In the midst of a free-falling economy, and unprecedented challenges in the automotive industry, BMW tasked Broadstreet with their most important annual conference for their Parts and Service Managers in a generation.
Broadstreet coached BMW management to present a vision of the success to come once they’d gotten through the trough of the bad economy. This created a strategic vision of the future that allowed each Parts and Service Manager to understand their role in ensuring BMW’s success in a time of seismic change.
Plenary sessions were structured to enable 3 way conversations. Parts & Services Managers who had success with new pilot programmes were part of the on-stage informal dialogue allowing the audience to hear directly from their peers about new ways of enhancing their businesses. After every functional area’s presentation, there was a Q&A session to address the audience’s concerns and involve them in the solution.
Additionally, breakfast roundtable conversations allowed for more informal discussion of issues and kept the dialogue alive throughout the meeting. The result was a “We’re-In-This- Together” attitude where every voice had an opportunity to be heard from the highest level of corporate to the smallest market front line manager. Every moment of the three day event was treated as an opportunity to deliver and strengthen key messages.
A comedy troupe of improv actors peppered the sessions with levity and subtly but memorably reinforced the messages with entertaining skits. A presentation by one of the founders of Fast Company magazine elaborated on how “a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” Underscoring the “can-do” tone of the meeting, Alex Roy, a die-hard BMW record-setting, cross-country performance racer, reminded attendees of their customers’ passion for their products and service.
To encourage best practice sharing among attendees, there was a “secret to success” contest that awarded prizes for attendee submissions of their own or colleagues “secrets.” Winners’ ideas and philosophies were read out loud and prizes awarded on stage to drive home the importance of each and every members’ personal commitment to success. In an unprecedented time it is anything but business as usual at BMW. Giving Managers a free voice and an emotional stake in the vision ensured they returned to their dealerships focused on the challenges of the day with an understanding of their role in creating BMW’s successful
tomorrow. 