Many owners worry that giving employees more authority means losing control. Matt Barnes has found the opposite. As owner and operator of B&B Automotive and Superior Auto Service in Bryan, Texas, he has seen empowered employees make decisions that bring in more revenue than he ever could alone.
In episode 35 of Maximum Octane, Matt joins Kim Hickey to talk about bringing the right energy to work, creating a culture where failure is accepted, staying calm in critical moments, and a concrete example of how empowerment paid off.
What You Will Learn
- Matt talks about how leaving an unproductive habit benefited him and his business
- Matt talks about the importance of leaving personal problems aside when it’s show time
- Matt explains how to deal with the hard-to-swallow-pill of failing
- Matt explains how he manages to remain calm in critical situations
- Matt shares a concrete example of how empowering internal customers translated into more revenue
Dropping an Unproductive Habit
Matt opens by sharing how leaving behind an unproductive habit benefited both him and his business. Small personal changes can have outsized effects on a shop. When the owner works differently, the team often follows.
Habits are powerful because they operate automatically. Changing one often requires identifying the trigger, replacing the routine with a better one, and keeping the reward. Author Charles Duhigg described this cycle in The Power of Habit. For a shop owner, an unproductive habit might be checking e-mail first thing every morning. Replacing it with a short planning session can set a more focused tone for the entire day.
Shop owners often find their most costly habits in how they start and end the day. Walking straight into the bays and solving whatever problem appears first can leave the owner reacting all day long. Ending the day without reviewing tomorrow’s schedule can mean scrambling the next morning. Identifying one of these patterns and replacing it with a simple routine, such as a ten-minute review with the service manager, often has a noticeable effect on the whole team’s day.
Leave Personal Problems at the Door
Around the 6 minute mark, Matt talks about the importance of setting personal problems aside when it is “show time.” Everyone has challenges outside of work, and leaders are no exception. But when the owner walks in carrying frustration, the whole team feels it. Customers can feel it too.
This is not about ignoring personal issues. It is about recognizing that a leader’s mood sets the tone for the day. Sam Richter explores this in depth in Hit the Switch: Master Your Mood or It Masters Your Business.
This does not mean leaders should pretend to be fine when they are not. It means being aware of how their mood affects others and taking steps to manage it. A short pause before walking into the shop, a few deep breaths, or a moment to set an intention for the day can help leaders shift into the right mindset. If personal problems are serious, seeking support outside work is important.
Making Failure Acceptable
Matt explains how to deal with the hard-to-swallow pill of failure. He works to create a space where failure is allowed and treated as part of any process. When employees fear punishment for mistakes, they stop taking initiative. When mistakes are discussed openly and used as learning opportunities, people grow and the business improves.
That does not mean accepting careless work. It means separating honest mistakes made while trying to do the right thing from repeated carelessness. ATI’s Which Is Necessary: Employee Reprimands or Corrective Coaching? helps leaders handle that distinction.
Some of the most innovative companies in the world encourage experimentation precisely because they understand that failure is part of learning. In a repair shop, that might mean letting an advisor try a new way of presenting estimates, or letting a technician propose a workflow improvement, even if it does not work perfectly the first time. When people know they will not be punished for honest mistakes, they bring more ideas and energy to their work.
Staying Calm When Things Go South
Around the 15 minute mark, Matt describes how he stays calm in critical situations. When a major comeback hits, a key employee quits, or a customer is furious, people look to the leader for cues. If the leader panics, the team panics. If the leader stays steady, the team can focus on solving the problem.
ATI’s How to Keep Your Shop From Stressing You Out offers practical ways to manage pressure.
Calm leaders create calm teams. When a crisis hits, a leader who responds with clear thinking, steady communication, and a focus on solutions helps everyone stay productive. Practical techniques include gathering facts before reacting, breaking the problem into steps, assigning clear responsibilities, and communicating regularly with the team about progress.
Preparation also makes calm easier. Shops that have already talked through how to handle a major comeback, a key employee’s sudden departure, or a system outage can act quickly when it happens. A short written plan for common emergencies, including who makes decisions and who contacts customers, takes much of the panic out of the moment. Reviewing what happened afterward, without blame, makes the response better next time.
How Empowerment Turned Into Revenue
The highlight of the episode is Matt’s concrete example of how empowering internal customers translated into more revenue. Listen to the full story around the 17 minute mark. The principle behind it is that people closest to the customer often see opportunities the owner misses. When they have the authority to act, the business benefits.
Empowerment can take many forms in a shop:
- Advisors who can approve goodwill adjustments within set limits.
- Technicians who can recommend and document additional needed work confidently.
- Team members who can suggest and test process improvements.
- Managers who can make hiring recommendations and lead training.
Mike Michalowicz explains the difference between responsibility and ownership in Building a Team of Owners, and Scott Brown shares his decentralized approach in The Power of Decentralization.
Empowered employees often see opportunities that owners miss because they are closer to customers. An advisor may notice that many customers ask about a particular service the shop does not offer. A technician may see a pattern of failures that suggests a new maintenance package. When employees feel empowered to act on these observations, the business grows in ways the owner might never have planned.
For empowerment to produce results, employees need clear boundaries. Spell out what decisions they can make, what limits apply, and when to bring something to a manager. Without that clarity, some people hesitate to act at all while others overreach. Clear guidelines, combined with regular conversations about how decisions turned out, give team members the confidence to act on what they see. ATI’s The Secret to Feeling Empowered offers another perspective on this mindset.
Building an Empowered Culture Step by Step
Empowerment rarely happens all at once. It grows as trust grows. A practical approach starts with small decisions, such as letting advisors handle minor goodwill adjustments or letting technicians reorganize their work areas. As employees show good judgment, their authority can expand to larger decisions, such as scheduling, purchasing, or hiring input.
Throughout the process, leaders should recognize good decisions, coach through mistakes, and keep communication open. Over time, the shop develops a team that takes initiative, solves problems independently, and contributes to growth. Matt’s experience shows that this approach is not just good for morale. It can directly improve the bottom line.
ATI’s How to Empower Employees to Get Maximum Performance Results offers additional guidance for owners ready to take this step.
Common Mistakes When Empowering Employees
One common mistake is giving authority without information. An advisor cannot make good decisions about goodwill or pricing without understanding margins and policies. Another is taking decisions back the first time something goes wrong, which teaches the team that empowerment was never real. A third is empowering only a few favorite employees, which can create resentment among others who are equally capable.
Owners can avoid these traps by sharing the information people need, coaching through mistakes rather than reversing authority, and offering every team member a clear path to greater responsibility. Consistency matters most. When employees see that the owner stands behind their reasonable decisions, they start acting like owners themselves.
Questions to Ask Your Team
- What decision do you wish you could make without asking me?
- What mistake have you learned the most from here?
- What opportunity do you see that we are missing?
For another look at transparency and accountability, listen to Fred Gestwicki in Transparency, Accountability, and Clear Communication at the Service of Auto Repair Growth.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I empower employees without losing control of my shop?
Start with small, clearly defined decisions and set limits, such as a dollar amount for goodwill adjustments. Explain the goals behind each decision so employees can use good judgment. Review results regularly and expand authority as people show they can handle it. Control comes from clear expectations, shared information, and regular communication rather than from making every decision yourself. Many owners find they have more control, not less, once their team is trusted to act.
How should I handle employee mistakes in my auto repair shop?
Separate honest mistakes from carelessness. When someone makes an honest mistake while trying to do the right thing, talk through what happened, what they learned, and what could prevent it next time. Avoid public criticism. Repeated carelessness or ignoring known procedures calls for clearer expectations and corrective coaching. Treating honest mistakes as learning opportunities encourages people to take initiative and report problems early instead of hiding them.
How can a shop owner stay calm during a crisis?
Pause before reacting and gather the facts. Break the problem into steps, decide what needs to happen first, and assign clear responsibilities. Communicate regularly with the team so everyone knows the plan. Taking a few deep breaths or stepping away for a moment can help reset your thinking. Having simple plans prepared in advance for common emergencies also makes it easier to respond calmly when one happens.
Does employee empowerment really increase revenue?
It can. Employees who work directly with customers and vehicles often spot opportunities the owner misses, such as services customers keep asking about or recurring issues that suggest a new maintenance offering. When they have the authority and confidence to act on those observations, the shop can capture business it would otherwise lose. Empowered employees also tend to be more engaged, which supports better customer experiences and stronger retention.
How do I keep personal problems from affecting my work as a leader?
Start by noticing how your mood shows up at work, because your team will pick up on it. A short routine before walking into the shop, such as a few quiet minutes in the car or setting an intention for the day, can help you shift focus. This is not about pretending everything is fine. If personal challenges are serious, seek support from trusted people or a professional so you can address them properly.
Resources and Links From This Episode
Connect With the Guests
- Matt: LinkedIn
