In this episode, Jan Griffiths announces she is taking a well-deserved break to head back to her homeland, Wales. She reflects on this year, filled with unexpected achievements like becoming an author and launching AutoCulture 2.0. Amidst the highs of success, Jan opens up about the inevitable crash that followed, shedding light on the less glamorous side of achievement.
Despite the challenges, the overwhelming support for her book on social media and its rapid rise to the top of Amazon's charts in the leadership category left Jan grateful for the dialogue it sparked on culture change in the automotive industry.
With the audiobook and Kindle versions released and the paperback version still available, Jan eagerly invites feedback from listeners, encouraging them to engage in conversations with their teams about the book's insights. She shares her email, jan@gravitasdetroit.com, welcoming thoughts and questions.
For now, Jan invites listeners to tune in to another podcast she co-hosts and produces, Auto Supply Chain Prophets, where recent guest Shiv Taylor, VP of Enterprise Technology at Volta Trucks, shares valuable insights on the company's revival after facing bankruptcy.
Themes discussed in this episode:
The importance of taking breaks to recharge and reflect on both personal and professional aspects of life
Embracing both the highs and lows of achievement
Fostering dialogue and community engagement around topics like culture and leadership
The value of learning from experiences, both positive and challenging, for personal and professional growth
Your Host
Jan Griffiths is the architect of cultural change in the automotive industry. As the President & Founder of Gravitas Detroit, Jan brings a wealth of expertise and a passion for transforming company cultures. Additionally, she is the host of the Automotive Leaders Podcast, where she shares insightful conversations with industry visionaries. Jan is also the author of AutoCulture 2.0, a groundbreaking book that challenges the traditional leadership model prevalent in the automotive world. With her extensive experience and commitment to fostering positive change, Jan is at the forefront of revolutionizing the automotive landscape. Reach out to her at Jan@gravitasdetroit.com
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It's time to take a break. This is that time of year when I head back to my homeland, back to Wales. And it gives me the opportunity to recharge, to go for long walks along the beautiful coastal path in Wales, to think about life, to think about the business and to think about the podcast. It's so important to step away from the day to day and think about where you're going, whether it's in business or in your personal life, and really sit with yourself for some time and refocus. And that's exactly what I'm going to do. It's been one heck of a year. I never thought in a million years that I would be an author. I never thought that I would write a book. As most of you know we launched Autoculture 2.0 and it was an amazing experience. And if you haven't had a chance to listen to my speech from the book launch, please do so; we'll put a link in the show notes. It felt great to see everybody around me in that room, talking about culture— culture change in the automotive industry. Talking about the transformation that we're going through. Talking about the need to focus the spotlight on culture. It's not all about what we do, but it's how we do it. And so after that night, it was such an amazing feeling, what an incredible high to launch the book. But I have to tell you, for about two weeks after that, I came crashing down hard. I think it happens to a lot of us when we experience a tremendous high, when there's a lot of intense activity and you're working towards a goal and you achieve it. And then the downside of that is almost depressing. It's hard to get the mojo back again. It took me a while to get my energy back. And that's something that we don't often talk about, is it? We like to talk about the good things. We don't like to talk about the downside and the bad things. But if you don't have a bad day, how could you possibly know what a good day feels like? So yeah, I came down hard after the book launch. The feedback on social media was unbelievable. Thank you everybody who took the time to buy the book, to share the book with your teams, and more importantly, to open up the dialogue on culture. The book raced all the way to the top of the charts in Amazon. Within 24 hours, we were the number one best selling book in new releases in the leadership category. Who would have thought that we put a book about automotive leadership on the map and on the charts in Amazon. So, my hope is for the book that you'll use it with your teams. By the time this recording comes out, we should have the audio book out. The Kindle version is up and running, and of course the paperback version is out there. And I'd love to know your feedback. Tell me what you think. Tell me what questions you have from your team as you open up the dialogue.
so that they will make it in:
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