Company Blog

Mentor

by Adam Zack — March 30, 2022

The chance to deeply, permanently impact someone’s life is the rare reward that only happens occasionally.

“A good mentor hopes you will move on. A great mentor knows you will.” – Leslie Higgins “Ted Lasso”A lot of people, in fact most, love that show Ted Lasso. Being of limited patience and deeply rooted in “Oh, come on, be serious, that’d never happen” vision, I am not one of them. I only gave it a one episode audition, so I’m clearly not a good judge. I do get regular updates from my wife on how sweet the show is, how optimistic it is, and how it really inspires with its combination of innocence, hope and perseverance. Mentoring is a privilege and an extraordinary responsibility. The chance to deeply, permanently impact someone’s life is the rare reward that only happens occasionally. Some people never get the opportunity to mentor anyone. Many people never get mentored. It’s an extremely unselfish undertaking that requires an abundance of time and patience. More than that, it takes a deep, authentic sense of caring about the success and g...

by Adam Zack — March 23, 2022

Authentic speaks of honesty, reliability, transparency and trustworthiness.

I’ve been thinking a lot about authenticity lately. I don’t know why, but in personal encounters I find myself thinking about not only my authenticity, but more closely about the person I am conversing with. Am I getting the truth about who this person really is and what their values are, or am I getting some kind of glossed over People magazine version of them telling me what they think I want to hear. Authentic speaks of honesty, reliability, transparency and trustworthiness. Authentic people display their true values in their actions and words. It’s the real thing and is verified by what we do everyday. But there are some people that are authentic a-holes. Their true character is one of deceit, selfishness and dishonesty. Keeping authenticity at the top of your mind will automatically direct you to relationships that share your values. Our relationships with the businesses we deal with share a similar authentic relationship. Once a store promises to deliver something you want, then fails repeatedly to deliver, you start to see that their authenticity is not what was initially represented. It’s like People Magazine or Instagram and ...

by Adam Zack — March 16, 2022

Is your advertising distinctive or does it look and sound like any other vanilla market that’s out there?

1-877-CARS-FOR-KIDS, 1-877-CARS-FOR-KIDS. K-A-R-S CARS FOR KIDS, DONATE YOUR CAR TODAY…Is there a more irritating and abrasive jingle on the radio. It gets into your head, and for me at least, activates my reflex to immediately change the radio station. I remember being in another city across the country in a rental car and on came the jingle.. 1-877-CARS-4… Aaagh! It’s not just in Southern California! I don’t know anyone who likes it or has donated their car because of it, but I sure do know a lot of people who can remember the number because of that stupid radio ad. Various versions of the ad have been on for nearly 20 years. As much as it makes most of us want to punch the radio, they must be effective. Radio airtime is not cheap, and it’s got to be paid by these donated cars. So who donates their car? And how does that come up? I imagine something like “Grandpa died and his piece of crap old car is in the garage and won’t start. How do we get rid of it? Who should we call? [Thought bubble pops up] 1-877-kars….” So the point is, is your marketin...

by Adam Zack — March 8, 2022

“Agh! I’m human Wagyu!!”

I was watching The Simpsons last night and Homer said one of the funniest lines I’ve ever heard in a while as he was being chased in the forest by a wolverine. “Agh! I’m human Wagyu!!” referring to the ultimate Japanese steak, which is so richly marbled with fat. But that has absolutely nothing to do with this week’s blog, I just thought of it when I was trying to remember what I was watching when I heard the line “You only get to start from where you are.” It was so impactful I made note of it right away. Throughout the pandemic, how many times have you heard the phrase “When things get back to normal.” Projects and initiatives have been delayed or cancelled. Action has halted. Progress has stalled. I thought of it in the bigger, longer picture of waiting to take action because “the time is not quite right”, or “I’m not ready yet”, or “When I’m in a better place.” Wait for sometime in the future, and you’ll still be starting from where you are. You don’t get to start from a better position, place, or time. You only get to start from where you are, so get going.

It is what it is

by Adam Zack — March 2, 2022

“You just lost a customer due to consistent mediocrity.”

Several years back I worked with a guy who frequently said “It is what it is.” It always kind of bugged me the way he said it, as it implied “Those idiots running the company are going to do what they want, and there’s nothing I can do about it, so I am resigned to just passively make generalized, broad comments about my inability to affect any type of positive change.” And since I was one of those idiots running the company, I took some offense to it. It’s a pretty stupid comment anyway. Of course it is what it is. That’s the definition of it. It IS what IT is. It’s NOT what IT is not.” Duh. It made me think of a much more meaningful, actionable and thoughtful saying: “If we keep on doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep on getting what we’re getting.” Yes there is the need for consistency in most of our procedures, services and operations. Consistency in producing uniform quality. Consistency on operations that positively differentiate you from competition. Consistency of marketing and conveying your brand message. But consistency of mediocre quality and so-so operations and products results in consistent mediocrity. And y...

by Adam Zack — February 23, 2022

It’s harder than ever to attract and retain quality employees.

The surge in grocery buying as we have slogged through the pandemic for the last two years has helped the grocery industry financially. We have paid for it with stress, added expense and higher labor costs. Nonetheless, many stores that were marginally profitable, or even losers who were on the cusp of closing, have been able to maintain good profitability and stay in business. It was predicted in 2018 that 30% of independent, conventional grocery stores would close within 5-10 years. 30%!!! So what are the stores doing with their new abundant cash? Some owners are keeping it for themselves, justifying that they have lost money or been barely profitable for the last several years. Some with a longer vision see the opportunity to retain the new customers by remodeling and updating their tired stores with new offerings and fixtures. Some paid off debt. The smartest ones see the new profits as an opportunity to invest, and the really smart ones are investing it in their employees. New bonus program incentives, and what I think is more important, education and training. It’s harder than ever to attract and retain quality employees, but when they see that ...

by Adam Zack — February 16, 2022

“Those wines are terrible!” whines the wine clerk snob.

I was talking to this guy who is a grocery manager today and I told him that I found a distributor who would supply him with these tortilla chips that I thought would really sell. He said “But I thought you didn’t like those chips. They changed the type of tortilla they use for them.” I said “Hey guy, it’s true that I don’t like them.” (and I really used to until they changed recipes), “But it’s not about what I like, it’s what the customer wants.” Sounds pretty damn wise and insightful, doesn’t it? Nothing to make you feel old like being wise. Anyway, it struck me that so many of our business decisions are based on what we like, and not what might best suit the needs of the customer. Wine guys are notorious for it. “I don’t like buttery chardonnays.” So no displays are built around buttery Chardonnays, even though it’s the most popular style, and most consumers are not into the “no-oak, minerally” chardonnays. They want something that is like the profile of their Kendall Jackson or Rombauer. It’s good business. But “Those wines are terrible!” whines the wine clerk snob. “I want to educate them on something better!...

by Adam Zack — February 9, 2022

True regret is a negative emotion.

“I hate regrets more than apologies”― Fat Mike, NOFX I was standing at the airport last night waiting for my wife to come out of the bathroom and was looking at the books at the airport store – you know the one that sells magazines, books, candy, snacks, etc. – and on display was a book that caught my attention called The Power of Regret by Daniel Pink. My first thought was how much a guy with the last name Pink got teased in school. My second thought was that my philosophy has always been the opposite of thinking of regret as a power. To me, regret was always “shoulda, coulda, woulda”. It spoke of action (or inaction). It put the focus on the past, which was something you can never change. Dwelling in the past distracts you from the present, and the future. Yeah, it was something you could learn from and not make the same mistakes again, but true regret is a negative emotion. It’s like saying “I wish I would have bought land out here back in 1990 because it’s worth a fortune today” or “I wish I ...

by Adam Zack — February 2, 2022

As leaders, we need to embrace failure like we do success.

New items, campaigns, programs and initiatives are the keys to growth in our grocery business. To be successful they need great planning, thorough communication, coordinated execution and the patience for it to get established and grow some roots. It’s not easy and it’s not inexpensive. Too often a great product is just put on the shelf or in the case with little or no signage, story telling or promotion. No one is surprised when 30 days later very few have sold, or it goes out of code and like that, it’s buh-bye, never to be seen again. If only someone had loved and nurtured it, it could have been rookie of the year, or at least been an alternate on the all-star team. But that’s not what this is about. Let’s assume that we do all the right things. We like the product, promote it, tell it’s story and to our surprise it still just sits there. It doesn’t resonate with the customer and we start feeling bad for it. It’s a failure. The shame. As leaders, we need to embrace failure like we do success. Well over 50% of the new items and programs we try won’t be around next year. And that’s OK, because failure, when executed well, is the result of...

by Adam Zack — January 26, 2022

Good weird isn’t creepy or gross.

Weird: of strange or extraordinary character: ODD, FANTASTICI love weird. Weird is unique, interesting, funny, quirky, different. I have two daughters that have pretty much called me weird from the time they could talk. I think it was in the top 10 first words. I’m sure that when I was feeding Holly as an infant, and gave the dog a taste of her baby food, then back to her, she was thinking “This is weird. I share food with the dog?” Being a weirdo is a badge of pride to me. I don’t want to be the boring old dad that just acts like every other dad. I don’t want to be the brother, son or husband that is predictable, with no spikes on the radar. Weird is fun, and I search out products (like our new Bacon Flavor Lip Balm, and Mac & Cheese flavored Candy Canes) that will leave an impression on people. It’s a great opportunity for independent retailers to do something that will get people talkin...