Company Blog

The Word Habit

by Adam Zack — March 15, 2023

Actually, I ….

Words matter. I used to know a guy who said “Actually” after almost everything I told him. Actually, I still do know him but I hardly see him. I’d tell him about a new food that I thought was really good and he’d say “It was really good, actually.” I’d tell him about a movie or TV show, and he’d say “Actually, I really liked it.” As if he expected my recommendation to be wrong and surprisingly, it was right. I knew another guy who every time I told him something good about anything, he’d reply with “Yeah, I know…” I’d mention a sports fact or something, and I’d get “Yeah, I know…” I think he must know everything. “Honestly” is another response that gets to be a habit. Does anyone think if you don’t start with the word “honestly” you’re lying the rest of the time. I know that these are ticky tacky little peeves, but I do think that every word you say matters in some way. A good listener also hears themself and when we get in the conversation habit, some of those words lose meaning.

Read More – Mastery

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by Adam Zack — March 8, 2023

Dozens of great ideas happen every week.

I have a maintenance man at my store named Jose Avila. He’s an extremely hard worker, dedicated, trustworthy and will do anything it takes to help the store. He often takes on too many tasks, and I’ll ask when he’s going to get something done and the answer is often manana – tomorrow. It’s turned into a good natured joke – everything will get done tomorrow.Everyone is just so busy. It seems that especially in the grocery business that constantly something comes up that gets in the way of your To-Do list and what you planned for today gets pushed back to tomorrow.The dominoes fall and your monthly and weekly plan gets screwed. Procrastination, distraction and disorganization don’t help, but it’s the consistency of the unexpected that really messes with our planning. How many times has someone asked you to do something for them and when you ask when they need it, the answer is “Well, umm, yesterday. But ASAP will have to do it.” It’s impossible to put out your best work when you’re rushing to meet a deadline that has passed. The pressure to produce something that is “just fine” and that doesn’t allow for contemplation, review, revision and polishing often produces ho-hum results. And when the ...

by Adam Zack — March 1, 2023

Business relationships that don’t at least partially align with your core values need to be examined closely.

You lead by the way you live. I love that saying. It’s like the [true] cliche. “You can’t talk the talk if you don’t walk the walk.” As a leader, what you do matters and is closely watched and scrutinized by your peers, employees and associates. You can’t initiate a healthy lifestyle program for your company while you are supersizing your Big Mac combo and burning through a pack of cigarettes a day. Leading by the way you live gives you credibility and integrity. And integrity is inspiring and contagious. We have to apply that integrity to the companies we do business with as well. Business relationships that don’t at least partially align with your core values need to be examined closely. After all, you are partners, and good partners always have an interest in each other’s success. It should always be a matter of pride that you do business with suppliers and firms that make you successful. You should be able to brag about it. The day that you would rather not disclose a business relationship for fear that your customers would [correctly] not approve is the day you need to find a new partner.

by Adam Zack — February 22, 2023

Confident leaders just seem to carry themselves better and stronger.

I was thinking the other day about how important it is to have confidence as a great leader. The best leaders have full faith in themselves, in their decisions and especially in their team. Of course they make mistakes, but make lots of decisions daily that usually result in moving the team and the business forward. Confidence shows and inspires others to do better. Just as fear and the lack of confidence shows on your face, behavior and demeanor, confidence radiates and inspires. You don’t have to have great hair, be particularly good looking, tall or slim to radiate confidence. Confident leaders just seem to carry themselves better and stronger. I know dozens of confident leaders, but I also know some that are overconfident. They project a “know it all” attitude and tend to be dismissive. They are not good listeners and don’t inspire those that they lead to be like them. Worse yet is the arrogant leader. The kind who just knows his shit doesn’t stink. The turnover rate of his employees is high, and no one wants to be like him. He gets talked about behind his back and works from a level of fear. No one approaches him for guidance or advice. You know the type: Arrogant P...

by Adam Zack — February 15, 2023

The Super Bowl reminded me that ads can turn into diarrhea of the mouth – you just want them to shut up for a minute.

We have all read something that as we are reading we think, “How long is this guy going to go on? Get to the point already.” And then we skip ahead to the end, or sometimes just stop reading altogether out of boredom or informational overload. So many things – movies, books, blogs – go on for much longer than they need to because the author or director is satisfying an ego need by thinking of himself instead of his audience. It’s the same with advertising and promotions. The key is to identify the story and tell it succinctly before your reader skips to the end – or doesn’t start at all – because it just looks like too many words. The Super Bowl reminded me that ads can turn into diarrhea of the mouth – you just want them to shut up for a minute. Still reading or have you skipped to the end? What am I trying to convey here? Less is more, especially when it comes to telling the story of your store and your signature products. Get to the point, make it interesting, then shut up.

Read More – Illusion

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by Adam Zack — February 8, 2023

“I’ve decided that you should not have to have done something epic to be remembered for centuries.”—Adam Zack

I was watching the film The Banshees of Inishirin on Sunday. It’s got considerable Oscar buzz about the acting and the film, and I really like the lead actors. So, when one friend (Colm) decides he wants nothing more to do with the other friend (Padraig), he can’t figure out why he’s been dumped as a friend, even though they live on this very small island off the coast of mainland Ireland. They can’t help but run into each other at the town’s only pub, as they have been going there every day for years at 2:00. Padraig argues “Why don’t you like me anymore? I’m nice!” Colm argues that no one in history is known for being nice. Everyone knows Mozart for music. Hitler will always be remembered as a mass murdering lunatic. Ben Franklin for discovering electricity. And so on. But once a person who is nice passes, all that remembers him are his family and friends, and when they are gone his niceness is forgotten forever. It struck me as very sad, as niceness is a quality that makes other people’s lives better. You sleep better when you’re nice. You are appreciated more and loved more and hated far...

by Adam Zack — February 1, 2023

In servant leadership, employees are empowered.

Often when I call DW he answers the phone “Humble Servant speaking”. I thought it was kind of funny, maybe a little self-deprecating, and beneath what he brings as a leader. He has a wealth of wisdom, knowledge and experience and I thought of him more as the opposite of a Humble Servant. (And no, I am not brown-nosing to get a raise.) It was only last week when I was having my nightly debriefing with my wife about how our day was that she told me about how one of the founders of the financial firm she works for talked about the role of the leader is really that of a servant. It clicked with me, and I did a little more research into what the style of being a servant as a leader really means.

The term “servant leader” was first coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970 in the essay “The Servant as Leader.” Basically, the servant leadership style was based on the idea that leaders prioritize serving the greater good. Leaders with this style serve their team and organization first. They don’t prioritize their own goals. They are unselfish and caring.

Servant leadership seeks to achieve a vision by providing s...

by Adam Zack — January 25, 2023

“It’s a big thing that shows character.”

Most of our lives are shaped and defined by the little things we do and say. The everyday unacknowledged kindnesses, the way we treat others, doing the right thing when it’s not the easy thing. People of high character and integrity do millions of the little things that add up over a lifetime and define them as an exceptional human being, just as the a-holes of the world are ignorant to those same things. But what about the big things? We all have major, often life-changing events that depending on how we react to them can define us even more as a truly great man or woman. Chesley Sullenberger would have been an accomplished and mostly anonymous pilot if he hadn’t responded the way he did to land a jet in the Hudson River. Rosa Parks would have been mostly unknown if she hadn’t refused to give up her seat on the bus. John Basilone would have been another brave soldier if he hadn’t shown the courage and character he showed on Guadalcanal during World War II. These are all extreme examples for us regular folk, but how we react to big events can make us a hero or despised. If you ever had to close a business or just a location, how you handled it either defined you as making a ...

by Adam Zack — January 18, 2023

“You may have the best butcher in town but one disappointment raises an eyebrow.”

It’s all about instant gratification, right? To quote the Ramones “We want the world, and we want it now.” Businesses and employees alike are under the constant pressure to please now. Right now. Much more frequently what you did last year, last month, last week and even yesterday is forgotten. As a business, we have invested thousands of hours and many years working on the little things that we hope will build a foundation of loyalty with our customers. But with the barrage of alluring messages from competitors, our years of effort depreciate pretty fast. Without constant reinforcement, reminders and exceptional service our customers’ memory becomes fuzzy and fades to black quicker than ever. You may have the best butcher in town but one disappointment raises an eyebrow. The second casts serious doubts and anything after that you have lost that customer no matter how long you have served the family. Employees seem to have an even shorter leash. For years they have given 100%, sparked innovation and ideas, helped with the evolution of your store and made substantial contributions to sales and profits. But due to the increasing pressure on financia...

by Adam Zack — January 11, 2023

“Friends help pick you up when you are down.”

Just like in your personal life, your business life success comes from successful friendships and relationships. There are a handful of people in all our lives that would do anything for us and conversely we would do anything for. The no questions asked kind of friends. They are not quid pro quo relationships. They are unequivocally based on trust and care. It’s been said that friends should never start a business together. That doing so is the formula for ending the friendship or failing the business. And while it’s true that that has happened in the past, and I have seen it first hand, some very successful businesses were started by friends. Apple. Google. Microsoft. Friendships in your business – with your vendors, your customers and your employees are key to independent grocery success. They help pick you up when you’re down. They defend you from your detractors. They go the extra mile all the time. They consider you a friend and aren’t embarrassed to ask for favors or admit when they’ve made a mistake. They make you profitable and in turn you provide them livelihood and nourishment. I’m happy every day to be surrounded by friends at work. Vendors who I talk punk ...