MY TURN By Kevin E. Lynch, LPC
Stop, Look, and Listen I
recently took a golf trip with a group of friends to the “Holy Grail” of golf—St. Andrews, Scotland. One of my companions on the trip was the executive editor of this publication, Jim Lee. Jim and I became business associates when I was with Sensormatic Electronics as his account representative when he was the vice president of loss prevention at Marshalls. Jim had brought a significant number of his LP team with him from Broadway Department Stores, where he vacated the top loss prevention spot. This was the prime example of my oft-quoted saying, “You can’t buy loyalty, but you can come pretty close!” Throughout my career it has been my great pleasure to work with some of the best LP executives in retail America. I sit on the board of the Loss Prevention Foundation board of directors with many of the consummate professionals I grew up with in this industry. As Jim and I stood on the first tee at St. Andrews, we marveled at the landscape. It was beautiful, intimidating, and exhilarating. Hitting off the first tee of any new golf course is filled with hope and trepidation of the many hazards that could befall you over the course of eighteen holes. This feeling is not unlike the one you get when you take over the reins of a loss prevention department in a new
Kevin Lynch with his caddie at St. Andrews.
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Lynch is executive director of business development for Tyco Integrated Security. He is well known in the industry and sits on the board of directors for the Loss Prevention Foundation and vendor advisory board for LP Magazine. Lynch can be reached at 401-846-6123 or via email at kelynch@tyco.com.
company. On the golf course it’s water hazards, bunkers, tight fairways, long carries, and undulating greens that could impede your attainment of a low score. In your company it’s the personnel, policies, vendors, suppliers, and management that affect your success in lowering shrink and maximizing sales. Eventually, Jim and I met our caddies on the first tee box. Jimmy Reid was my caddie—a diminutive man, who had caddied at St. Andrews for thirty-seven years. Jim’s caddie was named Alex—a gentleman who approached his job with the utmost seriousness. We all possess a modicum of pride in our abilities to perform our jobs. We all have a certain amount of ego that indicates we may perform it better than others. Low scores at your home course did not ensure success at St. Andrews for misters Lynch and Lee. The analogy is “spot on” that Jim’s ability to keep shrink down at the Broadway didn’t guarantee his success at Marshalls. However, one of the most important concepts in your quest for success is to stop, look at the landscape, and listen to your people. Your store security and district and regional managers play in the grasslands of a challenging retail field every day. They know the weaknesses and strengths of the management teams and sales associates. Listen to them. Personally absorb how they view the landscape. You may pick up data that will change your course of action as the leader of your department. Jim and I listened to our caddies. They, in turn, viewed our abilities as golfers as we assessed their recommendations. The player and the caddie do not always agree on club selection or type of shot. Over the course of four days with the same caddie, the communication was streamlined and the capabilities assessed more accurately. Our scores were consistently lower over the latter part of the week. Solicit advice from your team. If they tell you it’s time for new technology to play the game right, listen to them. If they have alternative ways to attack the course that is your shrinkage number, take heed. Your people, like our caddies, are the most valuable resource in charting the course of your success. Stop, look, and listen to their views of that landscape, and you’ll be a better manager and leader in retail loss prevention. POSTSCRIPT: For those of you who know Jim and me, you can appreciate the fact that we employed most of the tenets of this missive. Checking our egos at the first tee…well, that’s a work in progress.
NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2012
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12/3/12 2:19 PM
