Leroy Marke’s Post

I’ve enjoyed competition as a measure of self-progress, but don’t have a lot of time/energy for awards and accolades. I haven’t entered a design/admark competition willingly since 1997. I didn’t walk at college graduation. I’ve cheered on and celebrated those who do, but it’s not for me. While I’ve shouldered my share of individual tasks, most of my most satisfying accomplishments happened when I brought others along. This comes to mind when I see the bigger agencies flooding their feeds with the sunny shores Cannes or some far off financial boondoggle that involves 1-2% of the organization while the majority pull the plows back in the fields. At levels, all of these socializations are important, necessary, but it takes a lot of planning and organizational insight to balance the reward and harm of these spectacles. How do you engage the other 98%? I think maybe Walmart does it best with how they intend rotate employees into major events and involving people across the organization. It’s a least a good attempt. How does your organization handle awards and accolades?

It's an interesting read out of Retail Brew today. Lots of major logos have had C-Suite shakeups this summer. Sharing some of the observations/insights I had below: - Lots of internal promotions/shifts in the list. Woohoo for #internalmobility. - Lateral movement in the luxury brand space reminds us that career progression isn't always linear... sometimes you can take the same title at a different company for a change of pace and new experiences. - Several leaders left one industry segment for another (sometimes drastically different!) one. Don't let segments or niches limit where you look for talent - there are so many adjacencies between industries that can be found if you ask talent about their #skills vs. only asking about past experiences.

Y’all. You know how much joy I get from recognizing the hard work of others. 🤗 Yesterday I had the privilege of recognizing MA Specialist Tyler from Store 3104. When we spoke about LPP and how much it benefits our customers, he stated: “I wouldn’t buy an appliance without it”. 🥹 That simple phrase makes a world of difference to our customers. Every consumer wants to know that you trust your product enough to not only recommend it, but use it as well! Tyler thank you for connecting transparently with your customers and ensuring they have the peace of mind they deserve when purchasing appliances. There hasn’t been a goal you haven’t exceeded. You are a great representation of Lowe’s and a true winner all around. 🏆 …and you know what winners get? Sprinkles (well, in this case cookies and an LPP Recognition Bag). 🙃🍪✨ Tyler, keep up the outstanding work! Onward and Upward! 📈 #lowes #loweslife #lpp #region5 #levelup #partnership #progress #passion #success #successmindset #service #servantleadership #HungrytoWIN #HungrytoWIN2024 #support #learning #development #coaching #growing #teaching #movetheneedle #recognition #recognitionmatters #dreamteam #onwardandupward Chad Alberda Jesse Krug Andrew Bradt Jennifer Clark Brian Deal Danny Gates Chris Grimley Jessica Chalk

Verizon, AT&T, Target, Neiman Marcus, Choice Hotels, Optum, Caterpillar, Pepsi, and others helped contribute to a successful event discussing all things planning at Globe Life Field. The shared thoughts on how to add better flexibility, collaboration, and streamline processes were some of the biggest takeaways for me. Excited to be a part of Pigment, which is leading the next generation of planning. #pigment #gopigment #planning #workforceplanning #salesplanning #epm #globelifefield #financialplanning

Many of us have either shopped at our heard of Macy’s but….. Do you know the story of the man behind it? I certainly didn’t and what an inspirational story! R. H. Macy is man who never gave up after each of his failures and his success came from his persistence. He tried 5 professions: Whaler Retailer Gold Miner Stockbroker Real estate Broker And 6 attempts at owning retail companies all of which had failed… Until his 7th attempt which we all know as Macy’s Department store. The POWER of Persistence: What keeps us going in the midst of adversity is having a strong sense of our purpose. It’s what fuels us to embody the power of persistence. —————————————————————— John C. Maxwell Strategy for cultivating Persistence: 1️⃣ Find your purpose 2️⃣ Eliminate all of your excuses 3️⃣ Develop incentives for your victories 4️⃣ Cultivate inward determination continually 📚 Read “Failing Foward” for details on this strategy. ———————————————————— Spark The Mind. Fuel The Dream. Book a FREE Wake up Call Lester Sydney Tap the 🔔 in my profile for more content on motivation, inspiration and personal development.

Sometimes it’s something as simple as attending your works annual party that is organised by your brilliant store team, that makes you realise that what you do is absolutely worth all the blood, sweat and tears. A very comical awards ceremony at the @marksandspencer White City store party culminated in the spotlight turning on the store manger (me) to present a video message from the team to award me with a ‘lifetime achievement’ award. Some humbling and very touching messages were recorded which was all very unexpected and completely unnecessary, but gave me a realisation that how you engage, behave and interact with the people you work with has a lasting impact. Being courteous, having manners, leading with transparency is something I have learnt to do by understanding that ultimately, people work for people. Heirachy is necessary but is only truly affective when applied in the right way. This should never stop you from connecting with the people that ultimately make the machine work and deliver the results. Get to know your team, regardless of how many of them there are, know their names, roll your sleeves up, work shoulder to shoulder and be appreciative of what they do for you. Tonight has taught me that leadership of people is a constant, but a constant privilege. And if your teams give you the nod of appreciation, which they did tonight, it makes it all worthwhile. #whitecitymarksandspencer #centrallondon #centrallondonacademy

🎢 This month marks my first year at Walmart and in Supply Chain (one of the most complex, nuanced, yet invigorating environments I've worked in). I'm sharing a few randomly picked insights from the notes filling my journal over the past year: 💙Your professional life becomes notably smoother and more fulfilling when you collaborate with a manager/immediate team who understands you, trusts you, has your back, wants to see you succeed, and shares a similar level of (com)passion, creativity and curiosity. Timothy Burleson🏆 💙75% of hourly associates at Walmart become salaried managers. 💙Supply chain wisdom from Rafael Ortiz: "Stay close to the case" and "Have friends in the field who can be candid and direct with you." 💙To be successful with a supply chain initiative, understand what's happening upstream and downstream relative to your area of impact/influence. 💙Overcommunicate where you need to. 💙Always build relationships, but be sincere and never force it. 💙Incubate your ideas before presenting them. 💙Flexibility in adjusting your point of view, plans, or next steps based on new information is a sign of strength, not underconfidence/uncertainty. 💙You build trust and credibility by delivering on your promises. Sometimes, the process of delivering takes longer than anticipated; it doesn't and shouldn't diminish your trustworthiness/credibility/confidence while in progress. 💙Comfortable footwear and a jacket are a must when visiting a DC (especially when visiting the perishable departments🥶) 💙The work is hard, so be sure to have a sense of humour/fun while at it. 💙You can build an exciting, meaningful career anywhere in Bentonville, Arkansas or New York City. Here's to year 2!

Yesterday, I stumbled upon a hidden treasure in my desk - coins that brought back memories of a unique recognition program I developed. During my store visits, exceptional teams were awarded these coins for their outstanding work in customer care, merchandising, and overall excellence. These coins, when accumulated, could be redeemed for rewards like paid time off, gifts, and more. Those who received these coins were celebrated as "LINDA'S ROCK STARS" throughout our company, comprising over 500 locations and 2000 employees. Everyone wanted to get these and the stores would actually call me and ask me when I was coming to visit. And, if I forgot to hand them out, they asked! 💫 This recognition program fostered a culture of appreciation and excellence, boosting morale and driving performance. The average tenure of our team was 15 years. 15 YEARS. With all the struggles we have today just finding staff, think about what you are doing to retain them? Simple yet powerful recognition goes a long way. Who wouldn't want to be a Linda's (your name) Rock Star? 🏆 Recognition matters – it's a simple yet powerful way to motivate and inspire teams. Let's continue to celebrate and acknowledge the exceptional efforts of our colleagues. If you want more information or help building your recognition program, contact me today. 🌟 #EmployeeRecognition #Motivation #Appreciation #retention #employees #recruiting #hiring #training #retailers #TopRetailExpert International Retail Group, LLC Ron Thurston RETHINK Retail Liza AmlaniWendy GannawayMelissa MooreChris IgweTorben Valsted

A feel-good story of succession   Before you begin to think I’ve forgotten to capitalise succession, I’m not referring to the fictional and fabulously wealthy Roy family that kept many guessing at whom they were based on in real life.   Instead, this is a very short note about leadership and the example being set at that retail shopper nirvana place where one can get a corpulent, juicy hot dog and a bottomless assortment of Pepsi Cola brands at the soda fountain for a dollar fifty: COSTCO.   It is a story of humble beginnings and learning the building blocks to success that make one’s career at a company viable.   Too many of us get our expectations set very high in childhood and college and believe our success is merited based on Woody Allen’s famous bon mot of just showing up. One which may have affected more than one of us in our early or mid career.   When joining McCann-Erickson as a trainee fresh out of uni in 1975, I thought I was the bee's knees and my confidence could have floated a Zeppelin. Until my boss, thoroughly unimpressed at my first-day eagerness, growled at me to go away and organize the files as he had to go to the weekly Monday morning management meeting. Smiling outwardly while seething inwardly at his umbrage at dismissing his newly assigned boy genius so peremptorily, I did so. And learned a lot about what he and the company were doing. While I perhaps foolishly left McCann’s after he retired, the lesson in imparting humility he gave me never left, or at least served as a reminder whenever cockiness struck, which admittedly still happened every so often when one begins to think we know everything, that painful arrogance born of shallow youthful confidence.   That’s why the news about Costco’s CEO announcing his departure and successor is refreshing. No surprise, no drama, no fishing around outside the company for a whiz kid to straighten out what is essentially an extremely well-run business. A succession lesson to chew over while wolfing down one of their hot dog specials, or carting off one of their fabulous rotissary chickens after being served by people who, as the article points out, seem genuinely happy to work there. #leadership #strategyconsulting #marketing #advertising #management #retail https://lnkd.in/eR7BMm-s

There aren’t many leaders that I respect more than Best Buy’s Senior Executive Vice President, Kamy Scarlett. She’s brilliant, fun, warm, supportive, and has a way to cut through BS without having to wear a rebellious Sons of Anarchy leather vest to do it. She leads with her authentic personality and embraces and celebrates the individual personalities of her team. Kamy knows that being a front-line associate in a retail environment is a tough gig with long hours, disrespectful customers, and tons of direction from head office. Beyond product knowledge, they have to know specials, offers, and have a photographic memory of the binder that outlines the 5000 guidelines that dictate everything from how to bag a box to 60-day return policies. Kamy’s plan was simple. She simply went to her frontline staff and told them to forget all of that. There was only one direction they needed to understand and to put into practice: “Be Amazing”. That’s it. Be amazing. Kamy hired her people based on beliefs and values and expected them to be amazing at their jobs but she tossed away the script and let them deliver “AMAZING” in their own authentic way. It’s simpler, it’s easier to commit to memory, and it’s way more fulfilling which creates a much better experience for the customers AND the staff. When you inspire your people to be amazing, they will be.