Thanks Nancy. \u00a0Some of that is certainly my personal view, but it's also born from the reaction when I came to the car business years back. \u00a0I'm was in my 40's, I'd owned my own businesses, succeeded in high-tech, been a consultant to Fortune 100 companies, etc. \u00a0And I'm fairly smart, having seven of my high-tech years with Microsoft. \u00a0And yet when I came to this business I ran right into the GOBN (Good Ol' Boy Network)--and, so, I use that to relate to how a woman might feel in this business. \u00a0She can have lots of experience IN this business, but she's devalued too often because of gender (e.g. not part of the GOBN); I had lots of experience elsewhere that has now led to success in this business, and yet all that was at first devalued because of the GOBN. \u00a0And so there seems some similarities.<\/p>\n

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Here's an example of the limitations of the GOBN that I've seen first-hand, not for women, but for this business: \u00a0Four male GMs were in a failing store, placed there in series over several years from the GOBN by the male owner who was trying to turn the store around. \u00a0Didn't work. \u00a0The current GM is a woman, who nearly immediately put a new pay plan on the floor that said if you don't use CRM, log your calls and ups, etc., you do NOT GET PAID. \u00a0The salespeople groused loudly, some left, and yet after some salespeople got a 0$ paycheck to take home . . . the store began to turn around and is now in the black.<\/p>\n

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Wow, did the salespeople (men AND women) call this GM names. \u00a0And yet, now, the store has more traffic and they make more money than before.<\/p>\n

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That won't always happen, of course. \u00a0But this one was obvious . . . except to those in the GOBN.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n <\/dd>\n