 In an interview with Automotive Recycling magazine, January-February 2020, retired Navy Seal Jason Redman reveals more on his journey to overcome life’s ambushes and how others can do the same.  ARA 76th Annual Convention & Expo Keynote speaker Jason Redman is a retired Navy Lieutenant who spent eleven years as an enlisted Navy SEAL and almost ten years as a SEAL officer. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor, the Purple Heart, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, five Navy Achievement Medals, Two Combat Action Ribbons and the U.S. Army Ranger Tab. In 2007, he encountered an enemy ambush in Iraq that left him with critical injuries fighting for his life and questioning if he had what it takes to go on. "The interesting thing about failure – you don’t have to work hard to achieve it."  Excerpt from Automotive Recycling Magazine // January-February 2020 Interview by Caryn Smith, Editor  To read the full Jason Redman's soldier story, check out the January-February 2020 issue of Automotive Recycling magazine. Editor's Note: When this story ran in the first issue of 2020, it was right after the ARA 76th Annual Convention and Expo. The industry was experiencing some good wind in its sails. Some automotive recyclers even were reporting that they were on track for their best year ever. Little did we know at this time that the COVID-19 virus would shut down the world, and put the industry on an X. The timing of Redman's speech to ARA convention attendees, and this interview, was right to help people move forward from this adversity. Enjoy the interview ... and GET OFF THE X! ~Caryn Smith Automotive Recycling: What led you from wounded Navy SEAL to author and speaker? Jason Redman: It definitely wasn’t a planned path, and don’t get me wrong, I have always liked to write, but never once thought it was on my bucket list that I would like to write two books. In some ways my first book wrote itself, because when I was injured, I had a tracheotomy for seven months and two days, so in the beginning I was unable to talk. The only way I could communicate was by writing. Everyone wanted to know what happened, so it got to the point I finally just wrote out step by step the events of the firefight. As people would ask questions, I would hand that to them. I then started reflecting on some of the other missions and began writing about those. Recovering over several years and 40 surgeries gave me a lot of time to write. I was still active duty military at the time. I went to my commander, showed him my writing, and said some people thought there might be something to my story. He really liked the humble nature and felt like it was a good leadership story and he gave me the go ahead to pursue. I brought in a cowriter who gave the story some structure. From there I started speaking to groups, like the wounded warriors and trauma victims. I enjoy speaking as it has a cathartic side to tell my story and to help others overcome. AR: What does your basic message of “overcoming” mean to you? JR: Everyone will encounter life storms. Most people average 5 major life ambushes. Most people waste a lot of time focusing on the past and what they have lost, the pain, what caused it, who they can blame, instead of moving forward out of it. For me, it was my trident leadership failure, the enemy ambush on the battlefield in Iraq, and later, after I had left the military, the ambush came through a frivolous business lawsuit against a former business I owned. My levels of anxiety and stress, feeling overwhelmed, constant anxiety, I understand what you’re dealing with and the major life disruption it causes. I applied the principles I’ve described in the book Overcome where I teach people a step-by-step process – something I call the REACT Methodology. With my system, someone can immediately start looking forward and start focusing on how they get out of that storm. The REACT Methodology for success is: R – Recognize your reality: you are in a crisis. Admit it. This is the most important and hardest part. E – Evaluate your assets. Education or technology are examples of assets. Look at what you have and gain the knowledge you need and do it quickly. Don’t hesitate. A – Access possible assets. If I use my assets, how will it unfold. Don’t take the easy route. Plan for the long-term. C – Choose direction and communication. Most of the time you are not the only one on the X. Who else is being affected? Communicate the plan and bring them along with you on the way. T – Take action and execute. Make a decision and do it. I believe we need to be proactive for future life ambushes; whereas most people are reactive. We all procrastinate or flat out ignore immediate needs to take care of ourselves or to create a balance in family life. When a crisis-point comes, you’d better be prepared. The first thing in the REACT Method is that you've got to recognize you’re in a crisis. This is probably the one thing that most people delay the longest. No one wants to admit it. As a matter of fact, as human beings we have this natural desire to just kind of wish it'll go away on its own. Many in the automotive recycling industry are in real firefights. Recyclers should be embracing technology and staying current on trends and techniques. If they don’t know how, then seek out a mentor who can help. Yet, people hunker down and just stick their head in the sand hoping that, you know, with a little bit of time this crisis will just go away on its own. Well, that virtually never happens. Too often, it actually grows and gets worse and people live in denial. As humans looking to avoid the pain, we also have a tendency to self-medicate, with alcohol being one of the biggest problems, and some go even further into drugs and other risky behavior. The reality is they never address the real problem in the beginning. Business owners tend to avoid acknowledging that there is a problem or bring their teams in to say, “Hey guys, we are in crisis mode, let’s work together to figure it out.” So, the most critical thing is getting people to recognize that they are in a crisis to get moving forward. The other steps are vitally important, but I would definitely say the ability to quickly recognize the crisis has the greatest impact to get off the X. AR: What does it mean to “Get Off the X?” JR: Getting off the X is a military term; the “X” is the point of attack, where you are receiving gunfire and explosions. An “X” in life is the point of an incident – divorce, sickness, lawsuit, accident, trauma, bankruptcy – you are on the X in that moment. To survive, you have to move. In the military, we call it “immediate action principles:” I am going to do option B to counteract bad thing A. Develop the mindset that you need to get off X immediately and start moving forward as quickly as possible, even if it is painful. We have a saying in the military that “those individuals who get off the X the fastest not only survive, they thrive,” and even achieve elite status. AR: The automotive recycling industry is in a bit of chaos right now, and some business owners feel stuck, don’t know what to do, or are really feeling alone. What is your advice? JR: Build yourself up in key areas, what I call the “Pentagon of Peak Performance,” to be ready for any ambush or life challenge: Emotional, Spiritual, Mental, Physical, Social. There are no excuses. Refuse to have the pity party, and be the victor not the victim. These 5 key areas can help to find that balance in the middle of chaos. It’s much better to be proactive and balanced for the ambushes that come; yet, understand and recognize when you are in a crisis it is not the time to be working on these key areas. The Pentagon includes leadership in the following areas:
AR: Tell us about a pivotal time in your career, other than what we’ve already discussed, that awoke you from flawed thinking and made you change directions. JR: After my military career, I started a business and found myself in a lawsuit. I wished it would go away, and it didn’t and only got worse. As I dealt with the stress and anxiety, I sat on the X for a little while, looked for others to blame. I wasn’t making healthy choices. During this time, I went to the doctor and he said I needed to make some major health changes, or I would die of a heart attack. I have a family history of heart disease. It was a real wake up call for me. So, I acknowledged I was on the X. I knew I needed to take care of my health. I worked my way forward. The lawsuit was frivolous, it was dismissed, but I look back and see there were mistakes I made and things I procrastinated on and ignored that resulted in the suit. Eighty percent of life ambushes we find ourselves in, we participated in. We procrastinated; we didn’t deal with something. The anomalies, of course, are unexpected illness or injury, sexual trauma or loss of life. On all the other levels, there is something we could have done. And that is hard to admit. Ultimately, I knew I needed to apply the principles I am talking about. Interestingly, I hadn’t quite fully developed all this when this happened, and I was able to document it in the Overcome book. AR: How does someone identify their weaknesses that hinder professional or personal success? JR: Go ask other people, ask your friends. Find out in my business, am I a hot head? Am I micromanaging? Ask people their opinions. Come to grips with who you are and then amplify your strengths. My Overcome book helps people with this. It is human nature that no one wants to acknowledge we have a flaw. Yet, it is our failures that makes who we are, not our successes. AR: How do you shift from a perceived “my life is over” mentality to a “new beginning” mentality? JR: Do something differently. Make some changes. Find new things. For automotive recyclers, technology is driving things in the industry. Embrace technology, collaboration, leverage resources together. It is incredibly difficult to “overcome” all by yourself. I could not have survived the enemy ambush by myself. Tom Brady cannot win a Super Bowl by himself. Leverage technology, leverage people and leverage strategies. If you focus beyond the storm, you’ll see that there is a way out. It may not be the end state that you thought it would be, and that is where it gets hard, but what is supposed to be will unfold out of the darkness. AR: During your injury, you posted a proclamation of positivity on the door of your hospital room that went viral on the internet. Do you think it is helpful for people to have some kind of symbolic statement? JR: I think it is; it is a proclamation of where you are going to go. Those who say, “I am going to be out of business in 5 years,” you will be. You are driving people away saying or thinking that. I personally want to hang out with those guys who are driven to go down fighting. We will do research, figure new ways to do business and create new paths. I call it a “mission statement.” It gives you something to rely on and to focus staying on track on a forward path. AR: Do you have any final thoughts? JR: The interesting thing about failure – you don’t have to work hard to achieve it. Caryn Smith is the editor of Automotive Recycling magazine, and covering the industry for over 20 years.  Who is Jason Redman? Jason Redman is a retired Navy Lieutenant who spent eleven years as an enlisted Navy SEAL and almost ten years as a SEAL officer. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor, the Purple Heart, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, five Navy Achievement Medals, Two Combat Action Ribbons and the U.S. Army Ranger Tab. Yet, these prestigious medals came with high price tags. In 2005, he made a bad leadership decision – one he confesses was based on his large ego – that almost cost his team their lives. He found himself facing demotion as an officer with possibility of being expelled from the SEALs altogether. He had a choice to endure the hardest physical and ego-busting training in the military … or go home. He chose the training and it changed his career. Then in 2007, he encountered an enemy ambush in Iraq that left him with critical injuries fighting for his life and questioning if he had what it takes to go on. And yet, after being severely wounded, Redman returned to active duty before retiring in 2013, launching SOF Spoken LLC, a speaking and consulting company which uses his extreme experiences to focus on leadership, teamwork and the “Overcome Mindset” to help individuals, companies and teams to “GET OFF THE X™” from “Life Ambushes” through his unique training and Overcome Army™ group coaching programs. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir The Trident, along with his new book Overcome which released in December 2019. ©2020 Automotive Recyclers Association and Automotive Recycling Magazine –January-February 2020. Please feel free to share on social media in full! Reprint or Reuse in any other format is not permitted without written permission from ARA. Email ARAEditor@comcast.net for reprint permissions.
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 Greg Condon, left, is a third generation automotive recycler and founder of the Professional Salvage Yard Information Forum on Facebook. His father Jerry Condon, right, is owner for 40 years of Condon’s Auto Parts in Westminster, MD.  Featured in Automotive Recycling Magazine // January-February 2020 Interview by Caryn Smith, Editor  Greg Condon of Condon’s Auto Parts (Westminster, Maryland) was proactive to inspire automotive recyclers to communicate with each other for everyone’s benefit in the “Professional Salvage Yard Information Forum” setting. He is an inspirational figure in automotive recycling, with a knack to bring people together. Automotive Recycling Magazine interviewed Greg to find out more about him and his idea to bring auto recyclers together through Facebook. Our story is much like many other salvage yard families. My grandfather, Ralph Condon, started the business in 1954 as an auto repair facility that slowly accumulated cars and started selling parts off those cars. My father, Jerry Condon bought the facility in 1978 with three employees. In 2005, I graduated college and started selling parts on the front counter the next day. I have worked every position in the company other than vehicle dismantler. Honestly, I am not that great of a mechanic and would probably do more harm than good tearing cars apart! When I moved into general manager role in 2010, we had 18 employees. We currently have 38. I was always interested in expanding the business, just as my father had done after purchasing from his father. In 2017, we joined PRP-NE in an effort to have better access to quality recycled parts to feed the need of our growing customer base. Through the partnership with fellow recyclers and Team PRP, we have been able to expand rapidly in the past two years. Ten of those 38 employees have been added in the last 24 months. Automotive Recycling: How did you get into the industry? Greg Condon: In high school, I took a few AutoCAD and drafting classes. I have always and still do have a huge interest in housing, construction and real estate. I was thinking of becoming an architect, but after visiting and being accepted to several colleges I decided that a business track was better suited for me. In 2005, I graduated on Sunday and was selling parts on Monday. I haven’t turned back since. AR: What attracted you to the business? GC: I have pride in our family business and everything it has provided for our family and the families of all our great employees. While I have been told many times over by the “old-timers” that this business is not as easy or good as it used to be, I see some real potential for small- and medium-sized family businesses to succeed for years to come. AR: Who are your “heroes” in the business who directly or indirectly mentor you or whom you follow? And why? GC: The obvious answer here would be my father and grandfather. Both of those men have and had work ethics that rival anyone I know. They positioned the company perfectly for me as the third generation to get it to the next level. But both my mother and grandmother were a huge part of their strength in the business. The fact that they were there to keep the family together and going in the right direction is a huge part of why my father and his father were successful. I would be remiss not to mention my wife along with the rest of my family. She is a fantastic wife and mother to my two amazing daughters. Her help allows me to work some crazy hours and vent about the pressures that my work life puts on me sometimes. There are dozens of people in the industry that I look to with great respect. It would be impossible to name them all in one article. I have learned so much from some of the smartest minds in the business. Many of them are technically my competitors, but still they openly share thoughts and ideas that help us all grow. That is really one of the biggest reasons that the Facebook page has been so successful. Just scan through the posts in the group and take a look at how competitors will openly give away secrets they have learned over the years to help others. As far as mentors are concerned, I have almost too many to list whom I know I can call with questions and problems. I have gained most of these connections from attending industry conventions like ARA and URG. Also, participating in consulting peer groups has given me insights that I could have never stumbled on by myself. The members of those groups are competitors, but they understand that a rising tide raises all ships. If we work together, we are all better for it. Outside of the industry, I have a group of guys in my hometown that I regularly meet with as part of an accountability group. We are not all business owners, but are all highly motivated to make ourselves better men, husbands, fathers and people. I highly suggest finding or creating a group like this for yourself. Make it diverse. Reach outside of your comfort level when creating the group. Do not make it with just your friends, but all of you will end being great friends. The last heroes who do not get enough credit are the people that keep the business running every day. Our employees are heroes as well. Without a good team; none of our companies would be able to do what we do. Owners and managers need to be there to steer the ship, but there would be no ship without the team. I struggle on a daily basis to give enough recognition to those around me that help me accomplish most of the crazy ideas that pop out of my brain. AR: What things have you learned recently that have helped your business GC: Business is simpler than most of us understand. In today’s world there is an app for everything, and that makes us spend too much time learning and not enough time doing. I am constantly seeking out learning opportunities. But I also have learned to stop, take some time to digest what I have learned, and figure out how to put it into use in my company. There is no benefit to learning anything new if you can’t find practical application for that knowledge. At one time or another everyone has heard of KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid). If we are constantly finding solutions to all the fires that we put out every day instead of finding the source of the flames, we will end up with an intricate maze of systems developed to fix the symptoms and not the source of the issues. AR: Why did you start the Professional Salvage Yard Information Forum on Facebook? GC: During and after college, I participated in numerous online forum websites related to my hobbies and ATV racing. There were 100’s of posts every day and I actually got to meet and become friends with many of the members of those forums. The wealth of knowledge and willingness to help was amazing to me. I thought that maybe I could bring some of that to our industry. Not everyone is able to attend meetings and conferences. When I started the Facebook group, my intention was to create a similar environment, but without spending the money to start a new website. I also knew that with the short attention spans of people today, getting them to go to another website every day was probably going to be hard. Most people already have a Facebook profile for themselves or work, so they would already be logging into Facebook each day. AR: How do you think it helps others? GC: I started the page with the intention of only the best of the best being allowed to join the page at first. I wanted to keep the content strong and truly only contain ideas that is what the best really should be doing. This was short-sighted and probably limited its growth in the first year. After the page got some traction, I allowed all sorts of facilities to contribute what they thought was positive, and let the masses sort out the quality information. What happened was, members of the Forum have held each other accountable. When someone posts something of questionable character, or a “junkyard” mentality, many of the members are quick to question them and raise counter points as to why they believe that information to be less effective or less positive. This has opened the eyes of many members as to what a truly professional recycling facility really should be and how one really should be operating. Just today, a conversation about ECM’s and return policies was questioned. Some good points were brought up on both sides and not everyone will always agree. But if we want our industry to progress, doing it as we always did probably isn’t the quickest way forward. I also wanted to spread information to make all recycled original equipment auto parts businesses better. This included some that might not be considered “professional” or up-to-standard of where the industry is currently headed. But without a place to gather some education about how the best in the industry are doing what they do, how can we help those operations improve? I have been told many times by some operators from “junkyards” that they want to get better, but didn’t know how to take the first few steps. It’s not like many local community colleges offer degree programs in Salvage Yard Management. I hope the page can continue to be a good resource to learn from those who were in that junkyard mentality and now operate first-class recycling facilities. AR: Has the Forum lived up to your expectations? GC: It has far exceeded my expectations. In today’s world of 6-second click-through rates on YouTube videos, the fact that so many people keep coming back every day is impressive. I have had many people tell me that the only reason they still have a Facebook account or come to Facebook every day is to check in on the Forum. There have been requests to branch the Forum out in several different ways. I and other members have started other pages, some with more success than others. But it goes back to my simplicity comment from before. It’s impossible to be good at every great idea. AR: What other thoughts do you have to share with your fellow automotive recyclers? GC: I will wrap up with a few quick comments. We are all in this fight together. While we are competitors, we also need to be allies. As with all businesses, there are constant struggles that we will face, and as a united front we will be much stronger. The more professional we all operate, the better our image will be with the consumer. Stop delivering parts not as they were described in our Yard Management Systems. Stop delivering dirty greasy motors and not standing behind our warranties when we do have a failure. The better everyone does the better we all do. With the complexity of today’s vehicles, getting the right part to the consumer the first time is paramount in our industry doing well in the next evolution of our businesses. Help ARA fight for VIN-level build data on cars to match the proper part to the order the first time every time. This helps the insurance company save time and money, and the weekend repair warrior not getting frustrated when the “junkyard” sent him another wrong part and then orders a new aftermarket part instead. We are all in this fight together. There is a lot of good still to be had in this industry. I’m going to steal a line I saw on Facebook from Mike Kunkel the other day. “Let’s make these the days the ones that the next generation looks at in 20 years and calls the ‘good-ole-days.’” Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope to see you in the Forum. ©2020 Automotive Recyclers Association and Automotive Recycling Magazine –January-February 2020. Please feel free to share on social media in full! Reprint or Reuse in any other format is not permitted without written permission from ARA. Email ARAEditor@comcast.net for reprint permissions. |
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