From the Sales Floor to CEO - is it still possible? (PART 2)
From the Sales Floor to CEO - Is it still possible (Part 2)
In part 1 I wrote about how it seemed harder these days to make it from the sales floor to the CEO’s office, despite the many powerful skills that can be developed when you start your career in a store. But what about the gaps? Why is that aspiring leaders from other functions seem to have an edge at the moment? What is it that they know that gives them an advantage? We often hear people describe an effective retail leader as ‘a good operator’. It’s a compliment on one hand but can be used to imply that the person is good at getting short term things done, but is limited in other areas.
I know I certainly ‘suffered’ from that stigma when I started to build a career outside of stores. I’ll share a little about what I learned to be the skills gaps for someone who has built a career on the sales floor:
1. Strategic Marketing and Brand Management
Retail operations rarely require a deep knowledge of brand strategy or high-level marketing initiatives. I was well into my career in stores before I even understood what strategy actually meant at a corporate level – let alone thought about setting one. I just didn’t need to think about that to be successful at my job ‘at the sharp end’. CEOs must often set and embody the brand’s vision and work to position it within a competitive landscape, a skill that doesn’t typically develop in operational roles. Retail operations professionals are celebrated for being practical and operating at pace, it’s rare for the role to require strategic thinking about brand differentiation, positioning, and long-term marketing plans. That’s a gap when operating at the CEO level.
2. A narrower commercial and financial focus
We folks from the stores are used to working with budgets and hitting targets, but are generally more focused on cost management – particularly managing payroll and inventory losses - rather than revenue generation and commercial strategy. The CEO role requires a much deeper understanding of financial metrics and the important drivers of shareholder value – especially around investment decisions and return on capital. I remember taking my first step into a corporate role and everyone speaking a language I didn’t understand – what was this thing called NPV and how could I calculate it!? Also, commercially, I knew that my gross margin was the difference between cost and retail … but what about margin mix and assortment management? And what factors affected cost price? I also used to hear about the strange subject of ‘supplier negotiation’, which seemed to be shrouded in mystery for a simple lad from a shop … Fluency with, and understanding of these areas is vital.
3. Limited Experience with Product Development and Merchandising
Successful retail businesses are obsessive about growing sales, and sales happen when you have a product that people want to buy. As a store operator, you see that at first hand every day; and the direct correlation between a well-chosen and well-priced assortment and a thriving business. At store level, you can add value through building motivated, engaged teams, high operating standards and creative merchandising – but the product you sell is something that is chosen by someone else. Inevitably, with a store perspective, there is limited exposure to product innovation and the more creative aspects of the development of a winning product proposition that evolves over time. It's likely that you love product and love to sell, but it’s important that you understand the processes that need to work to create the products you sell.
4. Challenge with Long-Term Vision and Strategic Thinking
Retail operations are often focused on short-term execution and problem-solving, rather than long-term strategy. While being able to execute well is crucial, the CEO role often requires visionary thinking, the ability to anticipate industry trends, and the capacity to think conceptually. Strategy development is a process that takes time, and the retail operator is often trained to find answers quickly. You may be familiar with Daniel Kahneman’s groundbreaking book ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ – which contrasts fast paced, often intuitive solution finding (System 1) with more detailed, difficult and analytical approaches to finding the right answer (System 2). Fast paced operators need to make sure they give themselves time and develop the tools to find the best answer to complex strategic problems.
5. Potential Gap in Stakeholder Management Skills
Not everyone in your organization thinks like you! Retail operations can often be a mono-culture – those who rise in the ranks have similar mindsets and approaches to work. Not everyone in the company is like that. They aren’t better or worse, just different. The effective CEO has empathy and understands (and values) difference. And the stakeholders you have to manage are not just inside the company – you have shareholders, suppliers, regulatory bodies, industry groups, landlords and, not least, Board members. It’s vital to communicate coherently and with impact to all these different groups. Of course, it is likely that as someone who was engaging teams from a very early career stage, that you have the communication chops, but these new audiences need understanding if you are to get your message heard.
Why the Transition is Often Difficult?
So we have established that there are tremendous advantages in having a career that began in a shop and a few disadvantages to be navigated. The transition from retail operations to CEO is often difficult because retail operations professionals have been taught – and celebrated – for a focus on the functional, executional aspects of the business rather than the broader, strategic, and brand-focused areas. Operations roles often emphasize ensuring smooth daily workflows, troubleshooting, and cost control, leaving little opportunity to gain exposure to product development, brand-building, or strategic marketing. And while operational leaders often are great at detail-orientation and tactical skills, CEOs must be able to step back to make high-level decisions that prioritize long-term growth over short-term operational challenges.
So, in our increasingly complex business context, is it now too difficult to grow from the sales floor to be a CEO?
Not at all. You can still make it by being even more deliberate and thoughtful about how you plan your career and find opportunities to build the skills you need.
I was incredibly lucky in winning Safeway’s version of The Apprentice (the TV show didn’t exist then) to go from being the manager of Wood Green superstore, to the Executive Assistant of the Chief Executive of one of the UK’s 50 biggest companies. To put that in perspective; on Saturday morning I was trying to get a bottle of Jack Daniels off a shoplifter on Wood Green High St and, the following Monday, was in the Boardroom with the great and the good. Talk about a sliding doors moment! Over two highly stimulating and stretching years, I was exposed to every aspect of how Safeway operated and how the business and human strategies were developed to enable it to succeed. I emerged a changed manager; with a much wider knowledge and skills base to add to the skills that had been deeply embedded during my time in North London supermarkets. Those skills were essential to be being able to seize opportunities later in my career and to take over the leadership of Buying and Marketing departments so that I was equipped to eventually become a CEO.
If you have the chance to do something similar, I totally recommend throwing your hat in the ring. But even if your company doesn’t offer a chance like that, there will be other opportunities for interesting secondments to cross-functional teams and assignments on strategic projects. These are really pure gold, and accelerate your development. You will be on those teams most likely because of your retail expertise, but you will get exposed to different thinking and ways of driving outcomes that will challenge you and teach you even more about yourself and how you lead and have impact.
Sounds good right? So how do you get on those teams and how might you win your own company’s version of The Apprentice? Clearly, you need to be excellent as a retail operator – you will be chosen to be an ambassador for your department and so its obvious tha you won’t be picked unless you are able to show that you are excellent at the nuts and bolts of being strong front line retailer. if you want to stand out, you need to have demonstrated that you have all those incredible skills that retail operations teaches you and are applying them to drive results.
If you are doing that – you will be someone who is already being talked about as ‘high potential’ and that should mean that your line manager and your HR department are paying attention to you. As you have your regular updates on progress and your 121s, make sure you are thinking deeply about your skill gaps and be ready to explain why the company should be making investments in your development - either through formal training programs, or through cross-functional project assignments.
You can do this! The door to CEO is still open to those who took the first steps in their retail careers in a shop, if you are prepared to get out of your comfort zone and commit to your own development. You’re already a passionate leader and a creator of impact – believe in yourself and make sure you fulfil your potential! - the sky (or at least … the CEO’s office) really is the limit!
