Episode 208

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Published on:

29th Oct 2025

"Yo, Adrian!" What We Can Learn From Rocky [E208]

Thanks to our Partner, NAPA Autotech Training and Pico Technology

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Matt riffs on a surprisingly quiet moment from Rocky—the late-night scene where Rocky admits he can’t beat Apollo and Adrian simply asks, “What do we do?” From that question, Matt draws a blueprint for technicians and shop owners: set realistic, self-assigned wins and stack them. Instead of living and dying by big, binary outcomes (“fixed/not fixed,” “hit benchmark/missed benchmark”), build momentum with attainable goals that compound into competence, confidence, and better shop results.

Big Ideas

  • “What do we do?” beats “You can do it!” Swapping empty hype for practical next steps creates traction.
  • Redefine winning: Rocky doesn’t win the fight; he wins by “going the distance.” Translate that to your day: hit achievable targets that move you forward.
  • Stack small, durable improvements: The path to 40+ billed hours or top-quartile shop productivity runs through many smaller, consistent wins.
  • Perfection limits joy: Ambition is good; impossible standards starve you of pride and progress.
  • Benchmarks aren’t commandments: Continuous improvement may matter more than someone else’s KPI.

Practical Takeaways for Techs

  • Scope reps, not scope heroics: Use the oscilloscope on easy cars and routine checks—pair voltage with time until it’s second nature, then add a second channel and a low-amp probe where it makes sense.
  • Thermal imager habits: Pull it out on brake inspections, wheel-bearing complaints, and on known-good vehicles to calibrate your eye for “normal.”
  • Micro-goals to build hours: If you’re billing ~20 hrs/week, aim for 25 (≈+1 hr/day). Then 30. Ask: Where can I reclaim two hours? (economy of motion, fewer tool trips, better setup).

Practical Takeaways for Shop Owners/Leads

  • Aim for +10–15% improvements first: If techs are ~60% productive, target 70%, not 100% overnight. Design the system to enable the next step.
  • Design wins into the week: Encourage daily scope/thermal reps, short debriefs, and “wins boards” that recognize process improvements—not just hero fixes.
  • Coach with the Adrian question: When someone says, “I can’t hit that,” respond with: “What do we do?” Identify the next two concrete actions.

Memorable Lines

  • “We can define our own successes—it doesn’t have to be everyone else’s.”
  • “Set wins somewhere earlier in the process, not only at the final repair.”
  • “I hope you’re proud of yourself—and that you let yourself feel it.”

Chapter Guide

  1. Cold open & sponsors — NAPA Auto Tech Training, Pico Technology
  2. Why Rocky still hits — the “What do we do?” scene
  3. Defining ‘going the distance’ at work
  4. Tech micro-wins — scope reps, thermal habits, pairing voltage & current
  5. Shop micro-wins — stepwise productivity goals, system design > pep talks
  6. Perfection vs. pride — making room to feel accomplished

Thanks to our Partner, NAPA Autotech Training

NAPA Autotech’s team of ASE Master Certified Instructors are conducting over 1,200 classes covering 28 automotive topics. To see a selection, go to napaautotech.com for more details.

Thanks to our Partner, Pico Technology

Are you chasing elusive automotive problems? Pico Technology empowers you to see what's really happening. Their PicoScope oscilloscopes transform your diagnostic capabilities. Pinpoint faults in sensors, wiring, and components with unmatched accuracy. Visit PicoAuto.com and revolutionize your diagnostics today! 

Contact Information

The Automotive Repair Podcast Network: https://automotiverepairpodcastnetwork.com/

Remarkable Results Radio Podcast with Carm Capriotto: Advancing the Aftermarket by Facilitating Wisdom Through Story Telling and Open Discussion. https://remarkableresults.biz/

Diagnosing the Aftermarket A to Z with Matt Fanslow: From Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health, Matt Fanslow is Lifting the Hood on Life. https://mattfanslow.captivate.fm/

Business by the Numbers with Hunt Demarest: Understand the Numbers of Your Business with CPA Hunt Demarest. https://huntdemarest.captivate.fm/

The Auto Repair Marketing Podcast with Kim and Brian Walker: Marketing Experts Brian & Kim Walker Work with Shop Owners to Take it to the Next Level. https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/

The Weekly Blitz with Chris Cotton: Weekly Inspiration with Business Coach Chris Cotton from AutoFix - Auto Shop Coaching. https://chriscotton.captivate.fm/

Speak Up! Effective Communication with Craig O'Neill: Develop Interpersonal and Professional Communication Skills when Speaking to Audiences of Any Size. https://craigoneill.captivate.fm/

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About the Podcast

Automotive Field Theory
From Automotive Diagnostics to Metallica and Mental Health
Automotive Field Theory explores the forces that shape automotive repair, including the ones measured with a meter or oscilloscope and the ones that cannot be found on a wiring diagram.

Hosted by automotive diagnostic specialist, shop manager, and instructor Matt Fanslow, the podcast begins in the automotive aftermarket but rarely stays inside its traditional boundaries. Diagnostics, electricity, technology, leadership, psychology, economics, game theory, history, music, movies, family, and human behavior may appear unrelated. Look closely enough, however, and connections begin to emerge.

A vehicle may arrive with a technical fault, but the work surrounding it is rarely technical alone.

Information is incomplete.

People make decisions under pressure and uncertainty. Incentives shape behavior. Standards gradually drift. Good intentions produce unexpected results. The official process may say one thing while the system quietly rewards another.

Automotive Field Theory is an attempt to understand those interactions.

Drawing from real diagnostic work, shop management, industry conversations, personal experience, and an occasionally inconvenient level of curiosity, Matt examines not only how things work, but why they work that way, how they became what they are, and what apparently unrelated subjects might teach us about repairing vehicles, leading people, running businesses, and improving the automotive industry.

Some episodes begin with a failed component. Others begin with Metallica, quantum physics, professional wrestling, a historical disaster, a round of golf, or a question that refuses to leave Matt alone.

Eventually, they all enter the same field.