Field Notes for Retail Leaders

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash Hiya, You’re getting this newsletter a day early! I want to invite you to my Substack LIVE with Steve Worthy today. This is not your usual LIVE event. We'll be talking about our retail origin stories and our best & worst times. If you can join us in real time, you can ask us any questions. The chat is always open, and we go through and answer questions as we go. Hope to see you there Substack LIVE 10:00 am PST/ 1:00 pm EST Let's Go! On with today's Field...

Hey Leader, There is rarely downtime on a retail sales floor. When we get that moment to breathe, we should take it. Stretch. Grab some water, and then take advantage of the break in customers. Here's how to equip your team to be resourceful and ensure you're able to push more off your plate. Make this list: Things to do when there is nothing to do. This list will be different for every store. It may be different for every department. But being resourceful, productive, and making great use of...

Hey Leader, Mondays are complex when you run a store. I know you know. We often work all weekend, and then we have to go into our Mondays dog-tired. We sort out the next week while we're exhausted from the week we just finished. When you're tired and looking forward to your next day off, it can be challenging to get everything done on that Monday to set your team up for the week ahead. Here's how I did it. Every Monday, I would open. I would schedule strong sales associates or lead associates...

Hey Leader, I recently had a bad week. I wanted to share it with you in case you've had a bad week, too. I was stressed, exhausted, and nothing was going right. I was trying to do too many things; I was trying to move, work, and socialize with no breaks. "I'm fine," I thought. "No problemo." But then I kept effing up. Little things, but out of the norm for me. Then I got scammed. Well, it turned out not to be a scam, but I was so sure at first that I canceled my credit card and froze my...

Hey Leader, As we progress in our careers, we get really good at seeing the small things that are wrong in our stores. Mannequin not layered. Wrong hanger used. Incorrect markdown sticker. It can be so easy to walk in and start rattling off all the misses. All while your leadership team is standing there with their eyes to the floor, just wishing you'd point out something good. So, let's step back. How do we coach without crushing spirits? Here's what I would do when visiting stores. You can...

Hey Leader, It can be super challenging to get every manager on your team to take initiative. Some people learn quickly and ask for more. Others - not so much. So, how do we get everyone to chip in? How do we get them to act when we're not there? A few ways. Be sure that they understand their role and what's expected of them when you're not in the store. Create a weekly checklist for them so they can stay on track. Make sure they understand where their resources are. Who can they call if...

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash Hey Leader, Guess what? I forgot to write this newsletter yesterday. Just totally forgot. Oops. And it's my newsletter. It's my business, and I totally spaced it. Forget anything in your job lately? It's okay. It happens to all of us. All we can do is get it done and move on. But here's what I wanted to talk to you about today: What do you do when you give a leader on your team everything you can think of and they're still not getting it? Let's get into it. I...

Photo by Hadi Slash on Pexels Hey Leader, I published this article on my Substack, The Voice of the Frontline, a few weeks ago. I'm sending it to you now because I want to make sure you read it. This year will be weird for all of us. But in retail, it will be extra weird. I want you to have all the facts and have an action plan, so here it is. Take care of each other and remember - you can hit reply to this email and ask me anything. Heads Up, Retail Leaders: It's Going to Be a Weird Year For...

Photo by Steven Aguilar on Unsplash Hey Leader, As a store manager, I taught my team how to do everything. There were very few things that only I could do. I wrote the schedules. I made sure people were being paid correctly. I signed off on new hires. But run-of-the-mill daily tasks can usually be handled by anyone. Heck, I even taught some of my salespeople how to call IT and troubleshoot problems. They always asked me first. I'd see what I could do, but then I'd tell them to call and tell...