Company Blog

The Dentist

by Adam Zack — October 28, 2020

Remodels are both painful and expensive

Man, I hate going to the dentist. I bet about 80% feel the same. It’s like a tortuous combination of waterboarding, construction tools and pure discomfort. The minutes seem to take five times as long as a normal minute and every time you feel the end is near, the dentist says “almost done. This will take three more minutes.” Yet I go to the dentist cleaning every six months for cleaning because 30 minutes of torture by choice as maintenance is much better than hours of heavy construction due to lack of maintenance. It’s like changing my car’s oil. Do it regularly, or I’m going to pay later. Not to mention dirty teeth and bad breath are just gross. Sometimes routine maintenance results in the discovery of needed repairs. Like a cracked tooth that needs a crown or fillings that must be replaced. So how does this boring tale of dentistry relate at all to our grocery business? I knew you’d ask that. I liken it to how we take care of our stores. We have to maintain them so that they look and smell great every day, and over time, they need major repairs and remodels. And those remodels are both painful and expensive. Like oral surgery, the whole team has to be in on the plan to achieve success. ...

by Adam Zack — October 21, 2020

“You gotta love it when a plan comes together!”

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren BuffettI was talking to a very good friend a couple months ago about a project that we had done that resulted in positive sales, employee involvement and customer satisfaction. It was something I was proud of and told her enthusiastically “You gotta love it when a plan comes together!” She said, “Yeah, but first you have to have a plan.” It’s an obvious answer that is easily overlooked. Today I was on the phone with another friend and fellow grocer. We were talking about how 2020 has derailed all of our usual promotional planning, and how much satisfaction we would get when a planned promotion was completed and we could sit back and analyze the results, making notes about future plans and what we might do to change things. Although the pandemic of 2020 has altered most of our plans – both personal and in business – it will not go on forever. Now is the time to start listing and organizing your future plans. You don’t even have to put a date on them, they can just be labeled and prioritized “post pandemic promotions and goals”. Your employees and customers can’t wait to have something to ...

by Adam Zack — October 14, 2020

Don’t take the easy way, take the impactful way.

“You live as long as the last person that remembers you.” -Lakota Indian sayingAs I’ve traveled along the journey with my best friend of 52 years who has had to navigate liver failure and the extreme toll it’s taken on his body, it has reminded me that we all have an expiration date and will one day be looking down the barrel of our own mortality. It always seems like it’s so far away. It seems like it only happens to other people. I feel mentally like I did at 25. So Scott’s journey has in a way been an education and reminder for me to make choices and act in ways that result in me leaving a mark that will be remembered once I’m gone. There are plenty of people who die every day that will be forgotten tomorrow because they didn’t leave a lasting impression on anyone. Whether it’s the narcissist, the loner or just one of the A-holes in the world, once they are gone, well, they are gone. My friend Scott is one of the guys who has left a mark. In fact, lots of marks. And I’m not just talking skidmarks in his shorts that happened so many times when we were kids. He’s loved and admired and is part of so many people’s memories an...

by Adam Zack — October 7, 2020

“Wow, I just thought he was an arrogant prick!”

A lot of companies have what they call The Open Door Policy. It’s where the boss tells his team that his door is always open if they want to talk. It encourages communication, closes the gap of the “them vs. us” view of management and humanizes the boss a little. It brings management and workers closer to the same perceived level, even though the responsibilities and work structure remain unchanged. How great is it for an employee to feel comfortable enough to knock lightly on the bosses office door and ask for a moment of their time. Although many times it may result in something that is not important at all to the boss, it is always important to the employee. Employees always talk amongst themselves, and when one tells others that they went to the boss and he genuinely listened to me, the positive results spread quickly. “Wow, I just thought he was an arrogant prick!” the other employee might say, changing their whole opinion of the boss. If you do preach the Open Door Policy, do you actually practice it? Body language, the habit of always appearing too busy, being in a rush and closing your office door as soon as you get in there while you immerse yourself in computer work defeats the hard work you’...

by Adam Zack — September 29, 2020

The truly smart leader asks for help all the time.

Some of the smartest guys I’ve ever met are the dumbest. I know that like an oxymoron. Or just a statement from a moron. I’ve known people who can solve complex mathematical problems that stagger my mind but couldn’t microwave a potato for dinner to save their lives. I’ve known brilliant lawyers with knowledge of the law that they can recite at will. These same people make terrible life and business choices that leave them marginally successful at best. I’ve seen computer programmers that can build a network that is amazingly efficient, but when asked to apply it to our industry just flail wildly, leaving everyone to wonder if they have any intelligence at all. I am convinced that the smartest leaders are indeed not the smartest people. The smartest leaders surround themselves with the smartest people. Leaders get the credit for the work of the smart people that he surrounds himself with. But hey! That’s unfair! The smart ones make things happen, right? And he gets all the credit. Unfair! I think it’s just the opposite. Smart leadership takes wisdom, and wisdom is making the right choices, learning from mistakes and having the instincts to achieve your goals for success. Smart l...

by Adam Zack — September 23, 2020

Especially in times of economic distress, your business faith will be tested.

It’s never wrong to do the right thing. Never. You treat people right, with respect, with a caring spirit and good things come your way. My simple definition of karma: What goes around, comes around. I’m not talking that you’ll win the lottery. Or that you’ll always be happy. Or that your life will be problem free. No, faith in doing the right thing means that you don’t have to worry about lies being uncovered. It means that your regrets will be fewer. It means you’ll have a clean conscience. It means that the gossipers have nothing on you. It means that you smile more. Really.Faith in business dealings is incredibly important. It’s not just about maximizing profits, reducing costs and beating the competition. Faith in business is trusting that your clients, vendors and customers share a common belief that when you all do the right thing, success will follow. It results in long term relationships that evolve into truly caring. And when you care, work becomes less of a job and more of a passion.Especially in times of economic distress, your business faith will be tested. Pessimism can yank you by the hair and try to snap your head back. You will question and second guess...

by Adam Zack — September 16, 2020

Customers true thoughts and suggestions make many retailers very uncomfortable and defensive.

Last week my wife finally splurged on herself and bought a nice pair of sunglasses. Maui Jim brand (thanks to our friend Mark who gave her a 50% off gift card) that have incredible lenses, clarity and craftsmanship. Really a work of art that your eyes will thank you for forever. So she shows me a choice of two different pairs she was considering, and wanted to know which one I liked best. I told her, she agreed, and that was the pair she ordered. They came a few days later. She tried them on and asked me what I thought. I looked, and told her they looked fine. She prodded further, asking me what I really thought, and since I was the one who had to look at her mug when she’s wearing them, she asked for my honest opinion. I said as delicately as I could (which for me is not very delicate) that the frames were a little thick. As I looked at her, it dawned on me whose glasses they looked like. I told her, they look like Al Franken’s glasses. And they did! Not that she looks like Al Franken, just the glasses did. (I know, what a dick I am!) She did ask my opinion, and she did ask me to be honest. Still, I think maybe I should...

by Adam Zack — September 9, 2020

In the back of my mind I knew it was too good to be true

Do you believe in Karma? I know I’ve touched on this subject before, but especially “during these unprecedented times”, it seems like everything we do has a consequence. As a young man, I didn’t really care or think about Karma. I did what I wanted, tried to be a good person and lived life like most 20-somethings. So, one day, not long after I got my first job out of college, I went down to the car stereo store (there were lots of those back then) and was shopping for a new stereo with a CD player for my 1986 Volkswagen Jetta. It was a sweet ride, and the first almost-new car I ever had purchased. As I’m shopping for the stereo, a guy comes up and asks me if I want to buy a stereo and speakers for something like 80 bucks. All I had to do was follow him out to his car to check it out. So, I did. And the stereo was cool, and a heck of a deal. In the back of my mind I knew it was too good to be true and probably stolen, but what the hell. I bought it, installed it and loved the sound. Didn’t give it much of a thought after that. I probably bragged about the “great deal” I had got. Such a dope. About a month later, I went out to my car in the morning. Shattered glass was on the ground and my stolen stereo ...

by Adam Zack — September 2, 2020

Nothing erases the past.

A guy walks in to see a therapist. “Let’s talk about your childhood.” says the therapist. “Do I have to relive that again???” thinks the patient. Sound like the start to a promising joke, right? I have a best friend who is a psychologist. A great one. I also have friends that regularly seek therapy as a way to help navigate life and attain a happy, peaceful stability. One thing that seems to be a norm in psychology is the need for the psychologist to dig deep into the patient’s past, reliving and trying to ascertain just what prompted them to seek therapy in the first place. It always seemed to make sense to me. But yesterday, my friend who has sought therapy regularly for several years was explaining how much he loved his new therapist. She’s easy to talk to, has the ability to relate and laugh with him, and most importantly is working with him to focus on the future, helping lead him to a happier, more confident and comfortable life.You can revisit the past – mistakes, happiness, regrets and more, but you can never change it. You can only change the direction of your life trajectory by looking forward. My wife shared a lesson with me last week: “Nothing erases the past. There is repen...

by Adam Zack — August 26, 2020

Pack your bags and hit the road.

On behalf of the independent grocers all over the world, I’d like to invite you to just go. Pack your bags and hit the road. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out. We’ve met your novel challenge by being innovative, improving safety and sanitation, procuring toilet paper from previously unused sources and made all kinds of adjustments to cater to you, Mr. Contagious. You have really brought out the best in us, but we were a pretty great group before, so you don’t get credit. So now, many months into dealing with your crap, we’ve had enough. More importantly, our customers have had enough. The summer has been a bust with you around, and the thought of you overstaying your welcome into the holidays is depressing. You’re a real buzz-kill. You’re probably really proud of yourself – contributing to a political shit-show, infecting millions of people and killing hundreds of thousands more – but crashing our party and overstaying your welcome is going to end soon. We’ll be better when you’re gone – we always rise to challenges – but it will not be because of you, it will be in spite of you.So in closing, please accept our invitation to leave before we call security to throw your ass out.Sincerely,...