THERE IS A HELL! - - - IT IS CALLED RETAIL THERE IS A HELL AND IT IS CALLED RETAIL! | Page 26

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Martyring oneself emotionally is to take on a "poor me" attitude. A manager who martyrs his
or herself constantly tells the associates how horrible the job is, how long the hours are, how
low the pay is, and how mean the executives are.
Martyr managers don't stop at business. They have to tell everyone how awful their spouse
is, how bratty the kids are, how the parents are so mad because they have to work another
holiday and can't go to a family function.
Yes, I've done this in mid-career. Retail management can suck. I was told it could suck. I
was told that I would work awful hours and every holiday. But for a half-decade I felt sorry
for myself and wanted others to feel sorry for me.
Now when a manager starts to complain about long hours or bad treatment by executives I
respond, "You should quit."
Being Either an Office or Hands-On Manager
There are two kinds of managers: office and hands-on. This comes from managers wanting
to stick with what they enjoy and avoid what they hate. This can come from a lack of
confidence in certain aspects of management.
For managers of small stores, it's important to get on the floor and get work done. Usually,
managers of drug stores or small mall shops have to roll up their sleeves and work. Some
enjoy this too much or use it to avoid responsibility.
It is hard to plan, go over sales figures, track associate performance, and come up with wellthought-out ideas to increase sales and decrease expenses. A manager who avoids his or her
office (usually a bench in the back room) will never achieve excellence.
Conversely, a manager who concentrates on office work will not have a strong picture of his
or her staff. Things won't get done. They won't connect socially with associates. Again, they
will not achieve excellence.
It's okay to be a great stocker or salesman. It's also okay to have a head for numbers and
trends. But to concentrate on one aspect at the expense of the other will unbalance the
store.
Balancing paperwork and floor work can also give the manager a better, clearer picture of
the store. Like the example below. If the manager did his job of tracking performance
instead of blindly stocking shelves he could have prevented theft and fraud.
Relying on Personal Bias
Personal biases are formed by our families, friends, and experiences. In its mundane form
personal bias provides our personal taste and preference. In more dangerous form, personal
bias leads to bl [