⭐️ Leadership and Situationships
Waymo Partners with Toyota, Team Insight, and Fresh Finds
“Advances in AI are making it possible to do more with less, and that’s going to improve the quality of life for billions of people.”
—Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms
The AI Breakdown
Waymo x Toyota = A Self-Driving “Situationship”
Waymo and Toyota are testing the waters with a preliminary agreement to co-develop autonomous vehicles. The goal? A new AV platform for ride-hailing. And maybe… eventually…personally owned vehicles.
Capability Meets Scale
Waymo logs over 250,000 rides weekly and reports 81% fewer injury-causing crashes than human drivers. Toyota brings manufacturing depth and global reach, plus a history of embedding advanced safety systems at scale. This collaboration could set the template for how autonomy reaches the mass market.
Shift Toward Modular Autonomy
Waymo is evolving from an all-in-one AV operator to a platform provider. It’s already offloaded fleet ops to partners like Uber and Moove. Working with Toyota marks the next phase—embedding autonomy directly into OEM pipelines, not just apps.
It’s not about the car anymore, it’s all about the driver tech inside.
Prompt of the Week
Most managers focus on top-line numbers, but real leadership work often happens below the surface.
This prompt helps you identify which department heads are on the edge of burnout, phoning it in, or quietly crushing it. It turns data into dialogue and equips you to lead with insight, not just oversight.
Act as a high-performance executive coach. Using the last 30 days of store data (sales metrics, service hours, timeclock logs, and lead response rates), group each department head into one of three categories:
At Risk of Burnout – High performance with unsustainable effort or hours.
Coasting – Meeting expectations but showing signs of disengagement or stagnation.
Ready for Growth – Exceeding KPIs, mentoring others, or driving innovation.
For each person, suggest a short conversation I should have this week. Include the ideal tone, a key talking point, and one actionable next step I can offer or request.”
Fresh Finds for Auto Pros
Management & Operations: ThoughtSppt
A search-based analytics platform that lets users query business data using plain language. Instead of running static reports, teams can ask questions and get live insights from their data — whether it’s from spreadsheets, cloud apps, or enterprise systems.Finance & Insurance: Liveflow
A financial automation tool designed to streamline accounting workflows by integrating real-time data from platforms like QuickBooks and Xero into Google Sheets and Excel. It enables finance teams to automate reporting, consolidate multi-entity financials, and maintain live dashboards, reducing manual data entry and enhancing efficiency.Project Management: Monday.com
A customizable work management platform that helps dealership teams organize tasks, track progress, and collaborate efficiently. With features like visual dashboards, automation, and integrations with tools like Slack and Salesforce, it streamlines operations across departments.
ASOTU CON is this week—get your ticket today!
Bits and Bytes
Amazon is releasing an AI-powered tool to help merchants improve their listings. 🛍️
Pope Leo XIV says he chose his papal name in part due to artificial intelligence. ⛪️
NBC Sports will use an AI-generated voice of the late announcer, Jim Fagan, in its upcoming NBA coverage. 📣
Reply