Managing C-Store Change & Accountability

To achieve top C-Store performance accountability trust must be strong. In order to operate remote stores well, there must be a level of trust. This trust must be bi-directional. Employees must believe they will have the resources they need for success and HQ staff need remote operations to perform as required. That is why many …

C-Store Operations – Keep It Simple – The Hard Work never ends. While simple is desirable,  it’s not easy – it’s just better. Simple means clarity. Clarity is worth the work required to find and follow the simple path. With simplicity comes focus that brings action. C-Store Operations – Keep It Simple – The Hard Work in Motion …

Does It Have to Be So Hard? Making C-Store change keeps operators busy working to grow and improve their business. They understand growth is critical and the same old things are not enough. The unspoken issue, however, is that change generates a lot of resistance and the normal day is already busy. The idea of …

C-Store staff retention – Many  owners argue it is their top challenge. The improving economy is often cited for making a difficult job of C-Store staff retention even harder. While all positions are important the one that I hear about the most is the challenge of finding and keeping good store managers. Sometimes the situation …

A tough part about using technology to help people do their job is defining responsibilities. Unfortunatly, we sometimes confuse technology with a system for c-store performance. We all know the promise – this technology will fix the problem immediately, there is no install time and your staff does not have to change anything. It seems …

When managing C-Store High Performance – How Important is Appreciation? Firstly, High performance teams display their success on a regular basis. When you are part of such a team you become part of its environment. That is, you are recognized and engaged. As a result, you feel the sense of teamwork. Secondly, you are noticed …

The Inertia of C-Store Performance calls for a time for change. When putting new processes and technologies into place to save time or increase profits, there are lots of things that can impact success. Even if you are making changes specifically to address waste that harms the team, the beneficiaries of the change will still …

Yep. It works. Best intentions are good, but inspections are better.  How many times in our training do we hear this question about whether corporate is watching c-store accountability. The answer ‘yes’ carries a certain gravity. No one wants to disappoint or fail. There are lots of reasons why we slip up. We want to do a …

Yogi Berra was often lampooned for his seemingly non-sensible statements. But the easy to remember and thoughtful concepts help to clarify issues and allow simple choices.  His ‘take the fork’ statement made sense when you understand that he lived mid-way on a circular road. When driving to his house you came to a fork. Either …

C-Store Managers often get negative comments from their employees, customers and even their superiors at times.  Obviously, it may not be obvious to consider What drives c-store results – blunt honesty or polite excuses? naturally, we want to hear polite feedback. However, it is important to consider that not all nice words are helpful and …

When driving C-Store performance it is good to know all the important goals. A balanced scorecard shows the results that matter. Naturally, a single scorecard makes it easier to monitor a set of different goals. With daily, weekly and monthly comparisons, both long and short term results are understood.   Improving revenue in a c-store used …

Working with top C-Store operators provides a lot of great insights into management. C-Store operators deal with heavy competition, long hours, and weekend work. This environment often leads to high turnover. In order to run well you have to have staff that can get things done as you need.  If your store performance is suffering …