Key Takeaways Being fully staffed doesn’t necessarily mean being fully prepared. Even when headcount seems sufficient, peak season can expose gaps in employee capability, leadership, coaching, and scheduling. Shift from staffing planning to talent planning. Instead of focusing only on how many people you need, assess whether you have the right skills, leadership capacity, and…

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What a disrupted vacation taught me about retail leadership, customer experience, and leading through change The best leadership lessons don’t always come from the boardroom. Sometimes they come from a river cruise that runs out of river. When circumstances change unexpectedly, leaders can’t always control the problem, but they can control how they respond. They…

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Summer may feel like a brief pause in the retail calendar, but experienced leaders know better. While customers are squeezing in vacations and enjoying the last weeks of summer, retail leaders are already looking ahead. Back-to-school is ramping up, Halloween merchandise is arriving, holiday hiring is around the corner, and, before long, stores will be…

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As we celebrate Independence Day, I’ve been thinking about a different kind of independence: leadership independence. What is true leadership? At its core, it’s about developing people so they’re ready to step up when you’re not there. That means the ultimate measure of your leadership isn’t how well they’re performing when you’re around. It’s whether and…

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May is Mental Health Month in the United States, and it has me thinking about some of the unique stresses and demands that come with the territory if you’re in our industry. While all types of businesses are facing challenges in today’s environment, retail and service professionals in particular have spent years adapting to staffing…

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In retail, change is constant. Always has been, always will be. We must keep up, evolve, and stay competitive with the ever-changing demands and requests of our customers. As new fiscal years begin, retail organizations are notorious for launching fresh initiatives—new strategies, updated processes, technology rollouts, merchandising resets, and operational improvements. Field Leadership Summits are hosted…

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St. Patrick’s Day is often associated with luck—four-leaf clovers, pots of gold, and lucky charms. But when it comes to leading successful retail teams, luck usually has very little to do with it. What Some People Call “Luck” in Retail Leadership When stores perform well, you might hear people say things like: “They’re lucky to…

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Each March we have the opportunity to pause and celebrate the contributions, leadership, and resilience of women across industries. In retail especially, women have long been the backbone of the workforce, from the sales floor to the C-suite, and their leadership continues to shape the future of our industry. This celebration is especially meaningful to…

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I have had so much fun this month interviewing some of our clients on how they got into retail, what they loved about the industry in the beginning, and what keeps their passion churning for retail after all these years. Thank you to Chris Freeman from Michaels, Jillian Wiese from Cavender’s and Paul DeSousa, recently…

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Valentine’s Day in retail is fast, emotional, and often last-minute-for customers and teams alike. It’s also a great sales boost to beat the winter blues in the month of February. According to the NR’s annual survey, consumer spending on this year’s expression of affection is expected to increase 5.7% to a record $29.1 billion, with…

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