In her insightful and perceptive book “Radical Candor,” Kim Scott provides a step-by-step approach to building winning relationships and being an inspiring leader without losing your humanity or discarding the values that have shaped your life.
Great bosses across all facets of business have strong relationships with their employees, and Scott explains three principles for building better relationships with your team: Make the mission personal, get the job done and understand why the mission matters. When you relate to people on a personal level, share a core set of values and believe in what you do, great things will happen.
Prior to the NACS Show, something Scott wrote stood out to me. There is a chicken-and-egg interaction between our relationships and our responsibilities. “You can’t fulfill your responsibilities without good relationships, but the way in which you fulfill your responsibilities is integral to those relationships.”
This may sound obvious and intuitive in theory, but from a practical standpoint this is much harder to execute. The NACS Show is an excellent opportunity to work on your industry relationships, especially since you may be seeing partners in person for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Scott said in these situations a rudimentary approach to building relationships is a good first step. For example, earn the trust of your industry peers by connecting on a personal level. This can be something as simple as sharing a personal story or asking a heartfelt question. This creates a unique experience that emphasizes your personal values. Sharing your values and demonstrating that you practice what you preach is a highly effective way to earn the trust of your peers in the industry and the team you work with every day.
Bring that positive, can-do leadership to work each day and watch your team, and those whom you influence, soar.
When an organization and its leaders can create the right mindset within the leadership ranks, it helps drive collective organizational success by establishing a culture of accountability, while motivating your teams to deliver an outstanding guest experience, improved profitability and overall superior results.
At the end of the day, leadership is a privilege. How we think about it and how we show up each day allows us to not only impact the success of the company we work for, but impact the lives of the team members who work with us side-by-side.
Trends, Trends and More Trends
New products, innovative ideas and tracking the latest trends are the lifeblood of convenience retailers. The NACS Show is an excellent opportunity to learn about the next opportunity in your stores.
C-store customers will always be attracted to your core offering of great food and outstanding service, but it’s the cool new stuff that can help you stand out. Today’s customers are always on the move looking for the next best idea, from the newest phone apps to electric charging stations, or maybe they are simply influenced by your brand refresh and new digital signs. Stores that continue to evolve with healthier foods, LED menu boards and digital screens that greet customers by name and offer targeted promotions make customers feel welcome.
In the battle to be the first to market with new products, retailers face fierce competition from other industry operators and cross-channel marketers. Despite the battle for that share of wallet, chains have come to depend on their distributors and wholesalers for the information they need to make smart business choices.
What is important for convenience store owners to note is that your wholesaler and supplier partners can’t make the decisions for you. No one knows your customers better than you. So as we look to the future, remember that the one edge this industry always maintains is convenience, and it’s a damn good one. Think about your future and your customers, and what new ideas you can deliver to them to stand apart from the herd. Your customers will reward you with their loyal business.
