Readers had a lot to say about my post, “How The CEOs of Macy's M -0.78%, J. Crew and Amazon Tap Boldness And Intuition To Drive Success,” delivering their take on retail leaders more deserving of praise than my picks, such asNordstrom JWN -1.06%’s CEO Blake Nordstrom, while throwing out names they found missing from the list, like Angela Ahrendts, the new head of Apple AAPL +1.13% retail who was wooed from Burberry.
Readers also sounded off on the many factors that contribute to a CEO’s success: an effective team, savvy execution, a nimbleness to course correct amid market shifts, the hard-to-pinpoint-yet-visceral gut instinct, and a company culture that rewards out-of-the-box thinking, among others.
But these retail-executive readers didn’t claim to have all the answers and posed some thoughtful questions, too.
Here’s what commenters on my post via the LinkedIn LNKD -4.16%Industry Professionals Group page had to say:
Rich Millis, Principal at Endoxa Consulting LLC
“To rise to the position of CEO is an achievement in itself and each of the gentlemen mentioned are respectable leaders.
But… with all due respect, and I mean that sincerely, Barbara, this is just my two cents:
Blake Nordstrom is a far more effective CEO than Mr. [Terry] Lundgren.
“Macy’s may look good on paper right now, but Nordstrom has a better image and stronger brand, better customer experience, and a stronger e-commerce channel. Plus, they have a much better employee experience. Mr. Nordstrom, like his predecessor, has accomplished this steadily over time without mergers, acquisitions or takeovers.
“Mickey Drexler you nailed. He is a retail god and someone who has proven more than once he can lead effectively. Other retail leaders can certainly learn from his style, which is hands-on and steeped in training and development.
“Mr. Bezos, where do I begin? I have a love/hate relationship with this man. Here’s what I don’t like about his leadership. There is a growing sense among consumers that Amazon is the online version of Walmart. From an image standpoint there seems to be little that Mr. Bezos is doing to change that. I am confident this does not bode well for Amazon in the future. In addition, the employee experience for many Amazon employees is appalling and unacceptable.”
Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Tony Hsieh the CEO at Zappos is, again in my opinion, a far more effective leader than Mr. Bezos. The brand is strong, the customer experience is amazing, and the employee experience is solid.
Often times what Wall Street thinks and what the bean counters see is what shapes peoples opinions about companies and their CEOs. What happens in the trenches matters, however, in the long run. The days when one looks at the income statement or bottom line to determine a leader’s effectiveness are long gone.”
Kyle Callahan, Retail ManagementProfessional, Macy’s
Angela Ahrendts, the former Burberry CEO who will head up Apple’s retail stores. (Photo credit: Fortune Live Media)
“We have yet to touch on a growing and important topic. Women in the suites. Angela Ahrendts, who will soon be making her leap from Burberry to Apple, proved a game changer with her business connections and implementation of technology in retail. And she will be making a natural transition to her next role as leader of Apple’s retail business.
“Fortune has had several articles profiling her. A couple of great reads to continue our discussions.”
Terrance Van Gemert,
Information Architect, Visionary Developer R&D
“I do believe that culture matters. At the end of the day we all want a return on investment, but the key is, at what price?
“I do believe that culture matters. At the end of the day we all want a return on investment, but the key is, at what price?
Trained staff, diversity and an agility to shift with market pressures to withstand changes or shifts reduces long-term liability and upsets.
“[A good brand can emanate from] good people who serve the customer in the name of making the company far stronger and taking care of the company family, which is the employees.
“That sounds like a Japanese culture of style, where it is not the government taking care of people [but] it is good business to take care of customers [as well as] the employee family.”
Miroslav Jasso, CIO at LIDL Slovakia
“Ensure a culture where innovations and excellence are welcome and rewarded.”
Willis Washington, Entrepreneur
“I would imagine that the ‘business’ part of a business is needed, but not as much as intuition. I really believe intuition could definitely override a crucial business decisions.
“For example, it might be universal — or at least universal for a specific business — to handle a situation ‘this way,’ and yet the CEO with the intuition, that only he sees, decides to go a different way that’s not very common in that particular situation.
“So where does business stop and intuition begin? I don’t know, maybe you need both to be great. Can you have one without the other?”
Girijashankar Pandey, Owner at Management Consulting
“As an ex-CEO, I can only say alert, agile deep concern for cash flow and leading from the front will give you success.
“Managing a [retail] enterprise consists of myriad executive functions to be performed simultaneously —and results can’t be hidden.
“
A retail set-up or an outlet needs huge logistic/physical/ financial support to be successful. There is the term out-of-the-box thinking in prompt decision-making; some element of intuition comes in here.
“[But] since no two business entities can be the same, we can succeed in one and might not so in the other.”
Rev Bert Muyambuki, Projects Director
“A lot of seemingly insignificant players make it happen for corporate heads. I do give credit where it’s due, but no man at the helm can steer the ship on their own and succeed.”
“A lot of seemingly insignificant players make it happen for corporate heads. I do give credit where it’s due, but no man at the helm can steer the ship on their own and succeed.”
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