Retail Contrarian

You're Never a Long Shot

Did you see the Kentucky Derby?  WOW!  It usually lives up to it's billing as the most exciting two minutes in sports but this year it was off the charts.

As you probably have already heard, 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird absolutely blew away the field.  A horse that was purchased for a mere $9,500 and was racing against animals valued at millions of dollars is not supposed to win.

But win he did.  Mine That Bird was dead last at the ¾ mile marker, in twelfth place at the mile marker, and by the time jockey Calvin Borel got him to the straightaway he had flown by the field to take the lead and win by over six lengths.  Love it!  For Borel in an emotional post-race interview to dedicate the race to his deceased parents was icing on the cake.

Obviously I couldn't help but think of all the lessons we could take away from Calvin and Mine That Bird.

1. You don't have to be the biggest or the richest to compete but you do have to be in the race to win.  Some of the horses that Mine That Bird beat were purchased as foals for over $3,000,000, are owned by very wealthy people and are trained by the most prominent and successful trainers in the business.  Mine That Bird's trainer is an unknown out of New Mexico.  While your competitors may have deeper pockets than you do, the one who executes the best will still win.

2. Seize the opportunity when it presents itself.  One of the keys to Mine That Bird's victory was the ability to not only get to the inside rail, but to get through two openings between horses to get to the lead.  Any hesitation by jockey Calvin Borel and Mine That Bird may well have been caught behind the pack, unable to break through.  We are presented with opportunities every day but they'll pass us by if we're not a) looking for them and b) willing to act quickly and decisively to maximize them.

3. Pedigrees and experience are great but never underestimate hard work and a big heart. Mine That Bird came into the race as, the Boston Globe said, "An extra in a 19-horse race of stake winners owned by bluebloods." Jockey Calvin Borel is described by Sports Illustrated as ". . .not often thought of in the first flight of today's top riders even though he has over 4,000 victories and a Derby win in 2007."  It reminded me that some of my best employees never went to college, or had no retail experience when I hired them.  Don't look at what people don't have on the outside, but look what they have inside them. The same holds true about yourself.

4. Last but not least, believe in yourself.  As Calvin was celebrating his victory while still atop Mine That Bird, he pointed toward his helmet and screamed, "It's all in your head." Think like a winner, believe you're a winner, and chances are you'll fly to victory just like Calvin Borel and Mine That Bird.

Remember this; people, horses, and companies are only long shots because someone wasn't smart enough to bet on them.

Win Retail Gold Like Michael Phelps

This article ran in my Daily Retail Experience newsletter on 8/13 and I thought I should share it as the Olympics are winding down. You can learn more about the Daily newsletter at the bottom of this post.

How can you not be in awe of Michael Phelps? He now has  the record for winning the most gold medals in a single Olympics and the most  career gold medals than any other athlete.  This guy is awesome.

I sat at my desk this morning thinking about how I could become the Michael Phelps of retail. At first I thought it must be the Speedos, but heaven knows the sight of me in a Speedo would not be a good thing. Those of you who are having me speak at their events in the next few months can feel very grateful I came to that conclusion.

What is it that makes him the Superman of swimming and what can we mere mortals learn from him?  From watching the Olympics and from everything I've read, I've identified a few things we can learn from Michael to help us bring home our own gold.

1. Let your competition motivate you. Michael Phelps doesn't worry about what his competitors do or say; he uses it to motivate him to achieve his goals.  When a competitor knocks or doubts him he cuts out the article and posts it in the back of his locker.  He doesn't whine, complain, or try to one-up his competitors; he just goes out and beats them.

The same holds true for successful retailers. They watch and listen to their competitors and then go out and try to beat them at their own game. On the other end of the spectrum, retailers who are struggling inevitably are the ones to moan and complain about their competition. One thing I've learned in life is that moaning and complaining never get me anything. It's action that delivers results.

2. Train to win.  Did you see the interview with Michael Phelps' mother where she said his coach came to her when Michael was 11 and said it was time to start preparing for the Olympics?  She laughed at the idea but the coach was serious.  He saw the champion in Michael.  From that day forward Michael started serious training. Today he eats, sleeps, and trains.

I'm not saying you should only eat, sleep and work, although I'm sure some of you already do just that. We need to have a good work/life balance.  But while you're at work, train to win.

I used to see training as a deliverable, something that once I read or gave to employees I could walk away from.  I now know that training is an activity.  It might involve reading something but it also means working with people to improve both their skills and mine. I guarantee that if you dedicate time every single day to training, and I mean every day just like Olympians do, you and your staff will improve and achieve your goals.

3. Stay focused. Phelps lets absolutely nothing get in the way of his goal.  His goal coming into these Olympics is to win the most gold medals of all time (check) and the most in a single Olympics. He knows what he wants and that's what he plans to do. He's so focused that he skipped the opening ceremonies at both Athens and Beijing because they were too close to his first event. Makes me wonder how many of his competitors were at the opening ceremonies that night.

While everyone around Michael talks about the big picture, he must compartmentalize. U.S. national team coach Mark Schubert said it well,  "Michael really does a wonderful job at taking one day at a time and attacking whatever's in front of him for that day."

What's your goal for today? Not just your sales goal, which you need to have, but what are you going to attack today that puts you one step closer to achieving your overall goal? Don't let the petty distractions and flare-ups that always happen get in the way of achieving your goal, or if you will, your gold.

Have an Olympian kind of day!

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