Justin Salisbury “stumbled” into the car wash world with a mix of business education and trade school skills, then discovered it was the perfect place to put both to work. Fourteen years ago, he joined Breeze Thru Car Wash when it had just two locations, earned his way into ownership after three years, and leaned hard into what he loves most: building operational systems that help people grow. Today, he’s President and COO, leading a succession plan with a new ownership group, and scaling what he calls a “people development machine” across 16 locations in Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming.

Justin’s story is a reminder that most leadership journeys are less “master plan” and more “well, that escalated.” He and Julie dig into why fear of failure keeps leaders stuck, and how Breeze Thru intentionally trains people to handle tough conversations, build trust, and create real alignment that survives growth spurts.

Episode Takeaways

• People are the business. Systems and structure matter, but they exist to help humans succeed, not to look pretty in a binder.
• Failure is required, not tolerated. At Breeze Thru Car Wash, empowerment means “you get the opportunity to fail,” then learn fast and respond well.
• Alignment takes time, then takes more time. Defining mission, vision, and values took months, deploying them took years, and scaling requires revisiting them.
• Get curious, not furious. Curiosity changes the chemistry of leadership and turns emotional reactions into productive questions.
• Hard conversations are a skill gap, not a character flaw. Confidence grows when leaders practice crucial conversations, survive, and realize they can do it again.

Justin’s big alignment call is simple and surprisingly rare: help people understand how they matter. When leaders commit to that, trust deepens, growth accelerates, and even a car wash becomes a place where people leave stronger than they arrived (and yes, with a cleaner car).

Connect with Justin Salisbury on LinkedIn here or check out a Breeze Thru Car Wash location near you today.
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Learn more about Julie and Karrikins Group:

• Connect with Julie on LinkedIn
• Follow Karrikins Group on LinkedIn
• Check out Julie's book, 'Make HOW Matter: Key Conversations for Leaders to Build Alignment and Accelerate Growth'
• Learn more about how Karrikins Group helps enterprise teams drive better results