Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Since becoming a CEO, I’ve noticed a tendency for industry leaders to operate in their own silos and focus on immediate wins rather than steady and shared progress. Yet, time and again, the most significant breakthroughs have proven to happen when leaders step outside these boundaries and unite around a common goal.
In an industry as fragmented as automotive, we knew bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders was a rare but necessary setting to foster meaningful collaboration and innovation. For us, this meant bringing together dealers, OEM executives and vendors across a range of brands. For you, it may look like bringing top financial executives, CMOs or operational leaders to discuss strategies that drive growth and innovation in your industry.
Overall, we wanted to create a space to spark candid, forward-thinking discussions about the shared challenges we all face in this landscape and the visionary ideas that can drive us ahead.
How we redefined the playbook
From the start, we knew that real insight would only emerge with a panel that truly represented the diverse realities of our industry. Rather than inviting the same familiar faces, we looked for leaders who have made a tangible impact in our industry from a range of different perspectives. This meant curating a balance of top executives, dealers and innovators who had already begun translating consumer-first concepts — those inspired by companies like Apple and Amazon — into the automotive world.
We wanted to foster a conversation that would challenge traditional assumptions and highlight practical strategies, so we focused on finding people who combine proven expertise with a genuine passion for redefining the customer experience. Bringing brands and their franchise owners onto one stage is not a usual (or cheap) business move, but we’ve always believed it’s one of the most powerful ways to spark innovation.
Once we had assembled this group, our team recognized how important it was to find a moderator with deep industry roots who could expertly navigate complex topics while engaging a diverse audience. We sought a non-biased host who actively works on uniting leaders in our industry, which led to a partnership with Yossi J. Levi, the founder of Car Dealership Guy Media, to host our Automotive Leadership Roundtable (ALR). This ensured our panelists had a meaningful dialogue with targeted insights, and our audience walked away with fresh, actionable takeaways.
Related: Here’s What I’ve Learned After Bootstrapping for 25 Years
Transformative lessons shared by the industry’s brightest minds
Once you have your speakers finalized, it’s important to organize a set of pre-panel alignment sessions to nail the focus of the discussion while fostering mutual learning among the panelists. I’ve learned from experience that even the most well-intentioned panelists can find themselves talking past each other if they haven’t clarified their goals. To avoid this scenario, our team worked closely with each panelist to connect their individual perspectives to broader industry-wide challenges.
Watching these leaders exchange experiences and insights was one of the most energizing moments of my career. All of the panelists brought fresh perspectives to the panel, which came from our strong vetting process that initiated this conversation. It was a lot to take in, but there was also a lot to take home, for sure.
These real-world examples painted a clear picture of where our industry is headed: A future in which data and AI are leveraged to anticipate — not merely react to — customer needs, and in which technology is integrated and straightforward enough to prevent inconsistencies and compliance risks.
Related: 4 Core Strategies That Helped Me Turn Setbacks Into Success
Building momentum beyond the panel
The outcome you can expect after an industry-wide discussion is game-changing. New business relationships formed on the spot, and people who might never have collaborated otherwise exchanged contact information and locked in follow-up conversations. In some cases, they discovered that their individual breakthroughs — like predictive analytics or AI-powered videos — could be combined into holistic approaches for their operations.
That kind of synergy is exactly why we believe sparking these conversations is an industry need. When we pool our collective expertise, we can solve problems faster, serve customers better and shape a more dynamic, resilient industry.
It’s also important that more than just the attending audience can tune in. Live streaming the panel or publishing it for on-demand watching is key to keeping the momentum of the discussion running.
Fueling progress through collaboration
For me, the most gratifying outcome was seeing everyone leave with a sense that there is a clear path forward — even in an era that can feel overwhelming. By establishing a panel that prioritized both breadth of knowledge and depth of experience, and by preparing each speaker to tackle shared challenges with candor and creativity, we were able to forge a model that goes beyond just swapping stories. I’m confident that beyond the walls of the conference hall, we were able to build momentum toward a new standard within our industry.
This is the power of bringing stakeholders together. Each conversation ignites a spark, and if you nurture that spark, it can become the driving force that propels your business and the entire industry to new heights.
