Company Blog

The time it takes to do it right

by Adam Zack — March 8, 2023

Dozens of great ideas happen every week.

I have a maintenance man at my store named Jose Avila. He’s an extremely hard worker, dedicated, trustworthy and will do anything it takes to help the store. He often takes on too many tasks, and I’ll ask when he’s going to get something done and the answer is often manana – tomorrow. It’s turned into a good natured joke – everything will get done tomorrow.

Everyone is just so busy. It seems that especially in the grocery business that constantly something comes up that gets in the way of your To-Do list and what you planned for today gets pushed back to tomorrow.

The dominoes fall and your monthly and weekly plan gets screwed. Procrastination, distraction and disorganization don’t help, but it’s the consistency of the unexpected that really messes with our planning. How many times has someone asked you to do something for them and when you ask when they need it, the answer is “Well, umm, yesterday. But ASAP will have to do it.” It’s impossible to put out your best work when you’re rushing to meet a deadline that has passed. The pressure to produce something that is “just fine” and that doesn’t allow for contemplation, review, revision and polishing often produces ho-hum results. And when the CEO wants to know why the promotion was not the success he (or she) envisioned, what do you tell him? “Well, ummm, you know, the deadlines were tight, and, ummm, Tammy didn’t get us the copy until Tuesday, and, ummm, the server went down so we couldn’t check our email, and, ummm, no one really got behind the employee training and communication.” Happens every day. Planning, communication, what-if scenarios, proofing and staff meetings are what makes promotions and initiatives work. Dozens of great ideas happen every week. Think back to the most recent time you told someone “Great idea!” Was it today? Yesterday? Pick the best ‘great idea’ of the week and let’s make a plan to make it happen next month.