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@ Jason Ansley | Fractional COO | Leadership Coach
2025-04-30 23:27:59The Leadership Lesson I Learned at the Repair Shop
Today was a reminder of "Who You Know" actually matters.
Our van has been acting up as of late. Front-end noise. My guess? CV joint or bushings.
Not that I’m a mechanic though—my dad took the hammer away from me when I was 12, and now all "my" tools have flowers printed on them or Pink handles...
Yesterday it become apparent to my wife that "sooner rather than later" was optimal.
So this morning she took it to a repair shop where we know the owners.
You may have guessed by now that I’m no car repair guy. It’s just not my strength and I’m ok with that! And even though it’s not my strength, I’m smart enough to know enough about vehicles to be dangerous…
And I’m sure just like you, I hate being ripped off. So last year, we both decided she would handle repair duties—I just get too fired up by most the personnel that work there whom won’t shoot straight with you.
So this morning my wife takes our van in. She sees the owner and next thing my wife knows, the owner’s wife (my wife’s friend) is texting to go get coffee while they take care of the van.
Before the two ladies took off, my wife was told "we'll need all day as one step of it is a 4-hour job just to get to the part that needs to be replaced..."
And the estimate? Half the parts were warrantied out and the labor is lower than we expected it to be.
Fast forward, coffee having been drank… nearly 4 hours on the dot, we get a call “your van is ready!”
My wife didn't stand there haggling the price for parts and labor.
Nope…here’s the real deal:
- Leadership = Relationships
- You can’t have too many
Granted, quality is better than quantity in everything I can think of, and that is true for relationships as well...
And while there are varying degrees or depths of relationships. The best ones go both ways.
We didn’t expect a deal because we were at our friend’s shop. We went because we trust them.
That’s it.
Any other expectation other than a transparent and truthful transaction would be manipulating and exploiting the relationship…the exchange would fall into the purely transactional at best and be parasitic at worst!
The Bigger Lesson
Here’s the kicker:
This isn’t about vans or a repair shop. It’s about leading.
Theodore Roosevelt nailed it: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Trust comes from relationships.
Relationships begin with who you know…And making who you know matter.
In other words, the relevance of the relationship is critical.
Your Move
Next time you dodge a call—or skip an event—pause.
Kill that thought…Or at least its tire marks. 😁
Realize that relationships fuel your business, your life, and your impact.
Because leadership? It’s relationships.
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💡Who’s one person you can invest in today? A teammate? A client? A mechanic? 😉
🔹 Drop your answer below 👇 Or hit me up—book a Discovery Call. Let’s make your leadership thrive.
Jason Ansley* is the founder of Above The Line Leader*, where he provides tailored leadership support and operational expertise to help business owners, entrepreneurs, and leaders thrive— without sacrificing your faith, family, or future.
*Want to strengthen your leadership and enhance operational excellence? Connect with Jason at https://abovethelineleader.com/#your-leadership-journey
*📌 This article first appeared on NOSTR. You can also find more Business Leadership Articles and content at: 👉 https://abovethelineleader.com/business-leadership-articles