Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Before you can plan or implement your goals for growth, the entire operation needs to be in the right mindset. Dan Tratensek, COO and publisher for the North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA), shares six ways you can get your team into a growth mindset.
1. Gain situational awareness. Figure out where your operation stands in comparison to your competitors and industry averages. One easy way to see how you stack up in the channel is by utilizing the NHPA Cost of Doing Business Study, a report that examines real-world data from thousands of hardware stores, home centers, lumberyards and paint dealers. There’s still time to participate in this year’s survey so you can get a free copy of the study.
2. Identify the gaps. Take a closer look at what parts of your operation could use some improvement, and use those as the basis for your growth plan. Start small and take one step at a time; you don’t need to address every gap at one time.
3. Set your goals and build a plan. Embrace the 3+3 plan, which is centered around finding just three areas you want to focus on for business improvement. Once you have identified three areas where you want to improve, list three things you can do right now to reach success in these three areas.
4. Get the team on board. The importance of keeping your three steps easy to understand and execute is critical to your team being on board. Be sure to illustrate what success looks like and how each team member contributes to that success.
5. Set up milestones. Set up milestones. These could be daily, weekly or monthly, and are crucial to help the team see progress and know they are on the right track.
6. Adjust the plan as needed. No plan is perfect, so be open to adjusting as needed. Because you are only focusing on three areas, you can dedicate time to better understanding why you are or aren’t hitting your benchmarks.
For a deeper dive into growth for your operation, check June’s feature article: 5 Common Challenges to Growth and How to Overcome Them.
