Company Blog

Get to the point, man

by Adam Zack — February 15, 2023

The Super Bowl reminded me that ads can turn into diarrhea of the mouth – you just want them to shut up for a minute.

We have all read something that as we are reading we think, “How long is this guy going to go on? Get to the point already.” And then we skip ahead to the end, or sometimes just stop reading altogether out of boredom or informational overload. So many things – movies, books, blogs – go on for much longer than they need to because the author or director is satisfying an ego need by thinking of himself instead of his audience. It’s the same with advertising and promotions. The key is to identify the story and tell it succinctly before your reader skips to the end – or doesn’t start at all – because it just looks like too many words. The Super Bowl reminded me that ads can turn into diarrhea of the mouth – you just want them to shut up for a minute. Still reading or have you skipped to the end? What am I trying to convey here? Less is more, especially when it comes to telling the story of your store and your signature products. Get to the point, make it interesting, then shut up.

Read More – Illusion

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by Adam Zack — February 8, 2023

“I’ve decided that you should not have to have done something epic to be remembered for centuries.”—Adam Zack

I was watching the film The Banshees of Inishirin on Sunday. It’s got considerable Oscar buzz about the acting and the film, and I really like the lead actors. So, when one friend (Colm) decides he wants nothing more to do with the other friend (Padraig), he can’t figure out why he’s been dumped as a friend, even though they live on this very small island off the coast of mainland Ireland. They can’t help but run into each other at the town’s only pub, as they have been going there every day for years at 2:00. Padraig argues “Why don’t you like me anymore? I’m nice!” Colm argues that no one in history is known for being nice. Everyone knows Mozart for music. Hitler will always be remembered as a mass murdering lunatic. Ben Franklin for discovering electricity. And so on. But once a person who is nice passes, all that remembers him are his family and friends, and when they are gone his niceness is forgotten forever. It struck me as very sad, as niceness is a quality that makes other people’s lives better. You sleep better when you’re nice. You are appreciated more and loved more and hated far...

by Adam Zack — February 1, 2023

In servant leadership, employees are empowered.

Often when I call DW he answers the phone “Humble Servant speaking”. I thought it was kind of funny, maybe a little self-deprecating, and beneath what he brings as a leader. He has a wealth of wisdom, knowledge and experience and I thought of him more as the opposite of a Humble Servant. (And no, I am not brown-nosing to get a raise.) It was only last week when I was having my nightly debriefing with my wife about how our day was that she told me about how one of the founders of the financial firm she works for talked about the role of the leader is really that of a servant. It clicked with me, and I did a little more research into what the style of being a servant as a leader really means.

The term “servant leader” was first coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970 in the essay “The Servant as Leader.” Basically, the servant leadership style was based on the idea that leaders prioritize serving the greater good. Leaders with this style serve their team and organization first. They don’t prioritize their own goals. They are unselfish and caring.

Servant leadership seeks to achieve a vision by providing s...

by Adam Zack — January 25, 2023

“It’s a big thing that shows character.”

Most of our lives are shaped and defined by the little things we do and say. The everyday unacknowledged kindnesses, the way we treat others, doing the right thing when it’s not the easy thing. People of high character and integrity do millions of the little things that add up over a lifetime and define them as an exceptional human being, just as the a-holes of the world are ignorant to those same things. But what about the big things? We all have major, often life-changing events that depending on how we react to them can define us even more as a truly great man or woman. Chesley Sullenberger would have been an accomplished and mostly anonymous pilot if he hadn’t responded the way he did to land a jet in the Hudson River. Rosa Parks would have been mostly unknown if she hadn’t refused to give up her seat on the bus. John Basilone would have been another brave soldier if he hadn’t shown the courage and character he showed on Guadalcanal during World War II. These are all extreme examples for us regular folk, but how we react to big events can make us a hero or despised. If you ever had to close a business or just a location, how you handled it either defined you as making a ...

by Adam Zack — January 18, 2023

“You may have the best butcher in town but one disappointment raises an eyebrow.”

It’s all about instant gratification, right? To quote the Ramones “We want the world, and we want it now.” Businesses and employees alike are under the constant pressure to please now. Right now. Much more frequently what you did last year, last month, last week and even yesterday is forgotten. As a business, we have invested thousands of hours and many years working on the little things that we hope will build a foundation of loyalty with our customers. But with the barrage of alluring messages from competitors, our years of effort depreciate pretty fast. Without constant reinforcement, reminders and exceptional service our customers’ memory becomes fuzzy and fades to black quicker than ever. You may have the best butcher in town but one disappointment raises an eyebrow. The second casts serious doubts and anything after that you have lost that customer no matter how long you have served the family. Employees seem to have an even shorter leash. For years they have given 100%, sparked innovation and ideas, helped with the evolution of your store and made substantial contributions to sales and profits. But due to the increasing pressure on financia...

by Adam Zack — January 11, 2023

“Friends help pick you up when you are down.”

Just like in your personal life, your business life success comes from successful friendships and relationships. There are a handful of people in all our lives that would do anything for us and conversely we would do anything for. The no questions asked kind of friends. They are not quid pro quo relationships. They are unequivocally based on trust and care. It’s been said that friends should never start a business together. That doing so is the formula for ending the friendship or failing the business. And while it’s true that that has happened in the past, and I have seen it first hand, some very successful businesses were started by friends. Apple. Google. Microsoft. Friendships in your business – with your vendors, your customers and your employees are key to independent grocery success. They help pick you up when you’re down. They defend you from your detractors. They go the extra mile all the time. They consider you a friend and aren’t embarrassed to ask for favors or admit when they’ve made a mistake. They make you profitable and in turn you provide them livelihood and nourishment. I’m happy every day to be surrounded by friends at work. Vendors who I talk punk ...

by Adam Zack — January 4, 2023

Why do I work for you?

I was thinking the other day about the workforce in the world. How we all work for someone (even if it’s yourself) and the thought of “This person works for me.” or “I work for this person.” entered my brain. Even though the words are exactly the same – I work for you – I realized that it can have two totally different meanings when you think about it. Most of the people working in the world today fall into the first category, one I think of as “a job”. I work for you. I am your employee. I perform the functions of my job description and as a result I get a paycheck and earn a living. The second, and I feel rarer meaning, is I work for you. I have your best interests in mind all the time. I want what’s best for you and our business because you treat me like I am of great value to you. You care about me. You care about my family. You appreciate me and communicate that every day. Yes, I earn a paycheck, but am not simply your employee. I am a vital part of your company’s success. And how do I know that? Why do I work for you? Because you show me why every day that I see you, and I take pride in taking care of your company when you’re not there. I care about ...

by Adam Zack — December 28, 2022

Trying is one step from failing.

Did you get everything that you vowed to do in 2022 done? I’m not one for resolutions, but am one for making a goal and to-do lists and love to be able to look at the list and cross off items as I get them done. I made at least 100 lists in 2022. Did I get them all crossed off? Hell no. Sometimes I’d look at it for days, before tossing it and starting a new list. 2022 had a way of throwing unexpected surprises at us, or at least me, (who am I to speak for you?) that made items on my current list less of a priority. A new list was then created and old items either were scrapped altogether or demoted down the list. I’m starting 2023 with a list of main goals and pinning it up. I’ll share it with anyone it affects directly and other than that, keep it to myself. I don’t resolve to do it, I’ll just do it. Like Yoda said, “Do or do not. There is no try.” I can try and be a better person, but either I am going to be a better person, or I’m not. Trying is one step from failing, and if it’s only something I am only going try and do, it shouldn’t be on my list. I’m looking at my list from yesterday right now, and I’ll get it done today. Then I’ll think of what is most i...

by Adam Zack — December 21, 2022

You get what you need…

You can’t always get what you want

But if you try sometime you find

You get what you need

– Mick Jagger/Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones

Christmas time is loaded with lists. What gifts to get who. Who’s coming for dinner? What do you need to shop for? What’s on the menu? Who to send cards to. Who not to send cards to. Who’s naughty. Who’s nice? As a kid we always made lists of what we wanted Santa (and a bit later, say 8 years old or so) for our parents to get us for Christmas. We started by looking at the Sears catalog in September. Marking pages, reading it over and over. Adding and subtracting to the list as fall marched towards Christmas. Not putting anything on the list that’s too far out of reach, but still with hopeful, lofty goals.

Grandparents wanted to know what was on the list. And since I had three sets of grandparents, the list got fulfilled a bit more. It’s a very exciting time of year for list makers. Because I have ...

by Adam Zack — December 14, 2022

People learn when you show them, teach them, talk to them.

This morning I was at a breakfast and the guest speaker was Captain Brien Dixon, Commanding Office of Naval Base Point Loma (San Diego). It’s a huge responsibility, and he oversees Naval stations throughout the Western United States. (Yes, there are Naval bases in states where there is no ocean). He talked about plans and projects that look not just at the next decade, but at the next 100 years! He is incredibly smart, practical and inspires patriotism. He’s commanded four different submarines all over the world, has a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a great family man. Besides all the interesting projects our country is working on (Drone ships that look and appear to be battleships, but are really catamarans), threats to our country (China), and preservation and restoration of beaches from erosion, there was one thing that really stood out to me. He talked about the mistakes others have made, and how we are supposed to learn from them, but in truth that really doesn’t happen. Maybe the smartest people on the planet, of which I am not one of, learn from and study the mistakes of others, but the vast majority of us only learn from our own ...