. More on this below.

Other items in this proposal include:

• $350 billion for State and Local Governments
• $35 billion for state, local, tribal, and nonprofit programs to finance as much as $175 billion in low-interest loans and venture capital funds for small businesses
• $15 billion for small business grants
• Increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, up from $7.25. It is not clear that this provision could be passed through reconciliation.
• Authorizes OSHA to issue standardized worker protections from COVID-19
• Hazard pay for frontline essential workers, including back payments for 2020
• Increase unemployment benefits to $400, up from $300 weekly payments, through September 2021 which are set to expire on March 14.
• Restore and extend through September 30 emergency paid leave requirements that expired December 31, 2020. Exemptions for employers with more than 500 and fewer than 50 employees would be eliminated. More info on the program here.
• More than 14 weeks of paid sick and family and medical leave for COVID-19 related reasons, with businesses with fewer than 500 employees receiving a payroll tax credit.  Exemptions for employers with more than 500 and fewer than 50 employees would be eliminated.
• Additional $1,400 for direct payments to individuals, including adult dependents.
• $100 billion for health initiatives including expanding testing, supplies purchasing, and a national vaccination program.

So, what is budget reconciliation?

Reconciliation was created out of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to address concerns with a growing federal deficit. Not everything can be passed through this process however, and the parts that can be included would be subject to different constraints as part of the Byrd Rule, which limits what kind of policies can be included.

This process consists of two parts. The first part begins with a resolution “vehicle” directing House and Senate budget committees to draw up a legislation, a budget resolution, to set parameters on what can be passed via reconciliation, and by how much final bill is able to reduce or increase the federal deficit.

The second is the actual budget reconciliation, which must somehow change federal spending or revenue, like raising or lowering taxes, expanding health care subsidies, and infrastructure project funding. Once the bill reaches the Senate floor it cannot be filibustered, and is subject to 20-hours of debate. Any Senator can propose amendments during a “vote-a-rama” where amendments are introduced, explained, and subject to a 10-minute vote.

Some examples of reconciliation being used were for the 1980s Reagan-era spending cuts, the Bush-era tax cuts in 2001 and 2003, the Affordable Care Act, and the 2017 Trump-era tax cuts. In 2017 we saw more than 700 proposed amendments to the tax cuts. We are hearing that we can expect more than 1,000 amendments this time around. The majority of these are just messaging pieces and would not receive a vote. Many priorities, like the minimum wage increase, could be knocked out by a Byrd Rule challenge during this process.

The House and Senate Budget Committees are expected to prepare the initial budget “vehicle” the first week of February. Because of the massive scope of this package, it’s likely that other committees will be pulled in to work on parts of this.  From there, it will take a few weeks to get the bill put together and will likely run up to the first couple weeks in March, putting it right up against the last stimulus’s expiration yet again.

It is possible that this package could be passed as-is, but it is wiser to view this as a list of priorities from the Biden administration. With such slim majorities in the House and Senate, the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in the House, and a group of bipartisan Senators dubbed the “Senate Sweet 16” will hold significant influence on how this package actually shakes out.

The NCAA College Football Playoff National Championship has been decided, as top-ranked Alabama dismantled No. 3 Ohio State 52-24, and in doing so, secured its sixth title in the last dozen years. That’s impressive, to say the least. What’s probably even more inspiring is the team cohesiveness of both the Crimson Tide and the runner-up Buckeyes. Because, to be successful together, teams must understand one another, communicate clearly, trust, show respect, be supportive and find the drive to accomplish the most grueling tasks in order to win.

It’s not that much different for marine dealers like you. While your team may not be donning helmets and pads, you are, together, developing game plans, strategies and “play calls” to provide the best sales, service and marketing to your customers. Your team also seeks to win, not just to participate, and even strive to be the best in the industry. We understand that it’s also challenging to find the time to practice, to study your craft and do so as a team, especially with COVID-19 still lingering. That’s why the MRAA will introduce a new monthly training program for Silver and Gold Members called Training ‘N’ Tactics — or TNT, for short. The series, which as the name suggests focuses heavily on training and tactics, will share educational growth tools and guide dealers in team development.

Silver and Gold Members have access to a wealth of MRAA resources, but in this series we do the legwork for you to create a training plan for your team as we revisit sessions from MRAA’s archives. These sessions are broadly applicable within the dealership, whether it’s a single department or employee or together as workforce. I say that because even though football teams train together in practice, they also must work individually in their specialty areas (e.g.: kickers, quarterbacks, linebackers) to hone skills that will prove beneficial for the entire team and its success come game time. For marine dealers like you, we know that every day is game day! That’s why, we as guides are offering a program to help you find relevant training topics that you can more easily commit to continuous improvement. We know many of our Silver and Gold dealers are already in great shape, but good teams can become even greater when they bear down.

How you use the series is up to you. Do you provide lunch for your employees while they learn? Do you watch individually and then discuss during a team meeting? Ideally, you’d “huddle up” and discuss each topic before and after watching the video. You can then focus on areas of improvement for both individuals, departments and the entire dealership team.

As you go, we’ll provide guidance on the types of questions you should be asking. What did we learn? What are our objectives? How do we hold each other accountable moving forward? And even though we will have a specific video for you each month, don’t forget that as a Silver or Gold Member you have more than 120 sessions from which to select on mraatraining.com.

The monthly training starts Tuesday, February 2, with “A is for Attitude” by Sam Dantzler, speaker and co-owner of Wheelhouse College. Dantzler dives into attitudes, environments, science, positivity and massive thinking. It’s an ideal topic and course for the start of 2021. The following month features educator and VRZ Consulting’s Valerie Ziebron with “Attract and Keep Techs.” The next topic is as timely as ever — with the entry of so many new first-time boat owners — as service teams and strong tech support will prove to be a game-changing focal point in 2021. The remaining monthly content will include timely subjects like content marketing, video and digital efforts, navigating difficult customers, the pre-owned boat market and more.

Above all, we want you to take the tactical expertise from the TNT sessions and use them to “explode” out of the gate in 2021 and improve your dealership’s game plan and team management. To implement the tips, tools and best practices to find even more success and beat the competition. While your team may not be able to hoist a championship trophy, like ‘Bama, it can definitely walk more proudly and work more confidently and do so with a championship attitude. That’s a win for your team and the industry as a whole.