Company Blog

I need you MORE

by Adam Zack — January 3, 2024

“I need you more than you need me.” Said the CEO of a nearly $100 million dollar company to the new hire.

As the new year comes and the old year goes, I always reflect back on things that have made an impact on my life. My birthday is January 3, so besides the new year, turning another year older makes me appreciate the people in my life and how fortunate I am. Five years ago I flew to Ohio to meet Norman Mayne, owner and CEO of Dorothy Lane Markets in Dayton. There was no real urgent business reason to go. I just wanted to meet the man I had heard and read so much about over the years and see his stores. It was a day and a half I will never forget, and enriched my life and improved my leadership skills immensely. I wrote this blog after I returned from Ohio in January 2019.“I need you more than you need me.” Said the CEO of a nearly $100 million dollar company to the new hire. And the new hire was a courtesy clerk. A box person. And he meant it. Now I am sure you are thinking that this is some kind of crazy dream I had after a big meal of spicy Asian food. Or some kind of fabled story out of a motivational book that no one has ever actually seen done. Real life CEOs don’t say that to the new hires, right? Heck, CEOs rarely even co...

by Adam Zack — December 27, 2023

“Working together to nourish our community, our families and each other.”

On Christmas night after everyone went to bed, including the dog, I sat at the dining room table of my daughter’s house in Los Angeles talking with her husband Morgan. Ever since he asked my permission to propose to her about nine years ago, as we stayed up late talking and drinking Cognac, we have kind of made it a tradition every time we get together. We stay up when everyone else has turned it, talking about everything from family, politics, sports, and especially business. Monday night as we sat there talking (and drinking Amaro, not cognac) we veered to the subject of intentionality, and how important it is to a business’ success. I told him the story of the creation of my grocery store in San Diego’s Vision Statement, and how every single word in it had meaning and intention. It was a process that involved our Leadership Coach John Wood (https://www.lovingpower.com) and three members of our senior management team. We went through dozens of iterations over about six months, finally agreeing on one that we thought was powerful, showed what we strive to be every day, and most importantly, had clear intention....
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Hello New Year

by Adam Zack — December 20, 2023

Make 2024 a year to tell your loved ones how much you love and appreciate them.

It’s the time of year for those New Year’s resolutions. Lose weight, exercise more, drink less, call mom more often, etc, etc. I was thinking about it because someone asked me what my New Year’s resolutions are going to be. The more I thought about it, the more I decided that instead of resolving to do something, I should instead reflect on what I did right, what I did wrong, and what I learned in 2023. I think about personal relationships, work associations, personal health and happiness and family ties. What did I accomplish that made others (and me in turn) happy and fulfilled? Resolve to keep doing them. What did I do that I regret? Resolve not to do them again. What should I have done differently? Do it differently. For me, 2023 flew by. It had many, many high points which I felt blessed and thankful for. As I get into the “old man” category in 2024, I appreciate and cherish long term relationships and friendships more than ever. I was reminded just this week how fragile life can be when I lost a dear friend and co-worker of over 45 years to a sudden accident. Sunday she was here, Monday she was gone. Make 2024 a year to tell your loved ones how much yo...
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Calm Christmas

by Adam Zack — December 13, 2023

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family.

Just before Thanksgiving a friend was telling me how Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday. “More than Christmas?”, I asked. “Yeah”, he said, because it didn’t involve the stress and craziness of buying gifts, decorating, making sure everyone is happy and the pressure that came with it. To him Thanksgiving was about family and friends sharing a big meal and, well, just being thankful. As we close in on Christmas, I really have given his words some thought. The hosts of Christmas gatherings have the pressure to make sure everyone is happy. Guests have to decide where to go, when to go, who to go with. Lists of gifts and recipients need to be fulfilled. Who to see? What to cook? Combine that with the hectic and extremely busy season that befalls grocers, and it gets almost overwhelming for some people. I love Christmas, and this year I am going to try and take my friend’s view of Thanksgiving and apply it to Christmas.I’ll be thankful for the friends and family that I do get to see. I’ll take their desire for us to be together on the holiday as a compliment and not an obligation. The focus in our house is going to be one of gratitude and appreciation. I’m getting all calm jus...
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Gun to the head, choose!

by Adam Zack — December 6, 2023

“All in one till death do us part.”

Do you ever play out the scenario “If you had a gun to your head and you HAD to choose…” followed by something like one food to eat the rest of your life, or one band to listen to, or which kid is your favorite? Kind of like Sophie’s Choice*, but without the death consequence for the child you didn’t choose. When it comes to shopping, a loathsome chore in my book, I used to have discussions with my two daughters about shopping and my strong aversion to malls. I told them that I could be happy for the rest of my life with only two stores – Jensen’s (our grocery store) and Target (for clothes, entertainment, housewares). Home Depot might be a close third. The scenario would never play out in real life, but it got me thinking about the question that if someone had a gun to my head and I could only choose ONE grocery store to shop at for the rest of my life, what would it be? All things would have to be considered – prices, selection, quality, service. No longer would I be able to get paper towels and foil at Costco and potstickers at Trader Joes and fresh meat at Jensen’s. It would be all in one til death do us part. The more interesting part of the question would be what would our customers sa...
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Opportunity Doesn’t Knock Loud

by Adam Zack — November 29, 2023

“I don’t feel as old as I look.”

So I was talking with my wife about someone she knew who was less than enchanted with her job and the salary she makes. The person has been at her job for many years, still made minimum wage, and felt pretty much taken for granted by her employer. (She is not in the grocery business, we do better than that.) While she lamented her position and where she is in her career, she really didn’t have a path that she could see that would provide a more meaningful and fulfilling career. She asked my wife just how she could do something different? How can she find another opportunity? It struck me that opportunities don’t regularly present themselves with a “Ta Da! Here I am!” They don’t knock loud. Usually they don’t knock at all. Opportunities for advancement and success – in anything – from a new marketing campaign to a job promotion – have to be sought out. The trees have to be shaken. Standing still and waiting will be endless. Carpe diem.
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Thanks

by Adam Zack — November 22, 2023

“I don’t feel as old as I look.”

It’s unbelievable. Thanksgiving 2023! When we were kids time seemed to just go so sloooooowwww and somewhere in our 20’s or early 30’s it seems to have speeded up. “I hope I die before I get old” has morphed into “I don’t feel as old as I look” and constantly reminds me of everything I have to be thankful for, every day.Top Nine Things I am thankful for 2023
A return to mostly normal life. Baseball games, concerts, travel all without a mask.
Smashburgers. I mastered this one at home. So delicious.
Employees that treat me and each other like family.
A boss that makes it a point to compliment and is funny and weird.
Thomas Keller’s schnitzel recipe.
Kids that make their own way, think their own thoughts and still love their dad.
A big family tree of nuts who doesn’t usually judge, seldom fights, loves each other unconditionally and always has each other’s backs.
The love of a woman who is my number one fan.
The freedom and opportunity to work hard, play harder and have the health to get up and do it again every single day.
Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for the fun and friendship....
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Hugs

by Adam Zack — November 15, 2023

Man-hugs were pretty much non-existent.

The 70s and 80s were pretty much emotionless decades. Actually, all the preceding decades were too. I don’t mean that there were no emotions, I mean that they just didn’t get shared publicly like today. When we were growing up, guys greeted each other with a handshake, or maybe a high-five. Our dads didn’t say “I love you” every time we talked on the phone. They rarely said it at all. I don’t think my dad told me he loved me until I was in my 40s. Man-hugs were pretty much non-existent. Brothers didn’t express any affection, especially publicly. We loved our friends, brothers, sisters and dads just as much then as now, too. We just didn’t show it.Especially over this holiday period, I try to take a step back to take stock of all the things – and people – in my life that I love and am thankful for. I am especially thankful that it’s OK to show it and say it. How great is it to get a real hug from your brother without any uncomfortableness? To see male friends and be able to say I love you or I miss you without worrying that someone is thinking that you two are maybe a little more than “friends’? [Not that there’s anything wrong with that!] It’s especially tricky in today’s #metoo culture. I really missed...
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Weapons

by Adam Zack — November 8, 2023

Customers can be convinced to shop at your store simply due to the words you use and how you market 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, Mark.” are all simple things to say that are often not spoken. And t...
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Calm before the storm

by Adam Zack — November 1, 2023

Telling someone to “Just stay calm” usually has the opposite effect.

I think I can speak for the group of us when I say that we all love being in a state of calmness. There’s no emergencies going on. We’re relaxed, focused and content. Calm is organized, aware and productive. It’s not distracted or interrupted. Calm comes after a good night’s sleep and isn’t easily distracted. Winners remain calm under pressure, even when the pressure is intense. We all want to remain calm, and want others around us to do the same. I have learned, however, that staying calm is not a piece of advice that can be easily given. Telling someone to “Just stay calm” or “Calm down” usually has the opposite effect. Something along the lines of “Don’t you tell me to calm down! I am calm! YOU calm down!!!!” Calm doesn’t have exclamation points. Ever. So next time you find someone on your team or your family in an obvious non-calm state, the way to get them to calm the F down is by how you behave in the situation. Leaders stay chill under pressure, and the team follows.
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