Company Blog

Family Matters

by Adam Zack — May 25, 2016

Business owners often get blinded by the mask of family

“Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts.”-Unknown I started work in the family grocery business when I was 15, the store had a rule that family members couldn’t work in the same department. Members of the family working in the same store was seriously frowned upon. (And fraternization between employees was so frowned upon there was actually a non-fraternization policy). How the heck did I even get hired?Over the years policies and thought have changed, and since 90% of small businesses are family owned, the way that family members – especially second and third generation – are treated and interact with non-family employees is worthy of discussion. On one hand, having family members participate in the operations of the business gives feelings of trust, caring and the personal touch that owners give themselves. After all, if I can’t trust Junior to lock up and turn off the lights, whom can I trust? It’s natural to want to take care of your kids, brothers, sisters, and parents. Most of the time it works out, but business owners often get blinded ...

by Adam Zack — May 17, 2016

You have the ability to make people feel like VIPs

“Come right this way sir, through the VIP entrance.” V.I.P. Veee Eye fricken’ P! Very Important Person, indeed! Are there three letters that can make you feel more special, more appreciated, more, well, awesome? Sure, some people say VIP is no BFD. Some might even say the VIPS are all a bunch of privileged, suck up a-holes. I’m not talking about that kind of VIP. I’m talking about the everyday schmos like you and me. The working types who, through work, a connection, luck or just good karma get to experience some aspect of life in a way that is extraordinary. Like when you are in the food and wine business and you visit Napa and get behind the scenes tours and tastings. Maybe lunch. Maybe even some winery swag?! Or when you get invited to watch an NFL game from one of the suites, with food and beer and TV screens and special parking, and it’s all FREE because you are a good customer of some vendor. It’s like “Wow! This is how the other half lives!” Those special treats always make me feel alive, energized, lucky and appreciative. Always.So where is this going? Sorry to say, I don’t have bac...

by Adam Zack — May 11, 2016

Wow! I’m really part of the company now!

Bob LaBonne, owner of LaBonne’s in Connecticut emailed me after last week’s blog with ideas on how he is constantly striving to improve the employee experience at his stores. Part of what he sent was a chart comparing the top 10 things that employees want from their jobs compared to what managers most want. It is a great topic for another blog and is both eye opening and not surprising (how’s that for a contradicting statement?). The number one thing that is most important to employees is full appreciation for work done – nothing more than recognition and thank you – so easy and costs nothing. The second is a feeling of being “in on things” – keeping them informed.So that got me thinking of a very affordable and effective way to make employees feel important, empowered and an integral part of the team. The Business Card: a typical business card for every key carrier, supervisor and higher up with their name’s printed on it, and an atypical business card for all other employees with a blank space for them to write in their name. These cards should be part of everyone’s uniform. The c...

by Adam Zack — May 4, 2016

People quit their bosses, not their jobs

I was thinking about what lengths we go to try and recruit good employees. It seems that especially in the grocery industry it’s a constant battle to find quality people to work in our delis, meat departments, grocery aisles and checkstands. But instead of concentrating on how to find good employees, let’s change the focus to why you need new employees. Expansions and new store openings excluded, the number one reason we need new workers is because someone quit. Few retailers, especially the big chains choose to actually find out why someone is quitting. Sure there are the usual reasons “I’m moving.” “I have to take care of my sick mother.” “I’m joining the Foreign Legion.” “I’m pregnant.” You know the reasonable reasons. But a large number of people are leaving for another job, and the reason why your company has caused them to even look for another job is what the focus should be. I came across a great Forbes article on why people leave their jobs. 2.5 million people per month (30 million per year if you don’t want to do the math) quit their jobs. That’s much higher than I would have guessed. The quote �...

by Adam Zack — April 27, 2016

Does anyone ever like a know-it-all?

Listening is one of the greatest attributes that anyone can have. Check out this video: Listen to me! But we are notoriously bad listeners. Pretty much all of us. It takes considerable effort to just shut your trap, be present in the conversation and let the other person finish talking without thinking in advance what you are going to say in response. But that’s a topic for another blog. Besides “ya know”, “ummmm” and “anyway…”, the response that is both dismissive and a put-down at the same time is “Yeah, I know.” And it’s such an automatic response that it’s an excruciatingly hard habit to break. Think of it in context: “I built an end display cross merchandising the new organic oatmeal with these cool new bowls we got in and I think they will really sell well.” “Yeah, I know.” Translated: “You told me something I previously knew, so therefore you wasted my time by telling me something I had, (or pretended to have) prior knowledge of.” Now I know that is not what most people mean when they answer someone’s statement with “I know.”, but when you think about it, isn’t th...

by Adam Zack — April 20, 2016

Their fans chant Raaiiiddddders!

The challenge facing grocers (and pretty much every retailer) today is developing, maintaining and nurturing the emotional connection and relationship with our customers. It’s the combination of everything you stand for and how deeply your customer commits to you. In the book “Firms of Endearment” (Rajendra Sisodia, David Wolfe, Jngdish Sheth) the authors make what I think is the perfect analogy, comparing companies that have a strong emotional connection to your favorite sports team.“What we call a humanistic company is run in such a way that its stakeholders – customers, employees, suppliers, business partners, society, and many investors – develop an emotional connection with it, an affectionate regard not unlike the way many people feel about their favorite sports teams.”As much as I can’t stand the Raiders or the Yankees, their fans are some of the most loyal around, not just when they win. Think about the Raiders, who haven’t had a season better than 8-8 since 2004! Their fans chant Raaiiiddddders! They wear the hats and shirts and have the stickers on their cars. Yeah, they’re nut jobs, but you have to appreciate their dedication. The Pit...

by Adam Zack — April 13, 2016

Gossip is everywhere in our culture

Come here, you’re not going to believe this! Last night Tim was supposed to take Yolanda out. I know managers aren’t supposed to date employees, but he really likes her. I heard that just before he was going to pick her up – oh, and he was taking her to this super fancy restaurant – she called him and said she couldn’t go because she had to stay in and wash her cat! I hear Tim is super pissed, but Becky in floral told me that he sent – get this – two dozen roses to her house with a fancy card and a box of Godiva chocolates. I heard that she thinks he’s sweet, but she thinks he walks funny and doesn’t like that mole with the hair sticking out of it on his elbow…. I’ll let you know when I hear more!Could be pretty much any store, or any business for that matter. Gossip gone wild is one of the most unproductive, divisive and harmful activities any company can have. But it’s human nature! Everyone does it! I wasn’t hurting anyone! I didn’t tell anyone! I was only listening! So what can you do about it in your store? It is NOT easy, and it takes a commitment from leadership to take a stand against gossip. �...

by Adam Zack — April 6, 2016

Killer Meat Sauce

We’ve had several “learning about myself” blogs in a row, and this week it’s time to give you an idea on how you can differentiate your company in the marketplace and profit in the process. One great ways to do this is to create your own unique, “homemade items”. But it’s not just creating something awesome, it’s how you market and sell it. I was in the San Francisco Bay Area a couple months ago visiting the family owned, locally driven Bianchini’s Markets. What really caught my eye were glass jars of Chris’ Homemade Meat Sauce.I asked the store owner Kevin Bianchini about it and he said that Chris is his brother and partner. He makes a killer meat sauce, so they decided to put it in a jar and sell it. What was so great about the idea was how they chose to put it in a glass jar (pint and quart). It communicates quality, history, family and uniqueness. If they were conventional thinking, they would have put it in a plastic container like everyone uses in the deli. Much cheaper, the empty containers take up much less space and it’s easier. I’m so glad they didn’t. It’s a winner of an idea that I saw repeated again in Los Angeles at natural foods grocer Erewhon. Only they did it with soups. They had a lar...

by Adam Zack — March 30, 2016

The Zack Curse

All humans have the desire to be right. After all, the opposite of right is wrong, and who wants to be wrong? In some the need to be right is strong. Make that overwhelming. Obsessive. Mandatory. Worth fighting over. My genetics put me into that camp. We have to be right and absolutely loathe being wrong. We will go any lengths to prove that we are right, and make damn sure the other person knew we were right. It’s caused arguments and I’m sure has resulted in hard feelings, even grudges. We even gave it a name: The Zack Curse. We liken it to winning, and the opposite of winning is losing, and there’s no gratification in losing. Until very recently (like two weeks ago), I just went with it. I was right, and that was the way that God made me. Right? Nope.Through The Heart of Leadership I learned: You can shift your perception of the world by giving up your addiction to being right. Separate the facts from interpretation and wipe the smug look of self-satisfaction off your face. I learned that there is a cost to being right, and that cost is the negative feelings and emotional toll it inflicts on others. I may still have the drive to be accurate. To be correct. To want to achieve the truth. But it’s not...

by Adam Zack — March 23, 2016

Multitasking is not a positive trait for a great leader

I always thought multitasking was a positive thing. I’m so good I can read emails, talk on the phone and clip my nails at the same time. I can feed the dog, watch TV and bake cookies all at once. I can drive and text and listen to music while also scratching that itch on my foot. It’s a great thing to be able to do multiple things at once, right? It’s efficiency. It saves time. And it’s never boring, right? About six months ago I was going through emails and talking to DW at the same time. Somehow it came up in the conversation that I was multitasking. Wasn’t I a good employee, being able to do several things at once! He stated that he wasn’t a fan of multitasking. I didn’t understand why, nor was I present enough in the conversation to ask, but it did stick with me.It wasn’t until last week at the Heart of Leadership conference that I finally learned why multitasking is not a positive trait for a great leader. The instructor pointed out that when you are doing multiple things at once, nothing gets 100%. In fact, it’s impossible. I can’t be a good listener if I am doing something else. I can’t effectivel...