Manorism Newsletter

I wanted to share a quick note, because I’ve been quieter than usual. That was intentional. I’ve been building. Over the last while, I’ve been paying close attention to how trust, visibility, and influence are changing … not in theory, but in real life, inside our industry and beyond it. Somethin...

Jan 28, 2026

The Shift Nobody’s Talking About Yet

I’ve been in this industry for more than three decades, and every once in a long while there’s a moment where you can feel something shift before anyone is willing to admit it happened. It’s never loud when it starts. There’s no press release. No panic. No sudden disruption. Just a subtle tight...

Oct 21, 2025

The Boy by the Creek

I know this isn’t the kind of piece you usually get from me. But something happened this week that stopped me in my tracks. A man…roughly my age, Gen X, battle-tested…called me out of the blue. Within ten seconds, he was crying. Not polite tears… the real kind. The kind that comes from somewhe...

Oct 07, 2025

The Recognition Economy Playbook: How to Thrive While the Attention Economy Dies

Funnels. VDPs. Clickbait campaigns. Facebook ads that work until the platform throttles you. That’s the old playbook. It belongs to the attention economy… and that economy is collapsing. Why? Because AI is scraping everything. The static, the recycled posts, the fake-news press releases force-fed...

Sep 30, 2025

The Whoosh Is Coming

The last few weeks inside Manorisms, we’ve talked about: The death of the mousetrap. The AI asteroid that’s already in the sky. Why Recognition Capital is the new currency. All of these threads connect to a bigger picture … one that’s about to hit the auto industry like a whoosh. Not a new CRM...

Sep 23, 2025

Recognition Capital: The Currency of the Meaning Economy

Everyone chases attention like it’s the end goal. Clicks, likes, impressions…the “Rah Rah” stuff. Loud, shiny, transactional. But in the AI age, attention is cheap. It’s harvested, synthesized, repackaged by machines. What actually matters…what AI can’t replicate…is Recognition Capital. That’s t...

Sep 16, 2025

The Death of the Mousetrap

The Flawed Obsession with Mousetraps For decades, the auto industry (and many others) have been obsessed with building a better mousetrap. A sharper sales pitch. A flashier ad campaign. A new “limited-time” offer. It worked because customers...the mice…kept walking through the door. Deale...

Sep 09, 2025

The “AI Mode” Asteroid

About 20 years ago, the internet crashed into the car business. Dealers resisted at first…“it’ll never last.” It did… Then came the shock waves… Carfax. Simulcast auctions. VDPs instead of print. BDC departments. Valuation tools. Every change followed the same pattern… Resistance. Mass adoption...

Sep 02, 2025

Ten Years Dry

Couple days ago I crossed 10 years alcohol-free. No fanfare. No celebration. No pats on the back. I rarely talk about it anymore than I talk about being tall, ridiculously good-looking, or incredibly funny and humble ;-) It’s just who I am now. Yeah, I clocked it when I remembered. And I was ...

Aug 26, 2025

Forget Building a Brand. Fly a Flag.

The people you want aren’t looking for another expert. They’re looking for a banner to march behind. Let’s be honest…The term “personal brand” is officially on the ick list.You hear it and immediately picture some fake-ass course seller pointing at text on an Instagram Reel.Or a hustle bro on Li...

Jul 29, 2025

No One’s Coming to Save You … And That’s the Best News You’ll Ever Hear

We all grew up with the same script.Work hard. Be good. Don’t complain. Someone will notice.And if it ever gets bad enough?Someone will show up. A boss A bailout A break. That belief is the first thing you need to kill. This Newsletter is sponsored by Influence.vin I’ve been in this game for...

Jul 15, 2025

The Trillion-Dollar Costume Party

And why the real flex is knowing who you are You ever notice how women will shave off their eyebrows…Just to tattoo on a better version?Or glue fake nails on top of perfectly good ones?It’s not judgment… it’s just reality.A ritual of upgrades. A silent surrender to the idea that the raw version ...

Jul 08, 2025

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"I empower Gen X auto operators by decoding systems and igniting flywheels. Beliefs: Freedom • Integrity • Mastery."

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