DW's Blog

Merchant Or Retailer

by DW Green — July 13, 2016

Powerful distinctions between being a merchant and being a retailer

This is a partial re-blog from my February 12, 2014 blog. I imagine a re-blog is similar to an article re-print! The topic seems to tie in nicely with Adam’s Sexy Back blog.Last May (2013) Supermarket News ran an excellent story about Wegmans. In the article entitled Wegmans 101, Robert Wegman was quoted from his “I Am a Merchant’ Speech.”“I am a merchant, and I have therefore my own philosophy about merchandising: That is, to do something that no one else is doing, and to be able to offer the customer a choice she doesn’t have at the moment. This is the only reason for being in business. To my own way of thinking, this is the only way it should be. “I think that uniqueness gives one an opportunity to profit. If you are doing the same thing that everyone else is doing, your opportunity for a substantial profit is materially reduced because of the price ceiling your competition will impose. Thus, good merchandising resolves itself into rendering a service in such a way as to be difficult for your competitors to emulate. This is the basic premise of the way we at Wegmans operate.”Mr. Wegman’s words represent a brilliant and well-...

by DW Green — July 6, 2016

Living By The Golden Rule

Respect is like integrity. Integrity is strong, “works,” and is constructive and successful, whereas its opposite fails. Integrity is therefore practical; its absence leads to weakness and collapse. The same is true with respect. It’s opposite fails and its absence leads to weakness and collapse.Many times, respecting rivals or groups or individuals who hold a differing “truth” or “belief” is difficult. But respect isn’t about agreement. Respect is about acknowledging and honoring the other person(s) position, perspective, or point of view. Respect is about, as Bob LaBonne Jr. says, living by the Golden Rule. Treating others the way we want to be treated.One can choose to accept the situation as it is, attempt to change it, or leave it all together. But regardless of the choice, one should BE respectful and kind to the individual(s) involved.Well, my “take” on respect anyway!...

by DW Green — June 29, 2016

Karma means action

Adam mentions Karma in his blog today. I’ve heard of Karma, but really didn’t know what it meant. Aside from finding a great parking space at the mall, then saying, “Wow! Good parking Karma!” So I decided to investigate. Turns out Karma just IS.Karma means action. Physics shows that for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction. Karma is energy, which in itself is neither good nor bad; these are just the labels people choose to attach to it. The energy created by an action has to be returned: “As yea sow so shall yea reap.” It cannot be avoided. Every action generates a force of energy that returns to us in like kind. Choosing actions that bring happiness and success to others ensures the flow of happiness and success to you.Karma represents our choices … the ones we celebrate … the ones we regret … the conditional and unconditional ones … the knee-jerk ones and the purposeful ones … the decisions that keep us up at night and those that allow us to rest our head on the pillow. Karma can be translated as action and is the culmination of all the actions we have taken through out our lives. In the teachings of Vedanta, this includes the actions we’ve taken in past li...

by DW Green — June 22, 2016

Describing his blog topic, Adam said, “Decided to do something fun and a little different this week.”So, in light of fun and different, lets talk about Roger Ramjet for a moment. Roger Ramjet was the star and namesake of the animated cartoon TV series that first aired in 1965. I loved the show. It was very funny, due in part, to its amazing simplicity. Of course, the audience was children, but the simplicity of the animation was the foundation of its humor.Simplicity in advertising design is very powerful. Less is definitely more. The use of white space brings immediate attention to the message. As Lao Tzu said in the Tao Te Ching, the what’s not there (white space) makes the what’s there (copy/image) useful.Enjoy… eMC2

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by DW Green — June 15, 2016

I liked playing connect the dots game when I was a kid. Miraculously a cool picture would show up by simply connecting the dots! So this is my version of connecting the dots, and perhaps, in the end, a mental picture will show up for you.I was thinking about supermarket formats that are struggling, brands that are struggling, companies that are struggling and individuals who are struggling. There are a plethora of reasons why we struggle or fail. Some are external circumstances beyond our control and others are internally inflicted. Since a company is a collection or community of individuals, then looking at how individual’s evolve and succeed is a dot to connect. As a side note, I believe successful companies are comprised of a community of individual’s with shared values. Another dot to connect?This idea or notion of evolving is central to overcoming a flailing, faltering, struggling format, brand, company or individual. Align yourself with the flow of evolution, or personal growth. Evolution is a choice. Choosing to grow automatically means you are facing into the unknown.Without evolution there would be no path, only aimless wandering. Evolution is a cosmic force. It’s the reason t...

by DW Green — June 8, 2016

More good stuff from the Super Brain book! According to the authors, the brain is moving in a more holistic direction. Their favorite phrase for this trend is “survival of the wisest.” If you choose to, you can evolve through conscious choices.Here are some tips I learned in a section titled “Where the Brain is Growing—How to become part of the next evolutionary leap.”

Don’t promote conflict in any area of your life.
Make peace when you can. When you can’t, walk away.
Value compassion.
Chose empathy over blame or derision.
Try not to always feel you are right.
Make a friend who is opposite of you.
Be generous of spirit.
Wean yourself off materialism in favor of inner fulfillment.
Perform one act of service every day—there is something you can always give.
Show genuine concern when someone else is in trouble. Don’t ignore signs of unhappiness.
Oppose us-versus-them thinking.
In business, practice capitalism with a conscience, giving ethical concerns as much weight as profits.We have a single overriding purpose: to unfold our potential.Enjoy the ride!...

by DW Green — June 1, 2016

Each morning, right before I meditate I go through a detailed heart-opening ritual that includes asking myself a few questions. I call this ritual The Secrets of the Sweet Spot and an important part of the process is asking:How can I be more accepting? More self-accepting.
How can I be more compassionate? More self-compassionate.
How can I be more forgiving? More self-forgiving.
How can I heal this heart?We are in constant dynamic exchange with the world around us, which means our actions simultaneously touch the lives of those around us and have deeper consequences on what we feel, what we think about, and what we do.We all have made mistakes, chosen non-nourishing choices, and allowed our words & actions to hurt others – and perhaps the most unintended consequence is that we’ve created pain within and around us. We’ve pointed fingers, compared ourselves to someone else, relished in Schadenfreude (rooting for someone or something to fail), pushed people away (even when we were trying to get them to come closer), gossiped, cut off our nose to spite our face, and refused to give in so we could say “I told you so!”And then there are all the grievances, grudges, resentments, comparisons, envies, and gripes. They serve no one – they fester...

by DW Green — May 25, 2016

POPtrait

I’ve been reading Super Brain, a book written by Deepak Chopra and Rudolph Tanzi. It’s an excellent book and I highly recommend reading it. In an early chapter, Heroes Of Super Brain, the authors write about Albert Einstein’s ability for ADAPTABILITY. Einstein used his brain in a way that any person can learn. I believe this idea of adaptability can be very useful for supermarket owners and leaders. (Well, everyone for that matter!)Einstein adapted by facing the unknown and conquering it. His field was physics, but the unknown confronts everyone on a daily basis. Life is full of unexpected challenges. To adapt to the unknown, Einstein developed three strengths and avoided three obstacles:Three strengths: Letting go, being flexible, hanging loose.Three obstacles: Habits, conditioning, stuckness.You can measure a person’s adaptability by how much they are able to let go, remain flexible, and hang loose in the face of difficulties. You can measure how poorly a person adapts by the dominance of old habits and conditioning that keep them stuck.When you face a new problem, you can solve it in old ways or in a new way. Th...

by DW Green — May 17, 2016

Lao-Tzu, ancient Chinese philosopher and writer.

Some 2,500 years ago, Lao-Tzu spoke of ‘the four cardinal virtues’ and noted that when we practice them as a way of life, we come to know and access the truth of the universe. These four virtues don’t represent external dogma, but a part of our original nature—by practicing them, we realign with Source and access the powers that Source energy has to offer. According to the teachings of Lao-tzu, the four cardinal virtues represent the surest way to leave habits and excuses behind and reconnect to your original nature. The more your life is harmonized with the four virtues, the less you’re controlled by the uncompromising ego.The Second Cardinal Virtue: Natural SincerityThis virtue manifests itself as honesty, simplicity, and faithfulness; and it’s summed up by the popular reminder to be true to yourself. Using an excuse to explain why your life isn’t working at the level you prefer isn’t being true to yourself—when you’re completely honest and sincere, excuses don’t even enter into the picture. The second virtue involves living a life that reflects choices that come from respect and affection for your own nature. Make...

by DW Green — May 11, 2016

In the end it is employees who make the difference. No amount of merchandising or advertising can be successful over the long run without a dedicated, knowledgeable staff. If employees don’t support your market position or advertising claims, your efforts will be undermined.To build a company that is profitable, enduring, and able to hold its own against major competitors, managers need to foster a sense of community among employees. Above all, employees must share common values. This means recruits should be judged as much on the basis of their fit with the company’s values and principles as they are on the basis of their ability to fulfill the technical requirements of the job.People should be hired into your company with the understanding that they are there to develop their potential. You must ensure that processes are in place to assess individual potential, ensure adequate training and development, evaluate performance, and provide graceful exits from the company. If employees don’t pull their weight or share the company’s values, they must move on. At a certain point, managers must be prepared to pass the baton, as well, so the company can continue to renew itself.Employee training and development is critical if your company is to remain a leading contender in the market. After all, competitor...