It's Q2: Are You Ready to Blow Up Your Playbook?

Apr 2, 2026

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Q1 was a wild ride. Tariffs. Geopolitical shocks. Supply chain chaos. And now Q2 is here, and the question no one's asking out loud is: are you walking into your quarterly review meetings with the same playbook you've always used?

Are you making decisions the same way? Operating the same way? Thinking the same way?

Because if you are, this episode is for you.

In this solo episode, Jan Griffiths lays out five things every automotive leader needs to confront as we head into Q2 2026. This is not a pep talk. This is a reality check.

The ground is shifting. Trade agreements are uncertain. Chinese competitors are moving faster than ever. And the old playbook, the one built on certainty, hierarchy, and control, is a liability.

Jan covers the five forces shaping Q2 2026 and what you need to do about them: from the geopolitical storm still raging, to the reinvention mandate, to why trust is a P&L lever, not a soft skill. She also shares a personal update on her new role as Executive Advisor with Seraph, a global manufacturing and operations consulting firm.

If you're heading into Q2 with the same mindset as Q1, this episode will challenge you to change that, now!

Themes Discussed in this Episode

The geopolitical storm: tariffs, the Iran conflict, global oil crisis, chip shortages, and USMCA renegotiation
Why resilience without reinvention is just endurance
The reinvention mandate: speed, process destruction, and AI as an accelerator, not a crutch
Trust and transparency as competitive weapons, not cultural nice-to-haves
Why command-and-control leadership is a speed killer and authentic leaders are winning
Over-customization and why stopping it could be the fastest path to speed and cost reduction
The WRI scorecard: OEMs will be judged on supplier relationships in May
Jan's new Executive Advisor role with Seraph
Three actions you can take this week to start Q2 differently

🎥 Watch the full episode on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@jangriffithsautomotiveleaders

About Your Host – Jan Griffiths

Jan Griffiths is the champion for culture change and the host of the Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive executive with a rebellious spirit, Jan is known for challenging outdated norms and inspiring leaders to ditch command and control. She brings honesty, energy, and courage to every conversation, proving that authentic, human-centered leadership is the future of the automotive industry.

Mentioned in this episode

Episode Highlights

[00:01:26] Q2 Is Here. Now What?: The rules have changed permanently. Stop waiting for certainty. Clarity is not coming

[00:02:20] The Geopolitical Storm: Tariffs, the Supreme Court EPA decision fallout, an Iran conflict, a global oil crisis, a looming chip shortage, and USMCA renegotiation in July.

Jan also flags Canada allowing 49,000 Chinese OEM vehicles into the country, and what that means when they start crossing into the US.

Upcoming guest: Colin Bird, Consul General for Canada, will join the podcast to discuss USMCA. Submit your questions to Jan on LinkedIn.

[00:07:05] The Reinvention Mandate: Tear apart your processes and target a 50% reduction in cycle time. Chinese OEMs already launch vehicles in half the time legacy OEMs can. Jan references Terry Woychowski at Caresoft for the data and points to QAD’s framing, systems of record to systems of action, as the right mindset for agentic AI.

[00:11:10] Trust and Transparency: Trust is a P&L lever. Approval processes built on decades of mistrust are killing speed. The WRI scorecard drops in May and will show which OEMs are walking the talk with suppliers and which ones aren’t.

[00:14:35] Authentic Leaders Are Winning: Command and control is too slow. Jan references Lori Lancaster, Vice Chair at Emotive Mobility, on leaders who wait too long to ask for help. When people hide problems instead of raising them, it's a speed killer. Culture is the operating system.

[00:16:50] Stop Customizing What Nobody Cares About: The McKinsey North American Automotive Road to Resilience report and Terry Woychowski at Caresoft make the case: the industry agonizes over components consumers don’t care about. Chinese OEMs don’t. Jan previews an upcoming conversation with the President of Horse North America on shared component strategy.

[00:18:30] Personal Update: Jan has taken on an Executive Advisor role with Seraph, a global manufacturing and operations consulting firm focused on supply chain and operational improvement. She also shares an update on the Automotive Leaders YouTube channel.

[00:20:15] Closing: Three Things You Can Do This Week

Identify one decision that can be pushed downstream and push it down today
Name one process that slows you down and kill it
Have an honest executive-level conversation about your culture playbook and how to rewire it

Top Quotes

[00:04:50] "We have to stop waiting for clarity. Clarity is not coming. The only response to all of this is resilience."

[00:05:00] "Resilience is the ability to absorb shocks, pivot fast, and keep executing while the rules change around you."

[00:11:05] "Trust isn't soft. It's a P&L lever."

[00:12:43] "People who've been trained to hide problems instead of raising them -- and to protect themselves instead of protecting the business -- that mentality is a speed killer."

[00:13:21] "Culture is not soft. Culture is the operating system. It is how we behave. It is how we make decisions. It is our playbook. It's time for us to rewire our operating system."

[00:18:27] "Resilience without reinvention is just endurance. You'll survive, but you won't win."

[00:18:36] "Reinvention without trust is just a memo that nobody really reads."

If this episode resonated, share it with a fellow automotive leader and subscribe to The Automotive Leaders Podcast, where we’re shaping the future of authentic leadership in the automotive industry.

This podcast episode is also available on YouTube. Check out our YouTube channel at Jangriffithsautomotiveleaders

Send us your feedback or questions — email Jan at Jan@Gravitasdetroit.com.