Bethesda native Paul Sheehy, 60, is co-owner with his brother and sister of the ubiquitous 27-dealership Sheehy Auto Stores (he runs the used car division). He also co-owns Old Glory DC, the local Major League Rugby franchise that plays its home games at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds. Sheehy still lives in Bethesda with his wife, Nicky; their three sons and daughter have recently flown the nest. We asked Paul, businessman and player in the 1991 Rugby World Cup, about who said the right things at the right time that changed his professional and sporting life. Not surprisingly, he cited the wisdom of two rugby coaches—and the legendary football coach Vince Lombardi.
I was playing for a rugby team, and the coach, Clarence Culpepper, sent the players a letter saying what he expected from us: It was “supererogation.” I didn’t know what that meant, so I looked it up. It means simply “to do more.” And that was very similar to my dad [Vincent Sheehy III], who started [Sheehy Auto Stores], and how he always looked at things: Hard work is the foundation of what you have to do in our business. So, whether it was rugby or starting a car dealership, I just simply had to put in the extra work. And I thought that was hugely important.
I’m reading When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi, and there’s a quote of his in the same vein, which I love: “Leaders are made, not born.” They’re made by hard effort, which is the price all of us must pay to achieve any worthwhile goal.
I also think about “that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” because at one time I had to run one of our tougher dealerships. It was hard for 10 years, and I’d say I came out of that far better than if I’d had an easier opportunity. …It really comes down to hard work and putting in the hours and leading your team.
Another lesson came from rugby. In 1993, I was captain of the Washington rugby club and we were playing for the Rugby 7s national title. USA Rugby disqualified us and the (Bethesda-based) Maryland Exiles because of a paperwork error. We had the best teams that year, so I’m livid. We drove to the national game and protested in the middle of the field. When we finished the protest, the coach of the USA national team, Jack Clark, told me, “When decisions are being made by people whose boots haven’t been on the ground in a while, we’re in deep trouble.”
I’ve taken that to apply to my own business. I always talk to our people who are actually meeting our customers and ask them, “What are you really seeing? How are (corporate) decisions impacting you?” You go to the source. The decisions are being made by me and my brother, but I always talk to our people who are actually doing the hard work every day up front, getting their feedback and their input. That’s how we run our company. I’ve told Jack many times that was probably the best advice I’ve ever gotten.
This story appears in the March/April issue of Bethesda Magazine.