As Morgan Auto Group looks toward the future, father and son remain in lockstep about what comes next. Brett is firmly at the helm as chief executive officer, pushing forward with modern technology, expanded markets and bold acquisitions. Larry remains fully active in the business as a trusted chairman and mentor, offering perspective and strategic counsel.
Bridgette Bello, CEO and publisher of Tampa Bay Business and Wealth interviewed the Morgans in front of a live audience, at Porsche Tampa. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Read the cover story on the Morgans here.
See photos from the CEO Connect here.
What has it been like being the TBBW covers stars this month?
Larry: Flattering and humbling. We lived the story. It was kind of fun to read it again. I’ve read it a couple of times and I think you guys did a great job of telling it.
Well, I’m glad to hear you say that. Thank you. Anything you want to add to that, Brett?
Brett: Well, I think from a Father’s Day perspective, I think it was beyond just thematic. I think there were a lot of elements in our relationship that lend itself to that special day. And I don’t know about Larry, but I heard from a lot of people that I hadn’t heard from in a long time. A lot of them out of the market. So not necessarily Tampa folks that would be familiar with the publication and consistent readers. And I just thought that was really neat. And, frankly, I know a couple things about this guy. He doesn’t like to talk about himself and he doesn’t like to look back. I always think of that old Satchel Paige, “Don’t look back because somebody might be gaining on you.” And I think of him because he’s old enough to have seen Satchel Paige pitch. [Larry] doesn’t like to look back and we got him to do both, which I thought was really cool. And you think about it, time moves fast. It’s okay to get nostalgic.
Some of those stories were just…we were all in tears at one point. Knowing the impact that your family has made on this community, it’s a real honor to have the opportunity to tell your story. So, thank you again for giving us this chance to do that.
Now, I’m going to ask you some fun questions tonight. I’m going to start with how much is the baby Porsche? You know I have a new granddaughter. [Laughter]
Brett: I’m sure we could make you a fine deal on that baby Spider back there.
I’ll call you when she’s three. So, I want to settle a debate…Some say ‘Porsch’. You say ‘Porsch-uh.’ Which one is it?
Brett: A ‘Porsch’ is what’s on the front of your house. A ‘Porsch-uh’ is what we sell here. We were well debriefed. Tell you a quick story. You have to apply; you can’t just buy a Porsche store. You have to be approved by the manufacturer and German brand. It’s very serious. We go to Atlanta to meet with the higher ups at Porsche North America. And I think for five days, Victor Young, our partner was like, if somebody calls it a ‘Porsch’ in that room, the deal’s dead. We won’t get approved. So for five days I would lay in bed at night awake saying, ‘Porsh-uh, Porsh-uh, Porsh-uh.’ And now when I hear people say, ‘Porsch,’ you would look at me and I’m going, ‘Porsh-uh. Porsh-uh.’ [Laughter]
Well, that’s what I was hoping for. I figured while we have 200 ambassadors in the room, that they’ll start correcting people out on the streets as well and saying it the right way.
Brett: I don’t like people who correct people, so I’m never going to correct. You just know you’re wrong and it’s not a big deal and we can all move on.
So when you’re not talking about cars and you’re not talking about the family business, what do you guys find yourselves discussing?
Larry: Well, I got to see the conversation this morning. Brett’s little girl, Teagan. She’s a sweetheart and she comes to the office every once in a while, and she gives granddad a big hug. And I tell you what, that’s the best it gets.
Brett: He’s got two granddaughters, and one has a very unique story. This was many moons ago. She’s almost a teenager now, but Maggie was born three months premature, one pound, six ounces on the Fourth of July. They’re both very special little girls. He is very lucky
And you’re an amazing dad. And I get to watch you on social media and I think every little girl deserves to have a dad like Brett and a granddad like Larry. Personally, we can’t all be that lucky.
Larry: Brett’s the best father I’ve ever seen. You may not know, but he’s a single parent and he is the best father I’ve ever seen.
You’re not supposed to make me cry. All right, so let’s talk about something funny. Was there ever a moment where you two completely disagreed on a business decision?
Brett: I think the truth is that it takes some time. There are probably people in generational businesses who have better stories than us. We’ve been pretty tame for a long time. I learn from him every day and he’s extremely levelheaded. He’s just taught me so much. For example, don’t get emotionally invested in your decision. Sometimes, as businesspeople, you have to make tough decisions but keep your head above the emotion.
Larry: I would add to that from a business perspective, we deal with problems. I mean, that’s 95% of what we do and there’s a little more pressure when you’re dealing with difficult things than when you’re dealing with good, positive things. We’ve been able to weather that storm very well. Brett’s right, we’ve never had a fight. That’s what I would say. We might have a five second disagreement on some issue and then we get right back together again and go to work. It’s been a great relationship. I must admit a few years ago, and I’ve kind of outgrown it, but every once in a while, when he would challenge me, I had this vision of this little four or five-year-old boy telling me what to do. But I’ve outgrown that. [Laughter]
Brett: And not to go Sigmund Freud on you, but there are times when the reverse is true, right? Somebody’s telling you maybe you didn’t do a great job and now you’re that five-year-old going, ‘I’m not good enough, I’m not smart enough, I’m not loved enough. I mean there’s some deep-rooted stuff that can be involved in a family business interacting with your father. So that goes both ways. That’s really funny though. Now I’ve got that image stuck in my head.
For other generational, or potentially multi-generational businesses in the room, how do you get through that? How do you keep it respectful? How do you make it only last five seconds? What are some tips that you could share with us?
Larry: Respect, I think is the first word that came to my mind. I respect Brett’s knowledge. He knows so many more things about our business than I do. I think, in reality, we compliment each other because there’s certain things that I may enjoy doing or may be a little better at than he is. And we both have our own territory, if you will.
Brett: I think for me, I’m lucky in the sense that he leads with so much humility. It’s never about him, right? It’s always about the goal or what we’re trying to achieve. And if it is about a person, it’s about somebody else achieving a level of success that they hadn’t been able to find on their own, previously. So, it’s never about him. And I think when you have an ego-centered leader, then that can make it a tough environment to navigate. So I would say humility is a huge part of making that easy.
Are there things that you learned from your dad that you’ll never compromise on? And if so, what are those things?
Brett: That’s a really good question. Again, I think the best leaders lead by example. And I think with dad, there are times I’ve gone, ‘gosh, I wish I got a lot more teaching. Like, Hey, let me tell you how you should do it or how to live.’ And I didn’t get a lot of that. I’ve just gotten the example. I think family first is number one. I’ll tell you a lesson that I’ve never forgotten that he told me when I was probably young enough where it didn’t even apply, but I think he was on the golf course one day and we saw some people drinking, having a good time on the golf course. And I might’ve joked with him, well, why don’t you have a beer on the golf course? And he goes, why would you ever combine alcohol with anything you really care about? And I was like, wow. And I think about that now and I’ve actually given that lesson to other people who may need to hear it.
What is something that you would not previously compromise on, personally, that Brett is steering in a different direction or doing differently and that you’ve adapted to because of ?
Larry: I am more set in my ways than Brett is. And from my point of view, that’s not necessarily a good thing, but it’s good that Brett and I can have differences of opinions and talk through it. And we always come to a joint resolution. I know a lot of family businesses; I’ve done a lot of acquisitions in my life. Before being in the automobile business, I was in the tire/auto center world and had 630 tire/auto centers and half of them were built from scratch buildings. The other half were acquisitions. I bought a lot of businesses from families that couldn’t get along. And that was often why they were selling the business, because they were just at a stalemate. In fact, I was at a closing once, in Maryland, and two brothers who had worked in the same business hadn’t spoken to each other in 11 years, until we were at the closing table.
That’s how difficult it is for families to work a business together. And I sometimes can be difficult, and I’m very much aware of that, and Brett puts up with me when I’m in that mood, if you will. At my stage in life, that’s what excites me. I’m not going to worry about if I’m going to eat tomorrow, but I tell you what, I’ve got some people that might, and that bothers me; if we’ve got anybody that’s down and out like that.
We have a committee of people that when someone needs financial assistance, for a health care emergency or something they really are down and out about, and need help, we have a fund and we have an anonymous committee that says, “Yes, we’ll give you the money;” or No, we won’t give you the money;” or “We’ll give you part of it;’ however they want to do it. And I don’t even know who the committee is, but I know one thing, we do a lot of good things for a lot of people. And that’s the kind of stuff that makes me feel good.
Brett: I think somebody in this room and I were having a conversation a few weeks ago and they were like, yeah, my first point is not to try to change Larry Morgan’s mind. We all know we’re not going to do it. He is very consistent. So that’s a different way of saying set in his ways. But consistency is very good because you tend to know what you’re going to get and it can be a beautiful thing. And there are times I may play mediator, but a lot of times I’m learning. I’m still learning from this guy and there’s going to be a day… I hope there’s not, but there might be a day where he’s not there, and I’m wishing, he was to have a certain conversation.
You touched a little bit on how important your people are to you. That was something that I really enjoyed hearing you guys talk about and how much it means to you to see the impact that you’ve had on some of these people’s lives over the years. Would that be kind of the line in the sand for both of you if everything else fell apart, that would be the one thing that you guys would make sure your people didn’t?
Brett: I’ve heard it since I was probably in the crib, that it’s all people and that’s beyond just what he believes. I think it’s the reality. He says it all the time. It was true in his former businesses and it’s true in this one. If you’ve got a great store in a great location with a bad operator, you’re going to have bad business. If you’ve got a bad brand in a bad location with a great operator, you’re going to have great business.
So both of you can drive whatever car you want. What’s your favorite car to drive?
Larry: Well, this is not just because we’re sitting in a Porsche building. I drive a Porsche Cayenne GT Turbo. And for those of you who don’t know what that means, it means it’s fast and I don’t drive fast, but I love going from zero to 80 in about two seconds. So that’s what I drive. My wife, Ernestine, drives a Lamborghini; she’s a car girl. And Brett, I never know what he’s driving; something new every week. So, we’re car people in many ways.
Brett, what is your favorite car?
Brett: Not supposed to have favorites, Bridgette. When you’re in the car business, you can’t have favorites, right? It’s like having a favorite child: even if you have one, you can’t say it that you have one.
The most at home I’ve felt in a car was a Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited four-door. It’s not great for highway driving, not fun. You feel every bump in the road – but then you take the roof off and that is a lot of fun.