Company Blog

Late Is Not Fashionable

by Adam Zack — September 6, 2017

He’s always late

Man I hate being late. I type that, as I am late in writing this week’s blog. DW’s gentle inquiry “How’s the old blog coming?” spurs some action, but it’s still late and, well, late is not cool. Or fashionable. I hate it when others are late. It’s disrespectful. It’s rude. It wastes time. And it shortens my already shortened version of patience. So why do so many people make an unapologetic habit of being late? Every Tuesday I carpool with this dude that is NEVER late. Well, except the time he forgot me and he was so early that by the time I texted him and asked if he was still coming to pick me up, he was halfway to San Diego. I (and most sane people) love the dependability of those persons in our life that are always on time. That person who arrives promptly (or a few minutes early) brings comfort and confidence to a normally chaotic day. Punctuality in business is vital to making deals, because when you’re late you’ve already disrespected someone’s time. And still I know many people who are always late. They know it, laugh it off, and it just gets added to the sum of their personality traits. How many times have you heard “He’s always late, but I respect the hell out of him!”? How about never....

by Adam Zack — August 30, 2017

I swear momma

So I’m at this marketing conference and I am talking to this dude who starts telling me about his cruise to Alaska with his wife and what an awesome time they had. “I went on a cruise to Alaska!” I said and proceeded to tell him about the time I went, how great the food was (and the booze was included!) and how I loved the cities and how beautiful the glaciers were and how I saw whales and bald eagles. Man, it was a great trip. I could totally relate to that trip! Stop there: He didn’t ask me if I had been to Alaska. He didn’t inquire to which towns I liked best. He didn’t even ask if I’d been on any vacation lately. But I could relate, right? Well, by relating I:Stopped listening to think about what my response relation would be.Made the conversation about me instead of him.Diminished his story by trying to trump it with mine.I have been trying to be a better listener for the last year and a half. Really I have, I swear momma. And the lesson that relating is not a good thing really showed me how I still have a very long way to go before I am truly a thoughtful listener and a participant in a conversation that does not bring the focus back to yours truly. I aspire to be a listen...

by Adam Zack — August 23, 2017

Ego is like a pilot light

I was watching the HBO mini-series The Defiant Ones, a documentary about the rise of rap mogul Dr. Dre and rock producer/genius engineer Jimmy Iovine and their ultimate collaboration that resulted in the creation of Beatz Music (think fancy headphones) which they ultimately sold to Apple for $3.2 billion. Yes, billion. The stories of their very humble beginnings through their success with artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Gwen Stefani, Tupac and Eminem was fascinating to me and even gave me real appreciation for the art (yes, I said art) of rap music—a sentence I never dreamed I’d even contemplate. My biggest takeaway of the whole 4 part series was an interview with Dr. Dre. (If you don’t know the name, he was a member of the most influential rap group ever N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton was the movie about them.) Anyway, Dre was speaking of fame and the things it brings, he said,“The ego was a mother*$#@er. Ego is like the little pilot light and fame is the gasoline. And once gasoline gets poured on that ego, you never know if the pilot light is gonna go out or if it’s gonna turn into a mother*$#@in’ bonfire or some $%#& that nobody could control.” It’s analogy that reall...

by Adam Zack — August 16, 2017

Woulda-Shoulda, What-If and Almost

Man my objective in life is to get where I want to go the quickest and easiest way possible. You get to the goal line and say “Man, that was easy! I planned it perfect. The path of least resistance was so simple to navigate.” Yeah, like that ever happens. In fact, when you do achieve an objective with relative ease, the thought is more like “Damn, I was lucky.” The path of least resistance (POLR) goes with the flow, cuts corners and requires the minimum amount of effort. Many solid “C” report cards, 2^nd to-last place teams and also-rans took that path. Woulda-Shoulda, What-If and Almost are famous stops along Route POLR. The natural tendency for anyone is the POLR. Not that it’s always the lazy way to go. Crossing the street, riding the train and tying your shoes all benefit from taking the easy route, but the substantial goals in our lives – winning competitions, making inventions and changing the world never seem to follow the POLR. The real road to success is littered with I Trieds, Maybe Next Times and It Was Too Hards. Achievement takes work, and work, well, is work. How many times have I said to myself (and other who have been around to hear me bitch) “CAN’T ANYT...

by Adam Zack — August 9, 2017

Criticism never feels good

I think we have all had an encounter with the person who says “Don’t take this personally, but…” and goes on to say something that is not good. Could be the style of your hair, their comment on your aroma or a change in relationship – personal (It’s not you, it’s me.) or business (We’ve made some budget cuts and decided to go in another direction.) For me, it’s always personal. Criticism never feels good, no matter how constructive it is. I had this guy I worked with who was a real barb (sorry Barb, I don’t mean you) in the ass. If I said white, he said black. Up was down and smart was stupid. He said “You shouldn’t take it personally, I don’t.” Well, I do. Decisions and work made with thought and planning are inherently yours, and that’s personal. It’s impossible not to take things you are invested in personally. After all, you personally decided on your course of action and made your best effort. Business criticism and change is just as difficult for the company that is invested in the success of their customer. When they win, you feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. When they criticize your work negatively, it’s very difficult not to take it as an affront to your competency. An...

by Adam Zack — August 3, 2017

Examine the words you use and how you deliver them.

Knives, swords and guns are powerful weapons, no doubt. Wars have been fought, won and lost because of the weapons deployed. The bigger knife, bigger gun, bigger bomb usually wins the war. But it’s words and gestures that are the most powerful weapon when it comes to starting, or ending, a fight. An insult can, and has, started a war. Calm words have prevented them. So when it comes to power to influence and change things, start by examining the words you use and how you deliver them. Customers can be convinced to shop at your store simply due to the words you use and how you market them. Spell things wrong, use terrible grammar, be unimaginative and the chances of you persuading someone to look your way are drastically reduced. It follows suit with existing employees and customers – the words you say and how you deliver them can make or break the relationship. Compliments freely and thoughtfully delivered will inspire loyalty and appreciation. “You look great today, Miss Jones”, “Have you lost a little weight Bob?” “You did a fantastic job closing last night, Bill” are all simple things to say that are often not spoken. And the impact they make can help win the war. The grea...

by Adam Zack — July 26, 2017

“Make the most of all you have left”

I know I’m not the only one who has a major problem with the passage of time. I just looked at the calendar and realized that we are nearly SEVEN months into 2017. That’s right. Summer’s winding down, fall’s around the corner, football season is barely a month away, Dodger and Astro fans are planning for the World Series and turkey orders are due. Holy guacamole. L.A. Times columnist Chris Erskine put the value of time in a unique perspective. He likened his life to how many summers he has left. The best time of the year (unless you live in Palm Springs. Or Phoenix) goes by so fast. BBQs, beach, no school, cold beers on warm days. Summer is just the best. And how many do you actually get? Maybe 80 or 90 total in your life. Only about 40 or 50 that you really can savor and enjoy. I figure I have maybe 20 great summers left. When I think of it that way it’s humbling and scary. Don’t have wasted days that you can never get back because of feuds or grudges. Make the most of all you have left, because before you know it the kids are off to college and summers spent together turn into a few days each summer together. Knees start to wear out, hips get broken and then boom, no...

by Adam Zack — July 19, 2017

“take the time to think of your key players “

A very long time ago the key management personnel of my family’s small grocery chain planned a revolt. They schemed and organized, whispered and planned and spread terrible untrue rumors. Then came the ultimatum to my dad: “Sell us two of the stores or we walk! We’re out of here and you will die a miserable death.” So they thought. Mind you this was the general manager, a store manager, the grocery buyer, the accounting manager and the bakery production manager. Gulp. My dad gave me a call and said he needed me to come to work for the company. Being in San Diego, 24 years old, heading into summer and with a steady girlfriend for the first time in my life of course I thought of myself. But just for a minute. Blood is much thicker than seawater. I went to work for him, they all left (except for one – the bakery production manager, thank you baby Jesus) and we went to work figuring out what they all actually did. It was scary and some things were hard, but you know what? Nearly 30 years later the company has grown, prospered and provided solid livings for our family of loyal employees. Those guys thought they were indispensible. They were not. This is where the flip side of the story comes i...

by Adam Zack — July 12, 2017

“What are you crazy?”

The majority of American business leaders in the past have spoken one language – English. The ability to be bi-lingual, or better yet multi-lingual, was held by very few company leaders. If they needed to speak another language they could bring in a translator, right? But in today’s business climate the need to be multi-lingual is more important than ever. An effective leader has to communicate concisely with everyone in the organization – from the front line to the CFO. But damn, how the hell am I going to learn another language? I work 60 hours a week and don’t have time to take classes, not even the Rosetta Stone courses. And that’s just to learn one more language! Learning a new language may seem like an impossible task with your packed schedule, but the reality is, you don’t need to enroll in a formal class or dedicate hours every day to be able to communicate effectively in another language. With the right resources, you can integrate language learning into your daily routine. Whether it’s listening to language podcasts during your commute or using apps that offer bite-sized lessons during your lunch break, small consistent efforts can yield significant progress over time. Platforms like

by Adam Zack — July 5, 2017

Where the owner greets me…

I just spent the past several hours with the owner of a couple stores in Northern California. His stores focus on super fresh foods, community, locally sourced produce, employees and family. The stores are very well run and would be my neighborhood store if I lived in the area. One of those places where the owner greets me “Hey Big A, how’s it hanging? Too bad your Chargers sucked it again this week. Maybe they will have better luck in L.A.!” Whereby I could say “F-you pal! You’re Niners aren’t much better.” We could have a laugh and talk about what local farmer had brought in to the produce department today. So why does this particular grocer even need any help from us at DW Green? Because he has stories, LOTS of stories to tell that will differentiate him from the competition. Stories of how he invested in a farm that grows for his store and how he helped plant the crop and brought it to his stores. How a chicken farmer brought him his first air chilled, organic chicken and after he roasted it took all the other chicken out of his store. How he infuses his signature tri-tip roast with a blackened seasoning that is made in such small batches by a little company that sometimes they run out and a new b...