Presented by:
Hey everyone,
Happy Father’s Day! Given the holiday, it felt only right to interview a few legendary families for this edition of the Breakdown newsletter.
Hope you enjoy (!)
— CDG
For a lot of us, our dads had something to do with how we ended up where we are.
Some of us still have them. Some of us don't. And if you're in that second group, Father's Day hits a little differently because you're still adding up what you learned, and what you didn't get the chance to.
With that in mind: We asked three families for their best tips on building legacies in auto retail, and you know, dealing with each other along the way.
Don't hand over the keys ‘til they've carried the tires.
Brett Morgan (left), and his Dad, Larry Morgan, in China in January 2004. Brett Morgan had just left his job at an ABC affiliate and was about to join his Dad, who had recently become a minority investor at Kuhn Honda Volkswagen in Tampa. (Photo courtesy Brett Morgan)
Larry Morgan remembers his son at age 12, unloading tires that weighed more than he did off a 50-foot trailer in a 98-degree Florida warehouse.
“I think that experience gave him humility, let him understand what certain working people have to endure and go through,” Larry said.
Larry Morgan
Morgan
Automotive Group
Larry, 82, chairman of his namesake Morgan Automotive Group, also recalls his son a little older, working sales at one of their former Tires Plus stores, asking for guidance on a customer-manager dispute at dinner.
They called the buyer instantly.
Dad’s lesson: “The customer comes first, there's no timeline,” Larry said. “You do it as quick as you possibly can.”
Now, 43-year-old Brett Morgan is CEO of their Tampa, Fla.-based group, with an office that’s about a 32-second walk away from his father’s.
Family business tips from Brett:
“Learn to sit in your emotions before reacting,” Brett said. “A high emotional IQ is a huge asset in a family business.”
Brett Morgan
Morgan
Automotive Group
And:
Grow in your self-awareness: As much as you can, as fast as you can.
Seniority may grant certain privileges, but remember, even legends are human beings.
Don’t keep score: Everyone will bring wins and failures, too.
Ask a lot of questions. There may be a day you wish you had asked more.
Larry, meanwhile, built his empire around three words he said he probably repeats 25 times a day: It’s all people.
"I could have the best brand on the best street with a bad leader, and I'm going to have a bad business," Larry said. "If I have a mediocre brand on a mediocre street with a great leader, I'm going to have a great business."
A quick word from our partner
Get to the revenue waiting in your CRM faster
Everyone is telling you your dealership is sitting on untapped revenue, but does your team have the bandwidth to go after it?
From service-due customers and unsold leads, to inactive buyers who just need the right nudge at the right time.
Mia's outbound AI helps you get that revenue, faster.
Run omnichannel phone and text campaigns from a single platform.
Integrate customer context from 35+ existing systems for natural, seamless conversations.
Scale outbound efforts your team never had the bandwidth to tackle manually.
No endless follow-up. No lead babysitting.
Just results that come 3x faster than competing solutions. Stop letting revenue sit in your CRM.
Let Mia go get it.
Two (many) bosses can create too much chaos.
From left are Ryan Downing, his father, Dudley Downing, sister Brooke Downing-Sharp, and grandfather Ross Downing, at a 50th anniversary celebration for their family-owned group. (Photo courtesy Downing family)
Dudley Downing, 60, president of Ross Downing Automotive Group, started learning the business long ago, at first washing cars and cleaning parts shelves.
When he took over from his father, it wasn't quite a battle, but they experienced typical bumps.
He aimed to make his son’s transition smoother.
Dudley’s biggest adjustment: Learning a new chain of command. That meant going to his son first, not directly to employees.
"The worst thing that can happen is you have too many bosses, and then people don't know who they really answer to," Dudley said.
Dudley Downing
Ross Downing Automotive Group
Ryan Downing, 34, now CEO, said it’s important that succession talks and the like take place proactively, with everyone staying clear about what they want.
They’ve also sought outside advice.
“We've had conversations with different succession planning groups to help us try to work through the phase of life that everybody's in,” Ryan said.
Ryan Downing
Ross Downing
Automotive Group
More field notes:
Expect some friction during transitions, including making difficult personnel decisions.
Family gets the same rulebook as others: Shared core values remove the subjectivity from tough calls.
Try to build around what you can control. For them, it means focusing on fixed ops and used cars.
Brooke Downing-Sharp, 31, is learning by doing, with stints including sales, finance, BDC, and management. Earning her place fairly is a top priority, but legacy matters, too.
As she put it:
"Honoring that name on the sign is my biggest advice."
Brooke
Downing-Sharp
Ross Downing Automotive Group
‘Family’ isn't a job description.
Above: Fred Beans and Beth Beans Gilbert on the lot at their first and main store, Fred Beans Ford of Doylestown, in Pennsylvania.
At right: Fred and Beth at a closing for dealerships in Abington, Pa.
(Photos courtesy Beth Beans Gilbert)
Beth Beans Gilbert literally started at the ground level of Fred Beans Automotive Group: Pulling weeds as a kid.
Now 61, Beans Gilbert helps lead the company as vice president, alongside her Dad.
“He's concerned about the customer experience, and I'm concerned about the employee experience,” Beth said. “Together, I think we do a really good job.”
Beth Beans Gilbert
Fred Beans Automotive Group
Founder and president Fred Beans, 87, still comes to work by 7:30 a.m. every day.
Beth said he's the visionary/builder, while she's the maintainer: A tension that helps inspire workplace procedures.
For instance: Fred loves buying new stores, but sometimes… They're not quite a fit.
So, they developed a buy box, which defines which franchises, markets, and business types they'll pursue, and which they won't.
They also use the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), with weekly leadership team meetings across all 30 stores.
The Rawls Group, business succession planners, helped them navigate.
"One of the greatest advantages of working with family is having someone who understands exactly what you're carrying," Beth said. "My father and I have different strengths, which allows us to complement each other and make better decisions together…"
Of course, working with family requires balance.
"You can disagree in the conference room and still be family at the dinner table," Beth said. "You have to run the business every day; you have to put on a good face in front of the people that work for you."
Family members should get held to the same standards as everyone else, or “higher standards, in our case," she said.
Case in point: Beth’s son now works for the group. She created a three-person committee of non-family managers who meet quarterly to guide his development and decide his future roles, avoiding favoritism.
He doesn't report to her, her husband, or his grandfather.
More tips to stay functional:
All family members seeking roles and/or a place in the succession plan get earned.
That includes agreeing to about 15 checkmarks, including attending college or technical school, going to dealer academy, and gaining outside experience.
They stick to defined roles: Fred handles real estate and parts. Beth runs the management company. Her husband oversees the dealerships.
"We have been in business for 50 years," Fred said. "Not many automotive businesses sustain that long, and with the second generation coming into the company, I know there is a bright future ahead."
Fred Beans
Fred Beans Automotive Group
Bottom line: Business can get tricky no matter what, and adding family can complicate it more.
That’s why communication and intentional planning remain essential for keeping the peace, at the shop and at the dinner table.
We also recommend Brett Morgan’s timeless advice: Ask those questions while you can.
Once more, Happy Father’s Day!!
