Company Blog

Health Checkup

by Adam Zack — January 24, 2024

Keep the body that is your business strong…

Like everyone, as we get old (but hopefully not too long winded) we require more maintenance. The warranty has long run out and instead of just changing the oil and putting the pedal to the metal like we did in our 20s we regularly need to be poked, prodded, scanned and tested. Colonoscopy? Sounds fun. Blood tests? Sign me up. CT scan? Why not. How about a little cosmetic surgery to nip that turkey neck or relieve those bags under the eyes. Why not? We care more about our health as we get longer in the tooth because, well, we are more likely to have a breakdown or failure. We want to maintain this bag of bones because we want to get 20 more summers out of it, right? Health care is expensive, but while we can still bitch about that part, it’s still vitally important to our survival. Our business is getting older just like us, and I just don’t see the checkups being done on it like we do on our bodies. Is our employee turnover too high like our blood pressure? Are the wrinkles of age on our equipment and decor 10 years past when the facelift should have been done. We all measure sales every day, kind of like brushing your teeth or stepping on the scale weekly, but how much sales increase is inflation? The rea...

by Adam Zack — January 17, 2024

Plato felt that the most important qualification for a leader is to not want to be a leader.

Forever we have heard about natural born leaders. Guys who seemingly straight from the womb emerged directing their siblings on a divide and conquer plan for their parents, manipulating the kindergarten teacher into increased nap time and ending up as student body president in high school, naturally. Guys like Steve Jobs, Jack Welch and George Patton were born leaders, right? The best leaders in history surely were born to lead. Well I came across a whole different view of leadership from our old homeboy Plato. The guy who inspired “Let’s just be friends” had a terrific insight on who would make the best leader. Traditional leaders dating back to the beginning of time were motivated by self-interest and the innate need for power. These were the guys who were widely considered tyrants, and didn’t really care about their subjects. Fetch me a bucket, and if you don’t like it, off with your head. Plato felt that the most important qualification for a leader is to not want to be a leader. Philosophers (Philisophia; Greek meaning lover of wisdom) are naturally the best and most effective leaders, as true philosophers have the four cardinal virtues of a...

by Adam Zack — January 10, 2024

“It’s easy to get distracted and not give 100% of your attention to who you are interacting with.”

My wife and I made the deal that when we go out for dinner or lunch we put our phones away. Usually in her purse, not just upside down on the table. It’s a way for us both to be fully present and not distracted by texts or calls or checking social media or sports scores. It’s worked out really well, except one time when we finished eating and saw we both had about 15 missed calls because one of the ovens blew up at our market. Being fully present in all your human interactions takes effort and determination. It’s so easy to get distracted and not give 100% of your attention to who you are interacting with. In fact, I’d say the majority of the time we aren’t 100% present in our relationships. I was watching the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “The Last Dance” about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls and their incredible run of 6 NBA championships in 8 years. An amazing feat. What really caught my attention was reporter Mark Vancil’s explanation of what made Michael Jordan the greatest competitor and basketball player of all time. He said “His gift was that he was completely present. And that was the separator.” Michael Jordan’s ability to be complete...

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.
It’s easy to lose sight of the warmth that should define the season. But stepping back, slowing down, and embracing the spirit of gratitude, the way we often do at Thanksgiving, can shift the entire experience. Instead of striving for p...
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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.
Read More – Relationality
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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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