Company Blog

I’m all ears

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,...

by Adam Zack — August 19, 2020

People see things through different lenses.

Dreams have some kind of root in something real that has happened in your life. At least most of them do. I’m not talking dreams of success or romance or achievement – those are more goals than dreams – I’m talking about when you wake up and think that was a weird dream, where the hell did that come from? Yesterday I had blog idea blockage. I’m blaming it on Covid-19, like everything else. So in the early hours of the morning I had this dream. I usually forget my dreams, but I had to get up and make some notes so I’d remember it. In my dream, I was walking through Dorothy Lane Market with Norman Mayne, just checking out the store. I’ve told many people that I think Dorothy Lane is, in my opinion, doing the best job in the supermarket industry in the country. They definitely “Get it”. While walking the store, I ran into Karen McMullen, who is the Human Resources Director for Jensen’s Foods stores in Southern California. I asked her if she had met Norman, and she said, kind of with a dismissive shrug that she had, and that instead of being enamored with what he had accomplished with his stores, was thoroughly unimpressed. We started walking through the store and she c...

by Adam Zack — August 12, 2020

The thought has to end in success.

I heard someone say today that it’s the thought that counts, and that made me think that no, it’s the result that counts more than the thought, right? I can think good thoughts for you to be happy or successful, but if you aren’t and I only contributed good thoughts, then the thought definitely wouldn’t count as much as my action. So, I decided to look into the phrase’s origins. Turns out that it’s a proverb, and not just a phrase. It is attributed to Henry van Dyke, Jr., a professor, ambassador and clergyman around the turn of the 19th century. Henry was a friend of Helen Keller and the officiant at Mark Twain’s funeral. The full, original proverb is “It’s not the gift, it’s the thought that counts.” It’s nice to receive a well-intentioned gift, and instead of looking at the wrong size sweater that you have to return as a chore instead of a gift, it’s a reminder that someone actually cared enough to actually get you a gift. It’s a good reminder. Still, I have taken the lesson to heart and used it as a reminder that it’s not just the thought that matters in today’s world. It’s the result. Well intentioned isn’t enough when it comes to safety, quality and customer service in business. In our grocery store...

by Adam Zack — August 5, 2020

Sincerely thank your customers.

Thanks for the support and wonderful feedback from last week’s blog about my buddy Scott who has liver disease. The feedback and, well just the process of putting his difficult journey in writing helped shake him and all (well most, some are still mysteriously silent) of his friends and family into action. A fundraiser was started to help defray his medical costs and the support has brought this gentle giant to tears and humility. While he has lost over 130 lbs, this is not the way you want to lose weight. No one’s thinking “Hey, liver disease is a great way to shed 40% of my body weight! Look at my before and after photos!” We were talking about the importance of thanking everyone who has been so supportive, and the sincerity of the thank you came up. It’s easy to craft a well written thank you to respond to people – some of them total strangers – who willingly give you their hard earned money (especially in these times) and send the same message to everyone. Scott’s words to me: “I started doing thank you notes and I’m trying to make each word personal and not a generic thank you.” That hit me. Not make each note personal, but each word. It really was a reminder from a past b...