Back in 2004 when we launched our original Retail Multiunit Management (RMM) program, the retail environment was a little different, to say the least. Shopping malls still ruled. Amazon wasn’t yet the juggernaut it is today. The idea of shopping as a “customer experience” was still fairly new. And by and large, salespeople had more…
It seems like every time you turn around there’s another gloomy story of “retail’s apocalypse.” While it’s true that brick and mortar retail is facing an array of challenges right now, change isn’t a new thing in retail. In fact, retail is one of the most adaptable industries, which is why it’s had so many…
One of the exciting and sometimes frustrating challenges of retail management is that you have a number of different priorities to deal with all at the same time. District managers, regional managers, and other retail leaders who are responsible for leading multiple stores and locations have more things going on than is possible to accomplish…
E-learning is an attractive option in retail, especially when you’re making the tough call about whether or not to take people off the floor and put them into a classroom for a training workshop. But depending on what kind of training you’re doing—and what kind of outcomes you need to achieve—the choice isn’t always so…
Today’s shoppers are more demanding and more educated about what they’re looking for than ever before. To keep up, retailers are constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to take the customer experience to a new level. But it takes more than data and technology to meet the demands of today’s customers. When shoppers are…
All leaders face a number of challenges that are simply common to the role of being a leader. But there are always some unique wrinkles faced by different leadership functions. The leaders and managers in the home office and distribution centers, for example, deal with some very different situations and issues than those who responsible for what’s happening…
Just what is “leadership presence”? In their book, Leadership Presence, The Ariel Group’s founders Belle Linda Halpern and Kathy Lubar use real client stories from the company’s experience in working with leaders across industries to help define leadership presence. They put real meat on the bones of the elusive idea. One element that contributes to…
At the store level, execution during the fall/holiday season is everything. This means your store leaders have to be able to communicate the specifics and importance of what to focus on. They have to coach and reinforce sales and service behaviors. They have to be prepared to address their teams as soon as they see…
The headline—15 Traits of a “Terrible” Retail Leader—is bound to get your attention. SUCCESS magazine recently surveyed members of the Young Entrepreneurs Council to find out what qualities terrible leaders seem to have in common. From dismissing ideas other than your own to having a poor communication strategy, the list runs the gamut of issues we…
When we talk about motivation, we think of it as an outcome, not an input. If you’re a retail multiunit manager, one of the most effective ways to improve motivation is to help your team become more competent in how to do their job well. Based on our research, there are four factors that make…
