Leadership Lessons from "Pawn Stars"

If you have not had the chance, take a few moment to watch "Pawn Stars" on the History Channel.  Now, I have to admit when I first saw the ads for the show, my reaction was "...oh great, American Chopper in a pawn shop...I'll pass, thank you...."  My Dad turned me onto the show.  He likes the show for two reasons: a) he is fascinated with the stuff people bring in the shop and; b) the Pawn Stars Rick, the Old Man, Big Hoss & Chumlee are interesting characters (his favorite is Chumlee).  While I have to agree that I'm also fascinated with the stuff people bring in to sell and pawn, I really like some of the leadership characteristic they display.

Lesson 1: Make sure everyone understands the business "mission" - Don't buy anything you cannot make a profit on.
Big Hoss was reminded of the mission on two different occasions. The first occurrence he bought a hot air balloon for $38,000 although he was only authorized to make a purchase of no more than $10,000.  His Dad, Rick, was very clear on this mistake and had Big Hoss ask for the money back on the sale, then deal with how to make the purchase profitable until it could be sold.  The second time, Big Hoss purchased a set of tattoo guns then trades them for a tattoo.  Upon finding out, the Old Man required Big Hoss to pay for the equipment (plus a profit for the store) and to make up the time (after-hours) for taking off in the middle of his shift to get the tattoo.

Lesson 2: You don't have to be an "expert", but know where you can find one.
The Pawn Star team often have customer who bring in significant historical artifacts.  They always ask the customer what they know about the item in question and the customers will tell what they know.  The Pawn Star team also know they do not agree to a deal until they know what they are looking at (is it real vs a reproduction) and its value.  Sometimes they have the knowledge and can quickly appraise the item.  Many other times, they quickly know when they do not have the knowledge necessary and call in an "expert" to verify the authenticity of the item.  The customer often find they have a very valuable item and the Pawn Stars know how to build a negotiation strategy.

Lesson 3: Have a principled negotiation
The Pawn Star team make sure that two things happen; the make an offer based on their desired profit margin (see Lesson 1) and the negotiate within their core principals.  I have a bit of perception that pawn shops are seedy places where seedy characters make seedy things happen.  Pawn Stars has somewhat changed this perception. They work to make a fair offer to the customer, but they also stay to true to their mission of making a profit.  They rarely leave their principals of buying an item they cannot make a profit on.  This commitment leads to a "win-win" for the customer and the shop.

Lesson 4: Maintain Accountability
The Pawn Stars run a 24/7 shop thus staffing is always a critical issue.  One employee, Peaches, was beginning to embrace a habit of being late to work.  The Old Man and Rick both coached Peaches on the behavior they expected and arranged for a time for improvement with daily feedback.  They also made it very clear the consequences of not changing the behavior, go back to working the graveyard shift.  While Peaches did make an effort to change, she did not do enough to change and was moved back to the graveyard shift.  The Pawn Stars did a good job in identifying a bad behavior, coaching to help correct and holding the team member accountable for their actions.


Lesson 5: Have passion for what you do
It is clear the owner of the shop, Rick, loves what he does.  You can see that he is genuinely excited by the odds and ends that come in everyday.  This passion is probably why he and his team are now on TV.  It shows through in everything they do!  Rick also demonstrated that he doesn't allow his passion to get in the way of his mission.  On several occasions he has turned down an offer because of not having a market for the item or the purchase would not meet the profit margin for the store.  It is important to love and enjoy what you do, just don't allow your zeal to interfere with your goals.

I close this ramble out with one other thought, you gain insight when you look for insight.  I didn't sit down to watch Pawn Stars with the intent of finding leadership lessons.  I simply was looking for entertainment.  It proves again (at least it does to me) that if you have your mind open, you look for insight, and you make a few notes along the way, things that will help make you a better leader will appear.