March 16, 2016
Like many, as I get older, I have to work harder to keep fit. Sadly, I found myself 5 pounds heavier after spending 6 months on a diet. I was going backwards. Embarrassed, I decided something needed to change. As an analyst, I decided to make a plan. Surprisingly, my personal diet plan reminded me of my work. I realized my personal goal matched my work responsibilities at my c-store. Losing weight and increasing store performance follow the same process.
PLAN ACTIONS
I went online and found a few articles. As expected, they told me to reduce my calories by 10%. That is, compare my new intake to my old. Simply reduce my calorie burn from current levels. It promised that I would hit my goal in just a few months. Next, I then found a food calculator for my calorie burn. I started tracking everything that I ate. I recorded the calories I used while jogging. A simple spread sheet tracked the calories in and out. My daily change was easy to read.
The important thing was making sure I was tracked everything. Showing the total made my weight loss or gain obvious. I could easily see which items were adding the extra calories that kept the pounds on me.
DAILY PROCESS
Each day recorded my weight. I noticed it was clear that calorie reduction had impact. Even better, an extra mile or another set of reps with the weights really helped. The change inspired me. Next, I found that the good decisions became a little bit easier. The things that mattered were clear as I reviewed the results. Without measurement, there was no way to track my progress. When losing weight, a simple step on the scale will tell you if the plan is working. C-Stores either need tools or sophisticated manual processes to help them with their measurements, but without this critical part of the process they won’t know if they are succeeding or failing, or be aware when plans need to change. Constant and consistent measurement is important to overall success.
INCREASE C-STORE PERFORMANCE
I work with c-stores all the time. I talk to some of the best store managers and supervisors about their work. Often, they tell me measuring works exactly the same way with increasing sales and reducing costs. Accurate and shared data is key. Better, management attention motivates the right actions. Typically, top performers explain ‘of course it makes a difference when we measure our results. Pay attention to what we do. Any good manager can increase sales by keeping up with prices, offering specials, upselling and keeping the shelves well stocked.’ Losing weight and increasing store performance follow the same process.
JUST DO IT
It boils down to priorities. We can do anything we set our minds to do. Of course, shared measurements keep our minds focused.