45 Years Strong: Built on Trust, Driven by Legacy

What allows a business to survive for 45 years when so many others disappear?

For Hooks Lincoln, the answer has never been complicated: relationships, consistency, and a commitment to doing right by people.

In this episode, Owner Kip Hooks shares what it means to carry the responsibility of a multi-generational family business while leading through constant industry change. From growing up inside the dealership to navigating modern technology, evolving customer expectations, and the pressure to move faster than ever, Kip explains why the fundamentals still matter most.

This conversation dives into:

• The leadership lessons that only come with time
• How each generation shaped the future of Hooks Lincoln
• Why speed and efficiency should never replace experience
• The role trust plays in long-term customer relationships
• Protecting a legacy while still embracing change
• What the next 45 years could look like

At its heart, this episode is about more than the car business. It’s about stewardship, family, and building something strong enough to last beyond yourself.

Stop by Hooks Lincoln in Fort Worth, Texas
Visit us online: www.hookslincoln.com
Find us on Google: Hooks GBP

Follow Kip Hooks: www.linkedin.com/in/kip-hooks-6723046a/

Podcast Directed and Produced by: www.hiredgunsagency.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I shouldn't be surprised that you would share a point like that because it's you and I know you pretty good now. But man, I just that's that's awesome. I just want to drop some like that's all that's cuss word good, but I won't, you know, like it's like not gonna do that. That's that's cuss word good right there, Kip.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

From the front lines of retail automotive. This is the hooks playbook. Welcome to Changing Lane with Kip Hooks.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Welcome back to Changing Lane. Today's episode, well, this is a special one. I say that a lot, but this one's true. They're all true, actually. And here's why. Because we're not just talking about the car business, we're talking about 45 years of doing business the right way in the car business. Hooks has been serving customers and communities for over four decades, and that kind of longevity doesn't happen by accident. It's built on consistency, trust, relationships, and a commitment to treating people the right way, year after year, generation after generation. On the podcast today, as always, is Kip Hooks, third generation leader, who's helped guide the business through incredible change from a time before the internet to today's fast-moving digital first world. In this conversation, we're going to explore what it really takes to sustain a family business over time, how each generation has shaped and evolved the company, and why some of the most important principles like trust, respect, and grace haven't changed at all. Kip, always great to hear from you. You're ready to get into it.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Man, I I look forward to chatting with you and get a little insight on this. I always like talking about this stuff, especially this kind of a it's pretty monumental event here. So we're real proud.

SPEAKER_01 2:00

Yeah, as you should be. When you hear 45 years in business, what does that number actually represent to you beyond just the time? Like what does it say about who you are as a company?

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Well, you know, what you you the first thought that flashed in my head as you were asking me that question was it makes me realize my age, and I'm like, oh gosh, you know, what how old was I when when we started this? I was young, but I was alive, you know, and so but you know, what it means as a company is that it's just such an honor. It means that those that came before me, my heritage is is they did such a great job, and and so there's a lot to live up to, and there's a lot that I carry. And I obviously benefited from greatly from the two generations before me, my grandfather and my father. And everything they did for for us, for me, for my brother, for for our kids, and for what they did for their communities. And, you know, it's just it's just a blessing, man. And you know, it's hard, it's really hard to carry forward a generational business. It can be, but you know, there's a foundation that's been laid there. And, you know, I think a lot of the times that, you know, there you can see there's different metrics, different, different uh reports that say how the success and failure rates of generational businesses, but you know, I think a lot of that comes down to it was built on this platform, and then the future platform or or or this generation built it on this platform, and then future generations may have not felt the same way or thought the same way, or didn't adapt to change the same way. And so it depends on where the level of those that platform, that foundation that the business was built upon, what was it and and what level was it? You know, because if you get if you get off on the wrong foot, it's hard to get back. So kudos to my father and my grandfather for the foundations that they set in place just naturally, you know, they didn't have the degrees I have or the stuff. They did it naturally, they did it the right way, that made sense, that that was that was human, that that they took care of people. And so those principles that that they believed in and and fought so hard to survive in while while representing they've carried us forward for now three generations and hopefully more should they choose to do it.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

So that's a that's a great uh setup for what I want to ask you next, which is kind of those foundational values. When you think about back to early days of the business when you were really young, but obviously seeing so much and experiencing so much of it, what were the those foundational elements, those values that your family built on? And um how intentional were they at the time? Um I'm very curious because I'm thinking my guess is that some of those things were just natural because that's the way people treated each other back then. But anyway, just curious, what like what were those things that they kind of built on?

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Well, I mean, you go back to you know, my granddad started in 55. So we're talking about now over 70 years in the business of my family. So, and then 45 back in the link with Lincoln, and we were with Ford and Chrysler before that, and so you know, my my dad's been in it forever since you know 64, and so it's been a lot of years in it, but those they took care of people, and it was always about taking care of people. And, you know, if they ever grade the lines, it was in favor of their customer because it was always like we want to take care of those people, we want to take care of our customer, we do this for our customer, do that for our customer. And those principles, those foundational beliefs have stood the test of time, and I believe will continue to stand the test of time because they're you can't deny them. You can't deny that, the the importance of those and uh how they really under the foundation to build everything else upon. So uh, you know, I would say that's that's pretty much what overall, and it has it is it's been unwavering, and it admittedly it was from a very sales-oriented standpoint when they began. That was the time. That was the way it was then. And you hear all these crazy stories, you know, from the 70s, and I know there were some there were some crazy stories from I don't remember many about the 70s, but you know, the 80s or the 90s were it wasn't that way really in the 90s, but it was generally about sales, and of course I've always heard all the stories, but it was very sales focused. And um, but it came down to how you take care of your customer when you're in front of them to sell them. Because they that's how they got in the business was granddad was selling cars, and he was selling so many cars that he called my dad and said, You gotta come work with me. We're I'm selling too many cars, I need some help, and we'll sell more cars. And um sold enough cars they decided they wanted to go get a dealership, and so they they did. Granddad left and they bought Everett Hooks Ford, and dad stayed behind for a year to tell their their customers what they were doing, and then dad took off, and then later on set forth for the set off with Lincoln. So it's been a long, a long journey, and God knows that three generations have put their blood, sweat, and tears into this place, and and it's been worth every it's been worth it all. You know, my dad set forth with some goals and achieved those, and God bless him and and congrats to my dad for for achieving those goals through all the hard times that uh that he's been through over these generations, over four generations. We've all seen good times come and go and a lot of different things come to pass, but uh he made it through and will make it through. And you know, there's there's things that the the most obviously the most recent being COVID, but you adapt and you adapt with those things. If your foundational principles are taking care of people, you will adapt.

SPEAKER_01 9:12

Well, you're part of the third generation in the business. Yes. And I'd like to get your thoughts on what did your grandfather's generation like what's the maybe something that was one of your favorite things that he got right that you still see in the business today?

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Nothing would stand in the way of taking care of someone. If he couldn't, you know, it goes back to the story when that that that story of uh when he was at the store one time when it was closed, service was closed, guys coming through town, needed he'd busted the window on his truck, and so granddad went and found a tool, took one off of a new truck, put it on his truck, sent him on his way. He didn't care about having to bill it out. He didn't care about, you know, well, taking a part off a new vehicle. You can't do that these days, obviously, because back then I remember that I just kind of screwed on. And I couldn't, I mean, now they're too technical to if even if you could screw them off and on. But you know, nothing stood in the way of doing what he could to take care of a customer and make sure they were happy, whether he knew them or not, whether they bought from him or not. And um, you know, it it it's just taking care of people and that commitment that there are countless stories from you know over the generations that we've all done because it matters. And you know, we're here for we're we're human, and how would we want to be treated, and how what would we be grateful for and appreciate? And so I think that that's you know, he would not let anything stand his way about doing what he wanted to do to take care of somebody, um, and neither would dad. So I love that.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

I love that. Let's talk about your dad. Yeah. The second generation, so your father's generation, he's gonna have to deal with new things, some new technology probably existed that didn't in uh you know, wasn't invented yet in your grandfather's generation. So how did your father evolve the business? And can you think about like what pressures or changes at that time did he have to respond to?

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Well, there were a lot of different pressures and stuff that he had to respond to and evolve with markets, but you know, with technology, I think about what gets in my head is I remember he had to buy this thing for training, and it had these discs, digital, digital discs, that were the size of an LP, like uh or no bigger, and this player, and it opened and that and it played. And I mean, obviously the quality way back then was not that great, but I remember those things, and then having to get a computer system and you know, had a we had one man one office manager who did things in literally like duplicate or triplicate, because do it all by hand, then put it in the computer, and then do it all by hand, make sure the computer matched. So it was like, you know, all these things that we're having to adapt to, and you know, uh parts managers putting their inventory on into a computer system and still keeping it on hardcards and going and touching it by hand, and you know, it's just all these different things that that happened, and I can't imagine, well, I can't, I guess, but at that time, I can imagine buying new stuff like you hadn't had to buy before. But at that time, to like we need to have computers for this and that, like, why? We never had them before. We've been doing fine, we got along with them. I mean, and I I would imagine I wasn't there in the room, but I would imagine my dad fought that pretty hard. You know, we've been fine, we don't need to do that, we need to spend more money on that, I'm sure. But ultimately, you know, he he moved in that way, and and of course, it's been a lot of the change, the digital change and the push forward um is I've been here for. But uh it's a lot of different things with the vehicles, with the the marketing, with a lot, you know, there's countless things that change within each generation that we've had to adapt to. But again, not to be a broken record, but uh those underlying principles are what carried him through. And being sure that, you know, we we gotta be viable, we gotta live through tomorrow, and so we gotta make it through today. So what do we need to do? And how do we do that? And who do we sell a car to, and how do we take care of somebody?

SPEAKER_01 13:58

Yeah. When you think about these generations, your grandfather, your father, and now your era of leadership, when it became your turn to lead, did you feel responsible to protect certain things versus things that you knew needed to change? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

But you you protect your heritage. You protect your name, you protect the way that you've always taken care of customers. That's your heritage. The heritage is is that commitment, the unwavering commitment to making sure that we are taking care of customers to provide the best experience possible. And accepting your faults when you screw up, accepting the fact that you're not gonna be perfect, how you're gonna address that, and what you're gonna do to take care of a customer. So, you know, uh, yeah, uh that is not gonna we're gonna protect that at all costs. Yeah and we'll continue because that is that's our lifeblood. That's what we're known for. And when we when I see a glitch and it happens, man, uh Sean, it happens. Unfortunately, you you have glitches in in the service department, which is the huge piece now. I mean, you've seen it shift from the whole sales piece over to the ownership part, which is that's our backbone. And so, yeah, we have mistakes, we make mistakes in service, and and there's customers who have a less than stellar experience, and uh I it that that keeps me up at night. That will absorb my time, that will just completely saturate everything I do trying to find answers, and and with trying to with avoid turnover at most at as much as you can. But you know, how can we fix it? What can we do? How do we mess up? You gotta you gotta find the problem or the issue before you can turn it into an opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

True.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Very true. You know, that that that stuff, that that experience, that customer experience, moving carrying that forward in whatever way it comes, you know, whatever, and and really it's how do you define luxury? Well, the way you define it, the way I define it, there may be some similarities, but it will not be word for word. So that goes for everybody. What is their luxury experience? Well, you better be flexible, you better be able to adapt if that's what you want to provide. But the heart of it is taking care of people and make and helping them get what they want, helping them establish or or reach their solutions, their end, what they're trying to do, whether it's get one fixed or buy a new one or whatever it is. So those principles are lasting.

SPEAKER_01 16:53

Over 45 years with Lincoln, the industry has completely transformed, right? And you and I, our generation, has very much seen this in real life from no internet to today's digital and AI-driven world. How do you decide like what you want to embrace versus the stuff that you're just not gonna chase?

SPEAKER_00 17:21

I embrace anything that will complement our process, that will be that will simplify the way we do things so that we can spend more time with customers, so that we're having to chase things less in the formality piece of it. So if it will if it will help that customer journey, if you will, help us to support that, then it it's something I'm considering. If it's something that that is outside as well, this is our journey and it's something that sits up here, I'm it's um no, no, thank you. It might be great on its own, doesn't fit me. So that's not even a consideration. So those are the things that I that I keep in mind, those are the things I look for. You know, a lot of people go to NADA, I don't really, because I know when I need something and I start looking for it. And I ask people who I know and trust in this industry, you, there are a bunch of others, hey, what do you see? What's I'm looking for this? And so, you know, generally I go look for those things on my own and then find the one that fits that's gonna that's gonna address the need I have the best, which is that need is gonna be making this whole process, whether it's sales or service, more efficient and and and add to our ability to take care of a client and continue to foster those relationships.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

You know, there's so much more technology now when you think about your grandfather's generation and how he was operating. Now at you know, CRMs, there was a time when there were no DMS systems, there was no digital marketing, but now we have all of that, plus AI. Question I have for you about all this is do you think that the core of earning a customer's trust has actually changed at all? And if so, like why or why not?

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Core is, I think I would kind of focus on that word core because they have definitely changed through the years. You know, you uh back I remember when it was all the dot-com deal and that boom and uh when people would go online and print all this stuff out about a a car and come in and say, well, I've blah blah blah blah blah and you know, and watching the industry adapt, watching the people that worked for us adapt, you know, and people come in, I can't believe he printed all this stuff off the internet. And I'm like, dude, what are you talking about? I mean, if anything, you know how long it took to do that, to download that information at the time was you know, to download it, to get it printed and all that stuff. That guy is committed to buying a new car. That's all that tells me. So help the guy, but he's got this, he's got he's got the invoice, he's got costs. I don't care. I mean, nothing tells you, there's nothing in there that says we have to sell a car for this mount. Period, the end. Go talk to the gentleman, the lady who wants to buy a car, and to watch that part of evolve. But as far as you know, to see all the changes, Sean, I'm completely off base maybe now, but to see all the changes through the years, it it's it's incredible. Technology may have changed the core of the way people buy cars. It may be, it may change you know the way they do things, but they can do all these other things and come go to a store and be treated poorly, and that all that work didn't matter. Um you know maybe they didn't do all those things. They come here, we treat them well and help them find that information. With respect to how we take care of people, it hasn't. It's just how you do it may have changed. The overall principle, the core value that's involved there hasn't. You know, it may have it may have made things to where the people realize they don't have like this. Maybe somebody is worried about maybe they had a poor experience somewhere, they see this and say, I want to try there. Maybe that sounds like where I'd like to buy a car. Right. So this can change it, but you still have to take care of people. It's giving people options, it's giving people ways and and means of finding. Other options. And so if anything, it's elevated the importance of taking care of people when you have the opportunity to do that.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:10

And being unapologetic about your commitment to them.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

Mm-hmm. Yeah. I think you're absolutely right that technology is actually for if you're selling technology to car dealers, you probably would answer this differently. But the truth is with all the layers of technology that exist, certainly it, you know, you can access information faster, you can uh accumulate information on customers with CRMs and DMS systems and all these things. And you have to have some digital marketing tools in the mix and all of that. But what you're saying, and I completely agree with this like the core of like that process of selling the car and earning that trust and all that is still rooted in all of these foundational elements that happen to be the fabric of how Hooks does business and has been doing business for four generations. Yeah. And I think that consumers, you know, have so much at their fingertips now that sure you can communicate differently. You have different channels. You can text somebody, you can email somebody, you can fill out a form on a website. Websites didn't exist 40 years ago, right? So the world's just getting smaller. Yeah. It really is. But the core of earning the trust that you guys do is um is still rooted in what you talk about frequently, and that's how you treat people and being human to them. You know, it's very, very important. So, Kip, we were already kind of talking about this a little bit. I want to know your thoughts on um what is earning trust look like in these real everyday actions inside your store, not just as a concept, but like what does that what does that look like now in the in the third generation going into the fourth?

SPEAKER_00 23:55

You know, it it again, it's just honesty and consistency is what really what it boils down to. And because things are, you know, we talk about how you just kind of you have this belief system and you can't really lip load someone, or you can't, nothing's you can't have a canned presentation. So when it comes down to it, your your interactions have to be honest and they have to be consistent, and they have to be reliable. So really it's hard to say what because everybody's different. Back to you know how you and I would define luxury or how anybody would, you know, you get a room of 50 people, you're gonna get 50 different answers. Because none of them there may be common denominators, but there's not gonna be a consistency across everybody. So there's no there's no interaction that's gonna be a duplicate of another one. They're all gonna be different. So when you rely on those that honesty factor and being consistent about what you're doing, then that's what's going to that's what everything is gonna look like. Different question, different answer, same way of arrival. You know, different situation, different problem, different win, different whatever, same way of getting there through honesty, consistency. What's the what is this? There's your answer. And it's the consist what's the price? It's there. You know, there's a lot more, there are a lot more things that are that are that require the consistency, I guess, where you know, we talk about the the changes in in technology. Well, you know, I can remember there was a time when if there if you uh if there was a price that was posted online for a vehicle, you didn't there wasn't a law that spoke to you having to sell that vehicle for the same a price in in your dealership. Now there is. So processes have changed, laws have changed, things have evolved, you know, that I think I they benefit clients, which is great. And it adds more more trust and more more integrity to the industry. I'm I'm very well aware that there are some actors out there who don't give us a good name. Uh but you know I stand here and and with integrity. I'm proud of what I'm doing. I'm I'm proud of the way we do it. I'm proud of the business. I'm proud to be third generation. I'm I'm proud that I have this education, these educations that that have been provided by my grandfather and father. Um and due to them I had the opportunity to do that and to learn those things. And to and all that said, principal foundational beliefs still stand. And so there is that consistency that that has been there forever, those commitments, and and there's different ways of getting to them through these different evolutions that we talk about, but nonetheless we we still stand for the same thing.

SPEAKER_01 27:16

Yeah, I think that's clear, and you wouldn't be uh in business this many years if that were not the case. I'm curious to know your thoughts on this is this is definitely your era, right? And your leadership. And as you look at how the business grows and evolves, how do you ensure that that that customer experience that's so important doesn't get diluted or maybe just turned into another process?

SPEAKER_00 27:46

Well by staying very in touch with what's going on in in the store and being part of and and and witnessing everything. But you know, there's no okay, here's something that may speak to it. So we had time is a precious commodity, right? We all have a limited amount of time. Nobody has any more minutes, hours, seconds in a day than anybody else. So time is precious, and we never want to take that for granted and don't want to abuse the time when you're here by doing something that's inefficient if efficiency is what the calling is. Well, we had gotten to a point where we'd gotten the the total transaction time down from, you know, whatever these hours that it was taking to buy a car, it's he took a couple hours. We got it down to where you could come in and and if you kind of knew what you want, you could be if you knew what you want, you could be in and out of here in 30 minutes. That's too quick. So you get better at some things, so you see this process to is now take that is now taking something, and the intent was to save the the customers' time and and give them that opportunity to you know come and go, and oh my god, it was so easy. That's great. That's great. It's still a car, it's still a lot of technology, there's still a lot that you need to know, there's still a lot of things that we need to go over. So it's a difficult process that we simplify, but if you oversimplify it, you're gonna start skipping things. So I go, I was like, hey, that's that's I think we're getting too quick. I'm grateful that we're going in that direction and we've we've surpassed, you know, we've gone way that way on saving the client their time, but now I believe we're missing things. And if we're missing things, then we're we're not gonna shortcut any part of the customer experience. So if they want to be in and out of here in 30 minutes and they need to be and they know about the car and and everybody's happy about it, okay. It's far from me to far be it from me to tell somebody that they need to spend more time here because of whatever. But we have to be flexible there. And we got to hit, we need to be sure we're hitting all these marks and clicking all these, make sure that we're doing everything that we know as professionals need to happen when you when when somebody purchases a new vehicle. And we need to be efficient about them, but don't run through them and just and overlook something. Because then we're then we're again taking away from the customer experience. So be flexible. So that's one way that you know, as as we grow and evolve and do things differently with technology, that you gotta watch these things and make sure that we're not overlooking an area that could be a potential pitfall for a customer's experience and at least address it.

SPEAKER_01 30:57

That is such a brilliant point. We are in that era where so many dealers, whether it comes from their thought process or comes from pressure from vendors that sell something that has to do with the efficiency, speeding up process, whatever it may be, that what you just said is so important because it is possible that you might have a goal of speeding things up in the in the name of efficiency, so much so that it actually compromises the experience that you can give somebody who's come in to do business with you. I think there is a reasonable, ex reasonable expectation of people who are going through the car buying process that probably is a bit misaligned with what vendors are trying to make the dealers feel. And then you feel a pressure of like, we got to get them in so quickly. And I just it's just a brilliant point that you make that like that might not be the goal that you want to chase because you could actually be making somebody feel so rushed along that they didn't actually develop the relationship that you want. They didn't have all their questions answered, they didn't they didn't have an opportunity to meet the service department or set up their first service appointment or all these other things that are so important to retention and relationship. I shouldn't be surprised that you would share a point like that because it's you and I know you pretty good now. But man, I just that's that's awesome. I just want to drop some like that's all that's cuss word good, but I won't, you know, like it's like not gonna do that. That's but it's that's cuss word good right there, Kip. Let's talk a little bit more about time with a slightly different angle. Um, I got a couple more questions before I let you go on this episode. And this one is biggest leadership lessons that you've learned that you believe only come from time. And so think about maybe things that you couldn't have understood, say 20 years ago, maybe more, but 20 years ago. Like just leadership lessons that they only come from time. You just go back 20 or so years, like what is uh what comes to mind patience is is a big one, you know.

SPEAKER_00 33:17

But you have the knowledge, you know how to make decisions, don't kick it down the road, don't overanalyze it. And I mean I have I was brainwashed to overanalyze things with I have a finance degree and a law degree. But at the same time, when you know what you want to do, move on it, but be patient, do not make emotional decisions in the moment. Um, you know, do it's okay to be emotional in a good way, you know, that's going to reward one of the team members or do something for a client. Obviously, that's fantastic, that's great, that's fun, that's so fun and fulfilling, which is what makes it probably more fun and and to feel better, you know. But but in a in in the not positive way and more of a negative light, don't just don't knee-jerk react. You know, look at the big picture, consider all the pieces, consider all the effects that it's gonna have. If there is that time, I mean we've all had to, if you're watching this and you have a business, you've had to let somebody go. It's not fun, it's one of the worst pieces of this entire having a business. But sometimes it's necessary. But when you know, you know, and you believe that it's best and it's gonna be in that other person's best interest to give them an opportunity to go shine and and and be fulfilled in another at another place, maybe another industry. You never know. But you don't want to keep somebody stuck. So you want to be patient, not to overreact, but at the same time, when it's time to make a decision, make it and go. And don't drag it out because that takes away from everything. And if there's I call that noise, and if there's too much noise going on, those that's distracting to everybody, and you have to make decisions that are gonna affect more than one person around here. So in in every dealership, there's so many people that work there, you know, and for us, some of those decisions have you know effects that go beyond it in some stores, and maybe they're just plug and play. I don't know. It's not for me to say. But for us, it's a little different culture. We're we're smaller, we we want to be like that so that we have we develop relationships and it's it's not a revolving door. So uh, you know, patience, but but decisiveness, I would say. They only come with experience, you know, because you come in, you get a hot in the collar under the collar, and you know, you want to make an emotional decision, man, you will never forget it because you go back and question right or wrong, good or bad. You're gonna go back and question, did I put enough into that? And the same goes for the one you kicked down, the decision that you kick in the can down the road. And I wish I just moved on that quicker, you know, but also there's a time I see that things align sometimes when you don't overreact, you know, during that time of patience. It's like, hey, this came together, that happened for a reason. So whether it's with one of the team members, whether it's with the situational deal, a contract, a vendor, anything, you know, just don't let those things weigh on you.

SPEAKER_01 36:47

Uh that's a great insight. Um I want to ask you something about uh other multi-generational dealers. For those dealers, would you have advice on navigating legacy and in a way maybe that you honor the past um without you know getting stuck in it?

SPEAKER_00 37:09

Yeah, embrace them, embrace them and and and have them be part of what you're doing. You know, you're carrying forward all those beliefs and values that were instilled in us as not only as business people, but as kids and as the kids, the the the kids of the people who came before you. You know, so embrace it and and cherish it and and take it all, take all you can get. You know, unfortunately, there's gonna day when gonna be a day when you can't, and I don't like to think about it, but I think about my grandfather often. And uh, you know, I have some of his awards sitting on my shelf over there, and the stories and the things, the things that he taught me and my experiences with him that that are always in my mind, and the same for my father. And it's important that we have those personal moments as well as those business moments. So, you know, be grateful, embrace it, carry forward what you can, all those things that made the prior the earlier generation so successful, and at the same time, honestly learn from the bad, the things that they didn't do right, do them different. And then be willing to make your own mistakes and take it. Take, take, like I told my dad early on, I'm gonna take this, I'm gonna take everything I can. And and and I want that, and I want you to go be able to do whatever you want to do. You know, he loves working, he loves, he loves to be in the middle of something. That's great. So I'm I am we you know, Corey and I both we embrace all that stuff, and but we do our own thing and we make our own mistakes and and then we fix them. We don't let somebody else fix them, we we go fix them.

SPEAKER_01 39:03

Yeah, I love that. I listen, I mean, all of these generations um have to go through um what's happening at that time, and what you're describing is perfect for somebody who maybe is in the exact same situation of like, you're gonna make your own decisions, you're gonna make your own mistakes, you're gonna, but you're gonna do that by embracing this heritage and these things that built the foundation for something to last for you to be in the Lincoln brand for 45, 45 years. That's that is very significant. And so the last thing I want to ask you on this episode is when you think about 45 years, more importantly, the next 45 years. What do you hope never changes about hooks? And what do you hope evolves?

SPEAKER_00 39:55

I hope that, and I don't think it would. The the that foundational principle of a commitment to customer satisfaction. I don't that should never change. It should never be self-centered. It should be, I mean, it's a service industry we depend on the our family of customers, and we call them our family of customers for a reason. The repeat and referral business that we have that we're so grateful for and so blessed to have the opportunity to foster relationships with, you know, that's why we act with grace to foster those relationships and build others. So I'd never want to see that change, and I don't think it will. And and it's it's all my kids are gonna know. You know, the next generation is gonna know is gonna know this commitment, and we're gonna continue to talk about it, whether it's you and I spreading this out to whomever chooses to watch it or internally, if it's in a closed-door office, if it's on the showroom or in the shop or wherever it is, we're gonna continue to talk about that and how that is the foundation of our existence for three going on four generations. What I do want to see change is I hope that we get to do it for more and more people. I want it to grow. I do. I honest to God, I want to see it grow. I want to sell more cars, I want to take care of more people in service. I want to need to hire more staff so that because we have to grow with our with our clientele, because when we know how to do it the right way one time, and then we're gonna do it, we got this many people to do it this many times, and we're gonna now we're gonna do it this many times. I gotta have this many people because we're going to we are committed to that experience. I want to do more and more and more of them. I want to sell more Lincolns, I want to service more Lincolns, I want to do more service business, I want to take care of more people, whether it's purchase or ownership. I want to take care of more people. And I hope that I believe that the way we do things, whether it's single point of contact and in the way we sell cars, and and whether it's this commitment to the satisfaction and the experience of our clients in whatever facet of our business, I believe that the commitment and prioritizing the customer experience will lead to growth. I believe it. I don't necessarily believe that we can't put the cart in front of the horse. We can't focus on this without this. This is the foundation. This is the core of everything. And that's we just need to figure out how we can do it to more people. I want to see that change. I want to see that grow. I want to see my kids do better than me. I want to see my kids be more successful than I am. I want to see my kids be better men than I am. I've said that from day one with them is that my number one job in this world is to raise you three boys to be better men than I am. So the better I am, the better they have to be. They are. They're there. And they will be more successful than I am in this business. And I hope that that has something to do with what I have done before them and what my father did before them and my grandfather before them. It's it's a big deal. It's generational, it's heritage, it is it's not it's not just business, it's family. It's who we are, it's what we talk about, it's what has it's what put me through school, it's what put food on the table, it's what has given me every experience I've ever had is because of this business and because of what we what my Father built what my grandfather built. And it all started with that commitment. So I want to see them do better. I want to see them have the opportunity, whatever they decide to do. If they're in this business or another business, hopefully they learn something from this one that helps them be more successful from than I am in whatever business they choose to do.

SPEAKER_01 44:25

I love it. I think I I think it will be very difficult for them not to be successful just based on what your grandfather, your father, and what you're doing right now. There's a foundation uh that's built to launch more success. So I believe too. I believe you guys are going to continue to grow and you're going to continue to help more people in this experience because it's exactly what people are looking for. They want to be doing business with somebody like you and the team that you've built. So it's fantastic. Another fantastic conversation, uh, Kip, I think what stands out to me is that, yeah, there's a lot of tools and technology. The pace of uh the car business has certainly changed dramatically in the last 45 years. But the foundation hasn't, certainly at hooks, treating people right, earning their trust, staying committed to doing the things the right way. The things that you've talked about, honesty and consistency, those are important attributes for people who are wanting to have a relationship with a car dealership. That's clearly been a constant for hooks. It's a big reason why you've been able to not just stay in business, but continue to grow and evolve across generations and cast your vision for your all your sons to continue to do the same thing with hooks. So for anyone listening, especially those in multi-generational businesses, there's a lot to take away here about legacy with progress, staying grounded in what really matters, which is something that some people try to drift away from. That has not happened at hooks. So, Kip, once again, I really appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective. I know the audience does. There are just so many stories about why you guys are different for all the right reasons. For everyone listening, um, if you're thinking that hooks sounds like a place that you might want to do business, it's because it is a place that you'd want to do business. Check out Hooks Lincoln at hookslinkin.com. And if you're in or anywhere near Fort Worth, Texas, or jump on a plane to come to Fort Worth, Texas and come and see Hooks in person, uh, you won't be disappointed. Thanks for joining us for another episode of Changing Lanes, and we'll see you next time. Thank you. Good vlog.