He Raced at 330 MPH Before Taking Over the Family Business — Here's What Being in the Driver's Seat Taught Him About Leadership

Oct 15, 2024 12:48 AM - 3 months ago 145748

Some group are calved into their family's restaurant business. Some are calved into their family's accounting firm. And some, for illustration Morgan Lucas, are calved into thing a small much high-octane.

Lucas is the boy of Forrest and Charlotte Lucas, the founders of Lucas Oil. For much than 35 years, the institution has been an innovator successful motor oils, additives and lubricants, creating products utilized by everyone from NASCAR drivers to group taking their SUVs to the market store.

This past February, Morgan Lucas became the CEO of the family's business. But earlier getting successful the firm driver's seat, he traveled connected a different way — going very, very fast.

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From 2004 to 2016, Lucas was a master drag racer successful the National Hot Rod Association. During that time, he earned 12 wins successful the Top Fuel people and 11 successful the Top Alcohol Dragster class. He retired successful 2016 to return connected a full-time domiciled arsenic vice president of income astatine Lucas Oil and worked his measurement up to CEO, wherever he now oversees the company's strategical guidance and vision.

Entrepreneur said pinch Lucas astir the lessons he learned going 330 mph — really risk-taking, trusting your squad and speeding up full-throttle connected the resistance portion use to starring a business pinch complete 300 products sold successful 48 countries.

You conscionable took complete arsenic CEO of a institution that has been successful business for 35 years. What do you deliberation has helped it guidelines retired each these years?
Well, astir group deliberation of immoderate institution pinch the connection "oil" successful the sanction arsenic being associated pinch Big Oil. But we are a family business that operates connected its ain terms. We are much focused connected the longevity of vehicles and fixing problems than a batch of companies, and that drives america successful different directions and helps america enactment creative. We've utilized motorsports arsenic an opportunity to create products. From teams for illustration Richard Childress Racing to moreover my ain usage backmost erstwhile I was driving, we've been capable to transportation that exertion complete to the wide automotive and heavy-duty spaces.

For those who person ne'er sat successful a car pinch an 11,000-horsepower engine, tin you picture what that's like?
I fell successful emotion pinch motorsports astatine a young age. I was ever fascinated by the mechanical aspects of really engines work, the sounds that they make, acceleration rates, the explosiveness. The first clip I sewage down the instrumentality of a nitro car, I realized that this was different the 2nd I deed the state for my first burnout. It was large and violent. And arsenic a 19-year-old kid, that's a very breathtaking point to person successful your life. But arsenic I grew older, I began to understand the quality betwixt getting successful a business that was retired of power versus being successful control.

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How did your racing profession impact your activity style successful business?
As a driver, if you spot the group putting your car together, that gives you the assurance to cognize that you tin spell retired location and do your job. There are different drivers I've talked to who didn't person that aforesaid spot aliases faith, which affected really they drove. If you're driving a title car, you can't beryllium scared. That distraction will support you from performing astatine the level you request to beryllium at. I tie from those experiences. We're building a squad that tin thief span the spread betwixt failures and successes. We've invested heavy successful our merchandise improvement team, hiring the due chemists and researchers to thief america understand wherever we've been and wherever we request to go.


Credit: Lucas Oil

What's your champion proposal for hiring?
Whether it's an executive squad aliases resistance racing, you can't beryllium acrophobic to prosecute personification smarter than you. And you can't beryllium acrophobic to dangle connected those people. We person astonishing executives who bring a batch to the table. I'm fortunate to beryllium capable to activity alongside my wife, Katie. She spent clip pinch the Indianapolis Colts connected the income squad and worked successful galore competitory fields, and she draws from those experiences to link the dots successful her domiciled arsenic president astatine Lucas Oil.

You mentioned occurrence and failure. As a erstwhile racer, really do you look astatine losses?
There's a nosy and cliched saying: "Embrace the suck." Failure is portion of life. We don't turn if we're not trying. And you're going to neglect sometimes erstwhile you effort thing new. I've grounded successful media interviews because I wasn't arsenic prepared arsenic I should person been. And that's okay. I built a foundational representation from that and prepared amended moving forward. Leaders who hedge excessively overmuch aliases are overly concerned pinch nonaccomplishment are not the correct group to thrust a institution forward. You person to beryllium consenting to return risks, aliases you'll spell backward.

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As you move forward, is location a activity instruction that your begetter taught you that has been peculiarly impactful?
He ever says that it doesn't costs thing to smile. Kindness is thing we should connection everyone connected our teams. It affords america the opportunity to support a coagulated moving narration pinch them and clasp them accountable. He besides says that communal consciousness is thing that is mislaid connected truthful galore group successful this world. My begetter was a well-read man and self-taught successful truthful galore ways, and he would usage his communal consciousness successful life and span it into bully decision-making successful business. You tin look astatine the numbers, research, and intelligence you salary your squad to create and utilize. But your gut instincts will ever beryllium there, too. Don't beryllium acrophobic to perceive to your gut and use communal consciousness to what you're doing.

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