Every collision repair leader has a “Murphy story.” A critical piece of equipment stops working. The wrong parts arrive. Calibration cannot be completed. Customers call before the morning production meeting ends. Murphy’s Law says anything that can go wrong will go wrong — and in collision repair, Murphy seems to have his own key to the front door.
After owning collision centers for 20 years, I know how many variables impact the success of our business. We cannot control every circumstance, but we are responsible for how we prepare our teams and respond when plans change.
One afternoon at one of my shops, an estimator was moving a vehicle from check-in to disassembly when the brakes failed and she hit our building. That incident revealed a gap in our check-in process. We needed to gather complete information, including any known mechanical issues that could impact drivability, and communicate that information before anyone moved the vehicle.
Another time, a contractor misled us about permits for our third location, leaving us 10 months behind schedule while we carried the expenses of a building producing no revenue.
Other challenges were more common. Claim counts dropped, parts were delayed, and absences reduced capacity. In 2008, Murphy brought the economy with him.
Some of these circumstances were beyond our control, but our response revealed patterns within our business. Did our team know what to do next, or were we repeatedly solving the same problems?
At this year’s Global Leadership Summit, Craig Groeschel challenged leaders to notice the patterns shaping their outcomes. A pattern is repeated behavior that produces a predictable result. As he shared, “What you repeat, you produce.” Murphy may expose the problem, but patterns within the shop often determine the outcome.
Recognize the pattern
Pattern recognition requires leaders to look past the immediate problem and ask what keeps repeating, what is consistently missing, and what tension keeps returning. Leaders must determine whether the disruption represents an isolated event or a pattern the organization has created or tolerated.
Many events we call emergencies are actually patterns we have never planned for, or process breakdowns we have failed to address. If parts delays occur every month, the team should not be surprised by another delayed part. When a vehicle wasn’t fully disassembled or repair planning was rushed, we often discovered additional parts were needed at the last minute. Those delays could have been avoided with a more complete repair plan. The shop is experiencing the predictable result of an incomplete process.
When our primary vendor could not provide a needed part, our team knew what to do next. We searched Parts Voice nationally and contacted members of our performance group at other shops. More than once, another shop found the part we needed. One member drove from Louisiana and met us halfway, so we could bring a roof panel back to Tallahassee.
Getting that roof panel was a result of relationships we built over time. Planning includes creating strong relationships with peers, vendors, partners, and dealerships — all before a crisis develops. Cross-training and documented processes help keep production moving when a team member is absent.
Disrupt the pattern
Wrong patterns rarely correct themselves. When leaders don’t like the outcome, they must identify and disrupt the pattern that is producing it. As Craig Groeschel emphasized, disruption does not need to be dramatic, but disruption must be deliberate.
Pattern disruption requires honesty, humility, and courage. Leaders must acknowledge when they created or tolerated a pattern that is no longer working. Instead of asking why employees don’t care as much, ask whether expectations are clear, whether employees understand what leaders understand, and whether unhealthy behavior has continued without correction.
Healthy leadership sometimes requires saying, “I allowed this pattern to continue. Here is what the pattern has produced, and here is what we will change beginning now.” A changed approach may require adjusting the production sequence, finding another source, or bringing the right people together to protect the initial commitment. Different results require a different pattern.
Create and reinforce a better pattern
The contractor experience made us realize an expensive lesson. We trusted what we were told, instead of establishing a regular pattern for verifying progress. No reliable pattern of accountability existed.
Great processes and healthy cultures do not develop by accident. Leaders must establish clear expectations and checkpoints to confirm supplements were submitted, customers received updates, and parts were checked during teardown. Assuming those steps happened leaves too much room for missed work and avoidable delays.
Establish checkpoints anywhere a missed step can create problems later in the repair. Confirm disassembly is complete before repair planning begins, verify all required parts have been received and checked before the vehicle enters production, and conduct necessary quality checks before each handoff and final delivery. At every checkpoint, the team should know what to check, who is responsible, and when to review.
Once a healthy pattern is established, leaders must protect that pattern. Clarify the desired outcome, celebrate the pattern when employees follow the process, and correct it when they don’t. What gets talked about gets prioritized, and what gets celebrated gets repeated.
Learn from the breakdown
The estimator’s accident with the customer’s vehicle gave us a reason to examine what happened before she ever got behind the wheel. Had we gathered the information needed to understand the vehicle’s condition? Had that information reached the person responsible for moving the vehicle? Those questions helped us improve our check-in process. Accountability still mattered, but we also had a responsibility to address the missing information that contributed to the breakdown.
Learning from the breakdown requires bringing the people closest to the work together for a structured process review. Ask four questions: What was supposed to happen? What actually happened? Why was there a difference? What will we change before the next time?
Keep the conversations calm, honest, and focused on improving. One review may reveal an isolated mistake. Several reviews may reveal a pattern. Documenting what happened and what needs to change helps leaders recognize recurring breakdowns before such breakdowns become accepted.
Murphy will show up again, probably at the worst possible time. Strong leadership creates patterns that help the team respond when the week does not go according to plan.
Look at the recurring frustrations in your shop and ask one question: What pattern are we letting shape this outcome? If you don’t like what your shop keeps producing, better execution starts with changing the pattern.
