How Macy's Is Winning The Retail Battle (Hint: It Knows Which Cities Need Size 11 Women's Shoes) - ForbesA great article on how Macy's is winning the retail battle. It's a really simple business ideal: focus on the customer and what they want and need. However, most large businesses try to please a monolithic "average" … Continue reading How Macy’s Is Winning The Retail Battle (Hint: It Knows Which Cities Need Size 11 Women’s Shoes) – Forbes
My Blog
Why Barnes and Noble should listen to me.
I've written in the past about Barnes and Noble, when I had hoped they were figuring out how to turn things around. However, it doesn't look like they have. They couldn't turn Nook into their savior, their CEO stepped down, and they are planning a "strategic review". But what they should really do is listen … Continue reading Why Barnes and Noble should listen to me.
The correct answer is: I don’t know
This past week I had an enlightening conversation with two different employees. Enlightening in that it revealed their two different styles. With both I was discussing some technical aspect we needed before we could move forward with our new system implementation. The first employee listened to what I was saying, said they understood, then proceeded … Continue reading The correct answer is: I don’t know
Anniversary Blog – 12 years
This past Thursday I completed my 12th year with my company. That's a long time. I started at the store level, worked all three shifts, was the stockperson, did accounts payable, was the manager of our Austin stores, and finally moved laterally to product buyer (who also does web, social media, marketing, and merchandising). I've … Continue reading Anniversary Blog – 12 years
Leadership is about Responsibility
When reviewing the literature about leadership a common theme emerges: responsibility. The best leaders all take responsibility. Each book gives it a different name and uses different examples, but it always comes down to responsibility. Here are three ways great leaders accept responsibility and make their companies better. 1. Taking Blame/Passing on Praise The best … Continue reading Leadership is about Responsibility
Leading before you’re a Leader
Most of my posts deal business after you've achieved a position of leadership. But how do you get there in the first place? Leadership is earned not given. I'm not sure who said that, but I'm sure someone has. Most employees, however, want the TITLE before they lead. Which brings up a catch-22: management wants … Continue reading Leading before you’re a Leader
3 Tips for Better Hiring
If you're running a small business, you'll generally be the one doing the hiring. In fact, you'll probably be working side by side with this employee. The good thing about this is you get to choose the person, so you'll probably choose someone with a similar work ethic and temperament . The bad thing is, … Continue reading 3 Tips for Better Hiring
Returns – your most important interaction, seriously
If you run a store, you're going to have people bringing product back at one point or another. I feel that this is the single most important interaction you can have with a customer. It's what most people complain about online and to their friends (in my unscientific analysis) . This one interaction can sour a … Continue reading Returns – your most important interaction, seriously
Keep it positive
One of the areas I think most businesses need improvement is in the area of "feedback". There are basically 3 types of feedback: positive negative none I'll start from the bottom up. "None" is the type of feedback most managers give. I've worked for only a limited number of places, but each of my managers … Continue reading Keep it positive
Examples of “keeping what works”
I decided these examples should be a post of their own, because it was making the previous post way to long. So what follows are two examples of how I "tried a lot of things, and kept what works" and "fired bullets, then cannonballs." Example 1 I was looking for project management software to help … Continue reading Examples of “keeping what works”
Joe Robles 