The 3-Part Brain Model That Separates Top Dealerships from the Rest
You’ve read the books. You’ve attended the conferences. You’ve invested in the software. And yet, execution remains your biggest challenge.
You’re not alone. When I talk to dealership leaders across the country, I hear the same frustration: “I know what needs to change. I just can’t seem to make it stick.”
Here’s what I’ve learned after 30 years of working with dealerships: The problem isn’t a lack of tactics. It’s how your brain processes thought.
The 80/15/5 Brain Model
Imagine looking at your brain floating in front of you. The way your brain manages thought is divided into three sections: the subconscious (80%), the conscious (15%), and the imagination (5%).
Each section has a different job, and understanding these jobs is the key to unlocking consistent performance.
The 80% Subconscious: This is your autopilot. It keeps your heart beating, your lungs working, and your blood flowing. But it does much more than that. Your subconscious also executes commands, whatever your conscious mind tells it to do. It doesn’t judge. It doesn’t question; it just acts.
The 15% Conscious: This is where your daily thoughts live. The thoughts you allow into your conscious mind, whether positive or negative, seed your subconscious with commands. Think of it as the programming interface. If you feed it “I can,” your subconscious makes it real. If you feed it “I can’t,” your subconscious makes that real too.
Henry Ford said it best: “If you think you can, you’re right. If you think you can’t, you’re also right.”
The 5% Imagination: This is where all the action happens. Your imagination operates in one of two modes: joy or fear. When you’re in a Positive-State-of-Mind, you believe. You imagine possibilities you’ve never dreamed of and say, “Why not me?” When you’re in a Negative-State-of-Mind, you look for all the reasons something can’t be done.
Why This Matters for Your Dealership
Most dealership leaders operate from the 15%, their conscious, daily thoughts. They react to problems, put out fires, and make decisions based on what’s in front of them. But here’s the issue: if your subconscious has been programmed with years of negative thought patterns, your 80% is working against you.
That’s why execution feels so hard. You’re consciously trying to change while your subconscious is running old programs.
The Live Ready® system starts here, with reprogramming your Brain Model. We call it becoming the “Switch Master of Your Own Thought®.” When you learn to control which thoughts enter your conscious mind, you control the commands sent to your subconscious. And when your subconscious is aligned with your goals, execution becomes natural.
A Dealership That Made the Switch
Let me tell you about Heritage Auto Group. They were on the brink of a shutdown; they’d just received a termination letter from their manufacturer. Every logical reason pointed to fear. Their leadership had every excuse to operate from a Negative-State-of-Mind.
Instead, they made a choice. They shifted their Brain Model to Positive-State-of-Mind. They applied the Live Ready® principles, took Faith-Based Action before conditions improved, and focused on what they could control.
The result? They didn’t just survive. They won the #1 Regional Award from the same manufacturer that nearly terminated them.
That transformation started with the Brain Model.
The Path Forward
If you want complete protection against fear, worry, and stress, living in a Positive-State-of-Mind is always the best option. It’s not about ignoring problems; it’s about approaching them from a place of belief rather than fear.
The question isn’t whether your Brain Model is running your dealership. It is. The question is: Who’s doing the programming?
Ready to take control of your Brain Model? Join our free Master Class: “The 7-Gear Dealership: Building a Readiness Mindset Culture.” You’ll learn the complete framework for reprogramming your leadership team’s approach to execution.