Wendy L. 00:10

Hello everyone. I'm Wendy Liebmann, CEO and chief shopper at WSL Strategic Retail and this is Future Shop. This is where I talk to innovators, disruptors and iconoclasts about the future of retail. Today I have three of them, an innovator, a disrupter, an iconoclast. We're going to talk about today, influence and the power of influence, so intriguing topic as we think about the future. But first of all, let me introduce the panelists I have in alphabetical order. Amanda Coussoule is the Chief Customer Officer at Kenvue. Welcome. Marla Fielder is Health and Wellness Director at Kroger, and Sharon Glass is the Global Head of Pharma and OTC. She's the partner at InMarket. Hello all, thank you for coming.

Amanda C. 01:00

Thanks for having us, Wendy

Wendy L. 01:01

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Wendy L. 01:23

So just for context, so about a month or so ago, we were all honored one way or the other, at the MMR, Mass Market Retailers Event Women of Influence, as part of the awards ceremony. In advance of it, we did a panel. We had a panel discussion with all of us, plus one, Kelly Mahoney, the CMO at Ulta Beauty, who couldn't be with us today. But as part of the panel discussion, we talked about the role of influence and how that helps us or helps our organizations, and what we need to understand about the future of retail within that context, it was such a lively discussion. There was just so much level of engagement from people in the audience and people after that, I said, well, come on, let's just continue this conversation here. So, Amanda, I'm going to toss this one to you, because you had talked about that day about influence being both a soft and a hard superpower. And I just for me, it was understanding. That was a great learning, and I wanted you to, you know, explain that again, the soft role and the harder or firmer role of influence.

Amanda C. 02:2

Sure. Thanks, Wendy and what. What a fun panel. That was an incredible opportunity, not just to share our thoughts, but to learn from each other as well. So, for those who may not know, my background includes five and a half years serving in the United States Army, and so much of how I think about hard influence versus soft influence is relative to a chain of command. And in the civilian world, in the corporate world, there are still hierarchies that exist. And so, as I think about being a woman of influence, but all of us as leaders using our powers of influence within the context of business and the future of retail, I thought a lot about when is it appropriate to use what type of influence? To me, hard influence comes from your position of authority within an organization or potentially built from your credibility and your results that you have delivered. And hard influence allows you to be slightly more directive and more specific when trying to affect change or drive behavior, but very frequently, we find ourselves in position where we may not have authority that comes from an organizational diagram, or we may not even have authority that comes from lived experience, but we have authority from being outstanding listeners and process information quickly, can connect dots and have a unique point of view that others in a group may not have. And so, in that case, what I have learned is what I would call soft influence, is an opportunity to affect change with similar desired outcomes, but through much more consultative or question asking types of behavior, and helping people get to something through subtle direction of behavior versus very directive. I call it the knife hand. In the military, we're going to go do this. So that's how I've thought a lot about hard and soft influence. And what I think is also interesting is even when you're in a position of authority, formal authority, within an organization, you still need to be able to do both, because situational awareness and emotional intelligence, I believe, are what set not only leaders apart, but as AI, as a growing force in in all of our lives, what sets us apart As humans.

Wendy L. 04:39

Yeah, it's so interesting that you've added the AI component to that, because that is that big conversation. Now, right when technology can do so much, what role do we as individuals play? And we'll come back to that for a minute. But Marla, I was thinking a lot about the role you have, and there you are in a grocery. Company, a food company, where you're in the health and wellness space, and the power of the of the fresh guy or woman, whoever's running fresh, or the power of, you know, who is ever running, you know, I don't know, sodas, beverages, all of those things, versus the power of the person behind the pharmacy counter. How do you think about that in a company like Kroger or in general, in the in the life you lead? Yeah,

Marla F. 05:30

yeah, so thank you for that, and I echo the remarks. We had a wonderful time back in June. And so being a pharmacist first, and then being a pharmacy in what happens to be a grocery store. You know, the bigger picture is really focused on center to your point, center store and the fresh side of the business. However, it's my role to have influence on the total business by really sharing insights as it relates to how important our pharmacy customer really is and how much, how much more loyal a pharmacy customer is, and how they their basket size is bigger, and all those pieces. So, yeah, absolutely, the bulk of our business is center store and the fresh side of the business, but certainly pharmacy and the health and wellness side of the business has a very influential part of the business as well. And so for me, I had to find the happy medium of learning all that I could about the total business, while making sure that I as a subject matter expert, shared and influenced the decision making as it relates to pharmacy and then making sure that the C suite understood how important the pharmacy side of the business is in our region as well.

Wendy L. 06:45

Yeah, and I think you have a unique role in this group. Perhaps you and I yours in that you've been at Kroger a long time, right? So, and both Sharon and Amanda and Kelly, as I said, who couldn't join us, are relatively new to their role. So I do think about that on the one hand, familiarity, so they know you in Houston and your area of responsibility, because they take you for granted. Do you have to have a different way of approaching now I'm putting you on the spot, influence. When you've been there a long time, you

Marla F. 07:18

you do have to continue to evolve. I've been 25 years in with Kroger, I started as a pharmacy technician, and so each level, each new role, I had to find a new space for influence. And so that is why it was so important for me, and how why it was so driven to learn the rest of the business. So when I go do a store walk, I don't just visit pharmacy. I walk the entire store, because I also understand that the those customers that are in the store, maybe they shop with me, maybe they don't. But if we don't have everything we need, and we don't have the quality that we're looking for, then that's going to directly impact my business as well. And so to be able to tell the meat guy, Hey, they had a really great meat shop at store, 123, or to tell the produce guy, Hey, listen, you may want to swing by the store, or get one of your specialists in there, because we weren't maybe as fresh as we'd like to be made. Gave me a platform, if you will, to be able to talk shop, the total shop, while also then having that presence in the room, so they can also then engage in pharmacy. So I have had to continue to whether it was new leaders of departments or new leaders of the region to influence differently and not just be, oh, that's Marla. She's pharmacy. I had to make pharmacy fun and interesting at the same time.

Wendy L. 08:37

Sharon, Sharon, you and I being in service businesses where we have clients and we, you know, we're sort of, it's sometimes feels like a different need to both influence, internally and externally. You know, you're relatively new to your role InMarket, although you've been in service and data for a long time. How is that? How do you see the role of influence and hard and soft terms taking the hill versus walking the store kind of thing. Yeah,

Sharon G. 09:06

Yeah, it's, it's interesting, because I've been in the consultative, sort of selling role for, you know, over 20 years, and my when I'm influencing, I'm trying to get my customers to have a reason to believe in me. Because there is so many things out there, so many me too’s. I mean, you think of digital today and personalization, those words are so overly used, but it's like, how do I really influence them to choose me? And it's really understanding your customers, understanding what's keeping them up at night. So just like Marla says, she walks the stores to know her consumers, I like walk the stores to know my customers. I want to understand and do a lot of research. So when it comes to we're in it together, you know? And I'm sort of walking the walk and walking the talk with them. And at the end of the day, it may be owning up to the wrong decision, but that's how you build trust, you know? It's, it's having integrity, community. And, you know, delivering on promise is really important, and that's, I think, a key differentiator, and how I try to influence decision making when it comes to my role here, the

Wendy L. 10:12

I mean, the three of you have, you know, have, have really illustrious careers, been in your areas of expertise for considerable time, where you know, what was that moment that you went like, I either can influence in one way or the other, or I'm watching somebody who has this power that I didn't know I had. So I mean, where, where did that come from?

Amanda C. 10:33

from? Well, I hope I'm not alone in remembering the moment where you're in a briefing and there are not that many people in the room, and the lead executive asks a question, and it's quiet for a moment, and everybody looks at you. And so that's when you realize, I'm not just the expert, but I have this opportunity to influence in every direction. 360 influence when you reach a certain point in your career, though, I would argue, in today's a retail environment that moves faster than anything we've ever seen. You don't need to be a 25 year industry veteran to have that kind of influence. And so when there is a question asked in a forum and everybody pauses and looks at you, I think that the moment of recognizing I have influence to a degree, and there is a responsibility and accountability that comes with that, which for many personality types, including my own, we thrive on, and that is one of the things that makes our work so meaningful, is when you know that it ripple effects farther than the seat in which you find yourself at the moment.

Wendy L. 11:37

How do you I mean, you just made me all of a sudden that like, oh, it rose up in my chest. I was thinking of that first moment when you sit there and the room is quiet, and somebody looks at you, you have to come with some degree of knowledge, right? You have to come with some degree of confidence. What is it that when somebody looks at you, do? I have to be the subject matter expert, mother,

Marla F. 12:01

yeah. So I think it's maybe a combination, you know, I think I have the, I believe that your skills, regardless of your specialty, can translate across, you know, the many lines of business. And so I think for me, that moment was we, I don't even remember what the issue was, but it just didn't make sense to me that the pieces didn't track. Like, why are we doing it that way? It had nothing to do with pharmacy. And so for me, it was more so of just perspective, maybe is the word that I'm looking for there. And I just was like, so have we ever considered x, y, z? Normally, I would have kind of sat back and said, Oh, they probably thought of that already, and there's a reason we don't do it that way, but I just decided to be more invested in whatever the case was, we did that way. So I think it's not always knowledge, but maybe perspective as well, and just, you know, seeing it from a different lens, not someone that's always been on the grocery side with someone, you know, my little, I call it my poor little science brain. I'm just thinking about things different,

Wendy L. 13:07

yeah, does that come with, dare I say, age?,

Sharon G. 13:11

There's a degree about, like, street smarts, you know. But you, you gain them over years of doing the job, you know? And when I started my career at Warner Lambert. It was like I was, you know, out there in the field, checking out, doing planograms, like really understanding the base knowledge of what goes on at retail. So even though I was in marketing, like I also saw what happens when I send this stuff out, you know, versus just working in my office, and I feel like, yeah, it is experience. Because, you know, I've been in the industry for a long time, but I think our younger generation today can get that same experience by just doing, putting in the time, you know, and there's so many other ways to get information today that may not have to always be doing a role like I was just talking about, but it's like doing the research and understanding it. There's something that you said about just going along this path and this journey of this career, and just trying to expose yourself to as many people in different roles and as many things as possible. And I think that's how you get that quicker. And the more you do it, the more you can catch on faster.

Amanda C. 15:18

? I just had lunch with a good friend of mine who works for a very large package food company, and we were talking about how very challenging the industry is right now. And I also believe that your ability to influence baseline experience can be accelerated when you embrace the challenge. And as difficult as it might be to find yourself in a role or company or a moment in industry's evolution, when everything feels hard. That to me, is when you can build experience and credibility at a greater rate than maybe a colleague in the industry who doesn't face the kinds of challenges that you do. So that is one of the things I. Think is a important for emerging talent, too. How can I accelerate my career? Seek out the biggest challenges you can find, embrace them and then deliver. It's not enough to do the work, right? You have to also deliver against the challenge.

Sharon G. 16:23

It's such a great point Amanda, because I remember I used to was like trying to break open that customer that we couldn't break open for years, you know? And I really got in there and tried to figure out, like I said earlier, the compelling event, why don't they like us? I would meet with as many people as I can and give me feedback. What are we doing wrong? What are we doing good? What do you wish we did better? And just asking those questions over and over again, until and then, when you're able to open up something like that. That's when you get attention, because you were able to build something that no one else in the past could, you know, and that's how you sort of influence. All of a sudden, you are an influencer just purely by the results that you've been able to achieve. And then that also supports, you know, where you're headed with your career, too, because you start getting recognized for being able to drive business. So yeah, I love those, those tough customers.

Wendy L. 16:06

And I do think that there's something in that of being bold, and in the sense of whatever bold looks like, and whether it's walking the floor, and as you do every day, I'm sure, Marla just walking into one of your one of your many stores, or, you know, Amanda, as you travel around the country, you know, with your teams and your customers, and Sharon, like you and I, where we're always, you know, building those relationships with our clients, which is not about sitting behind our desk and it is about jumping into the fray, right, and being part of it. You brought the point up, Amanda, I mean, you're in a company that's going, that's splitting off, has sped off from its parent company, so a totally new organization, you know, Marla, as you continue to, you know, grow the health and wellness business and in a grocery retailer and Sharon your whole new field. I mean, this turmoil, chaos. I'll be polite or not. In the industry, how do we how do we help our people, our teams, our particularly younger people, but not only, how do we help them? Not be afraid of that, especially

Marla F. 17:12

I think you know, especially, you know, for the pharmacy space we have, you know, people closing and their doors forever. And so for me, we've had that be very transparent with conversations up. This is where we are. This is where we I see the industry. This is what I've seen before. Of course, there's some areas that are uncharted territory, and so then for it's easier in air quotes, it's easier to then back up the why we're asking for certain tasks be, whether they're Clinical, whether they're additional, you know, making sure that we're taking care of the whole patient differently. The industry is changing in the pharmacy space, just even how we care for our patients. And so it helps explain the why and why I am still at Kroger and feel very strongly about the strength of the pharmacy business that's tied to a grocery business, right? People are still going to need to eat, and people are still going to actually need to take their medication. And so really helping them navigate and go through the journey of the transparency with a little bit of the history of where we've come from in the industry, and then, certainly as a company, helps to bring them along the way. Because it is a little scary. What I would add,

Wendy L. 20:32

Amanda C. 18:24

oh, I'm sorry what I did that is, Marla, you spoke to it, but I've been so inspired in the last few weeks with this re energizing of the idea. And said, it can be that we put the consumer in the center of everything we do, and so I think that is always going to be our touchstone, and as we work to find the unique way that each of our colleagues, team members, can find their motivation of fulfillment, one of the beautiful things about our industry, whether you're on the manufacturer, the retailer or the partner side, is we Do it for the consumer, and really getting into the understanding of what is our consumer facing right now, what is the problem that we can uniquely solve for them, and making it personal, that empathetic, human based understanding of the consumer brings so much meaning to what we do. And I think today in our industry, there is nothing. Don't get me wrong, my company's amazing, and I love everything about it, but at some point the industry is the industry, and so finding a higher purpose within what we all do is extremely motivating when things are so

Wendy L. 19:31

challenging. It also feels like, you know, it's that people first. You don't have to convince me about consumer first, right? Shopper first. And it also so centers you right when it gets so hard and your brain starts to hurt because you can't quite figure it out, all of a sudden, it seems to become so intimate, so focused, and that's the thing that sort of makes me passionate about all these crazy, crazy times. We

Sharon G. 19:57

we all, unfortunately, have people that we care. Deeply about and have different health journeys. So what I'm trying to, what I try to focus on, is, how do we help them along that journey in a very personalized way, you know, and looking at them very uniquely. And to your point, I mean, it's, again, it's the customer or the patient at first. You know, when you focus there, it sort of makes it easier to sort of humanize and get and get and wrap your mind around, and makes it very motivational, you know, when you think you're actually helping people,

Wendy L. 20:25

yeah. And you also brought a point earlier, Amanda, about technology. And you know, of course, we always talk about the bright, shiny AI and generative AI and agentic AI and all of these things that are AI in us. As I sat there all weekend trying to play around with Perplexity a little more than just, what sort of shoe should I wear with that? How do you how do you think about that, when you think about the benefits of technology or the challenges, when you're thinking about influencing teams and businesses and growing businesses,

Amanda C. 20:54

and then living in a multi vector world, right? I remember back in the good old days when it was just a binary world and it was stable and there are, there was a lot of this or that kind of choices that we made in business. And now, like I said, multi vector. Look, I think, as a leader and as a company, the best thing we can do is really be consistent in our integrity, our authenticity. Because when the when the environment changes, where your brand ends up being a reflection of people's experiences, rather than your marketing message, right? And maybe your personal brand is a reflection of your presence or the way other people see you show up the consistency of the experience and being your most authentic and high integrity self, and by the way, that translates to products and brands as well, which goes back to when you truly put the consumer at the center of everything you do and try to use the power of your full corporate capabilities to solve their problems in a new and meaningful way. Then in some ways, you have taken care of the problems that may come with the evolution of technology. Because I think that when people are using agentic AI search, or when we think about creators and social media influencers, you're solving for all consumers. And so when you're solving those problems, your product will show up authentically in their reflection, because you were authentic in the way you created it in the first place?

Wendy L. 22:28

place. Sharon, you, you as you think about that in your various client service businesses and consultative businesses. How do you how do you have that consistency as you think about it globally, because your role as a global role, right? Yeah.

Sharon G. 22:44

I just stay very consistent. You know? I have my clear ways of how I approach a business and people, and I want to inspire them and motivate them to achieve, like, a common goal. The goals are going to be different depending on what customer. Every Customer Every customer I deal with has a different goal, so I'm trying to serve it's different. In the old days, when I worked for one company, we all had one goal we're going after. Now I've got like 100 goals, you know, so it's like managing through all them. But again, it's always trying to really stay grounded on what is the outcome you're seeking. And it might be, it doesn't have to be this big. We celebrate little successes along the way, like I do sometimes little dance in my office, if I get a customer, I've been trying to get to email me back, you know, or to meet me for a cup of coffee. I'm like, Yes, you know. And it hasn't resulted in anything financially beneficial for my company or not. But just those little wins, you know, along the way have

Wendy L. 23:40

yeah, we have little we put a little bell in our subject line on our email. So thank you all for being bells. At some point, it's been very nice of you. So as you think about where you learn, where do we learn? Where do our the people who work for us, learn? How do we help the industry learn about the kinds of change we're going through and anticipate that, where does this next generation of z's? And, you know, millennials go because, you know, sometimes you just need to tell them to just do it.

Amanda C. 24:15

I've been thinking about that a lot lately Wendy, and in part, because I am so fortunate to have a strong global learning and development partner who has been working extremely hard on creating content and providing access to help my organization continue to grow their digital and omni skills. But something that has struck me recently is that some of our best learnings are going to have to come from us seeing within our own environment where we need to learn. And I think formal training still has a really important role to play at every company. And I hope everybody is fortunate enough to have access to some kind of formal training within their professional structure. But I think more than ever, there's always been. Humility required to grow and learn as a professional. But today, increasingly, I think that humility is it is an a non negotiable. And what's really interesting is the idea that. At as the marketplace evolves and changes, I think over the course of even my 20 plus year career, we've thought, Oh, well, the mid to late career people are the need who people who really need to learn, because we're new, and we know, but I don't believe that that's true anymore, because with the pace of change, even somebody who is less than five years into the career, it's a seismic shift from where things were as they entered the workforce. And so I do think it's a it's a humility and a curiosity, feeling like you can, you can learn from anything. But let me also just put a quick plug in, because I love the weekly letters I get from WSL Strategic Retail, along with many others that I get from the industry. Don't disregard the basics. Read industry newsletters, listen to the podcasts, read the earnings reports that come out, there is a discipline now, especially with so much information coming at us all the time, there is a discipline in time management that is required to continue to be a learner that I frankly don't know that it was this difficult 5,10, years ago to find the time to learn. Now Yeah,

Sharon:

I was mentioning earlier, yeah, I was mentioned earlier, like, put in the work, you know. It's like, you know. And the thing is, you know, when I think about younger generation today, I think they need to understand the difference between power and influence, because we don't need more popular people., put in the work and really earn it, you know, and understand it. And so you could speak with confidence and knowledge, and knowledge is power, you know. So to me, I would I agree with Amanda. There's so many great industry newsletters and so many opportunities for you to go online and watch these points. The other thing, when I look back, for me, was also mentors. And if you're a company that doesn't have a mentorship program, there's nothing wrong with you looking at someone in the industry like an Amanda, where you reach out to someone and say, you saw them do a podcast, and you sort of ask them to help you. Ask for, you know, reach out and see if you could create your own mentor. You know, in the industry, I mean, I have quite a few mentors that are in expertise in different areas, and that this helps round things out for me a little bit, because one person is more in data, another one is more of a sales, you know, mentor. So it really helps me sort of cultivate knowledge other ways, through just relying on my organization. The

Wendy L. 27:33

other thing I was thinking about when you were just talking about mentors, because, because I, you know, I do think about that ability to have externally or internally. I mean, some people go outside their organizations, right? Some people have their community, their dance community, their church community, their book club, their whomevers, which, I think one of the things you've both said, or you all said that struck me, is that you know that need to educate and learn and bring that knowledge back with you into the organization, or just into life, I think is so powerful and Amanda, you talked about, you know, there is so much information. in terms of time management, I could take a lesson from everybody. I wish that

Amanda C. 33:28:14

that I was a better mentor to others on how to manage time. So what I have learned with my own style and calendar is I am better at understanding in what situation do I have the bandwidth to learn in what way? And so might you mentioned it earlier, my role today, I have the opportunity to travel all over the US, which means I spend a lot of time on airplanes and in airports. And if you've used the US air travel system lately, you know it's not the most reliable thing in the world. And so that is a time, a situation, right? A situation in which I find time that allows me to think about industry articles, because it's challenging to do confidential business work when you're sitting at gate basic in Minneapolis. So that is one of the things that I have committed to. Part of my learning time is when I travel, because I know it may be inconsistent, but it's consistent, and then it will always be on my calendar at some point. The other thing that I just got, this counsel, again, from somebody I consider to be a very strong peer mentor, is, and I love this word, be ruthless with your calendar. So this is another thing that I this is quite challenging for me. I am an extrovert‘s extrovert, and I get so much energy from spending time with people in the organization, one on one, especially when I have that mentoring opportunity. But the reality is, I'm not doing anybody any favors if I am not sufficiently prepared, because I do not have enough time to think deeply about that relationship, and so I not only have had to think harder about. the relationships I curate professionally, but also, quite frankly, just meetings I attend so ruthlessly, curating my calendar has made a few people unhappy, but it has created the space for me to learn specific business problems. Right? So. Space and the calendar I've created is the learning in the business versus just general industry learning that I find myself using situations around travel to do,

Wendy L. 30:10

yeah, yeah. And Sharon, when I think about, you know, again, you talk about lots of different clients, kind of us, you know, in our world, how do I get myself in that person's space and under thinking and understanding their business as you move back and forth, back and forth. How do you, how do you think about that, in terms of building that relationship, similar

Sharon G. 30:29

similar to Amanda, in terms of the calendar, I, I put every crazy little thing in there, even if it's 15 minutes, like, I use that calendar for block, like, this is me brainstorming time, you know, you'll see brainstorm like I'll look at if I've got a meeting coming up with, you know, a block time on my calendar to prepare for that meeting, you know, and there'll be an analytical with, with my analyst, with this, and even just me brainstorming time, because otherwise I won't find the time. There's always someone who's going to get you come across unprepared and frazzled. So I hate that, like I want to go into a meeting, especially to Amanda's point, like, when I get a meeting with someone and they're it's hard to get on that calendar. You got one shot, so you better be ready for it. And I won't stock too many things at once, where I'm giving everybody half of what, what I'm capable of being. I don't like it, like when it's too crowded, too, because then, you know, you can't deliver on, you know, the best quality of yourself, so but definitely locking it. You talked about

Wendy L. 31:31

you talked about bringing your authentic self, and we hear that a lot, and sometimes it's really hard when you're frazzled and it just keeps rolling over you. But you've got a lot of audiences. I mean, Amanda, you're you. You gave the example of being, you know, going from a behind the scenes role into front of the scenes public company, and just preparing for that is different. So

Amanda C. 31:51

though, what I would add to that as a as a way to be better prepared, is going back to this idea of influence, thinking about who is influencing me? So who do I allow to influence me as I think about the business priorities that I set, and there are very obvious answers, right? Your direct line manager should always be one of the strongest influences on the priorities against which you work every day. But if you can think about just broadening that circle slightly, what is the consumer influence that matters most in the work that you need to do, and how does it intersect with the business priorities that your leadership has set for you, as well as the business priorities that create an amplifying effect for your peers or your team? I think in that way, this, this influence of the forces around you, can really help you think about being prepared, managing your time properly, and having the appropriate impact. One of my favorite things that my very first manager at P&G said to me, that has stuck with me all of these years, is never confuse activity with results. And I think today, more than ever, right? Let's I'm always, I'm going back to AI because I am. I am hooked on our Copilot capabilities, but let AI do the activity, and you can be the one that delivers results. Sharon, you told a story when we got together again in June, about the people that had meant most to you in thinking about influence. how we look at where we came from and where we're headed, always feels to me like it's really important to stay help stay grounded.

Sharon G. 33:07

That's right,

Wendy L. 33:08

Sharon, you told a story when we got together again in June about the people that had meant most to you in thinking about influence, how we look at where we came from and where we're headed. Always feels to me like it's really important to stay help stay grounded.

Sharon G. 33:26

I talked earlier about street smarts. I feel like, you know, a lot of that came from the people influenced me really early in my life, you know. And when we talked last time, the panel, was like, my parents, you know, they always wanted me to be better than what they versions of them, you know, and be successful. And they pushed me to get into school, and even though. What they couldn't afford college, they pushed me to put myself through school. And they that I had, you know, my uncle get me a job at Warner lamber, and then he became my mentor. But was all these people that were equally invested in my success, and I surrounded with like they wanted me, like I surrounded myself with people that were influencing me in positive ways and positive directions, like you don't get rid of the people that are going to hold you down, like, you know, you don't need that. You got to surround yourself with people that are really going to help you on this journey of your life and getting ahead and have positive influence you along the way.

Wendy L. 34:21

Yeah, and I do think, as I said, as we sort of, as we come to the end of this, I do think about with the complexity and of retail and our businesses today and all the new knowledge we need that true north. Do I say that sounds like a military term? Amanda? Is that a military since I first met Amanda, I see like I always say to her, I'm taking the hill. I have no idea what hill I'm taking, but I'm following her

Amanda C. 34:49

In the absence of further orders, attack, Wendy.

Wendy L. 34:52

I love it. I've got it. Oh, I love that. That is so good. I'm going to write that on my wall with my other stuff to inspire me every day. Attack, attack, attack, yes, as long as you have to, don't have to give the orders, which gets complicated, and then I'm coming to you to give me the order. It's alright, but I do think about that, right? The complexity that we've all talked about, how much time, but we also, we've all also talked about this, looking around you, being empathetic, walking the store, Marla, the people that we see along the way and work with, be, be sort of, I know this sounds very zenny, but you know, be present in that moment also feels like the power of influence, particularly in these times and retail becomes so crazy and hectic, and all our lives so Miss Mala.

Marla F. 35:39

Being present is very important. And you know, when I think about to your point empathy and getting to know our associates at my jam is in the store. I want to be in the store. I want to be where the magic happens. These are the people that are actually making me look good on paper, right? And so having that personal connection every single time in every single store. Sometimes you just have to. They're not going to say what's wrong, what's going on or where. Sometimes they will very boldly, but sometimes it's the thing that doesn't have anything to do with Kroger or the business that's either driving them or pulling them away. And so being emotionally intelligent and being able to connect with those that are the ones that are doing the hard stuff, that's doing the work, is really important, and so doing that in an authentic way. I'm not going to remember everybody's birthday. I'm not going to remember the soccer game or what I'm not but being present and that one more element that you can, that you impact them in a way that you never know. And I'll just share short little tidbit. I had an individual that we have an internal social media right, where they can post on Viva engage, and they post great things, and I hearted a person's posts, and I happened to go to the store the next day, not I didn't put those two things together. And the technician said, I just want you to know that I just fangirled out when you loved my post. And you know, I was just kind of like, sitting back, and I'm like, let me just catch up on love it, nice job kind of thing. And so, you have influence and you have impact. And now she posts, and I make sure that I love it, but also she goes above and beyond to push that initiative, or whatever that is. So making those connections is extremely important. Yeah,

Wendy L. 37:25

and it's also the joy. For those of you who are listening and not watching, you can see everyone has got this just giant smile on their face. Because in the end, in the end, yes, we have to deliver the results. Yes, we have to take the hill. But in all of it, it's this sort of joy of the influence that we can have. And sometimes I think we forget the power of the laying on of hands in all of that. Marla now that we have your sound, I would love to hear heavy, the heavy, the crown, because I think that also talks about the responsibility that we all have to other generations and other people who do or do not look like us.

Marla F. 37:59

Yes. So, you know, I think about influence and influencing people that you don't know or see, and not realizing, the people that are rooting for you for various reasons, but certainly people that identify with how you look who you are. And I'll just never forget when I was first promoted, and I was the first African American female to take on this role in the company. And I received notes from all over the company and all different levels of the company, saying, You go girl, or we're so proud of you, or we're counting on you, and people that have never even touched or you know that don't know me at all. And so with that is it? Of course, it's joyous, but also it's burdensome, right? Heavy is the crown that she wears, because that's an a big responsibility. Number one, you know, I better not mess this up, , but realizing that you're paving the way and that you're impacting others that you don't see, but see themselves in you. And I'll never forget, I went to one of the one of our stores, and the technician had a picture of this career progression that we did some HR thing, and it was a poster that we put in every any room, and she took a picture of it, and it showed my career progression as a technician. And she was not even yet a technician, and she said, if she can do it, I can do it. Where her words that she shared with me, well, I went into the store, I didn't know any of this six or so years later. And she said, I want to show you something that she showed me, the picture of her and the poster, a picture of the poster in her phone. And she said, You inspire me. I'm the reason that you're the reason I'm in pharmacy now. So of course, I had to take a selfie with her, with her phone or the picture of the picture. And when we do those things, and we highlight talent and diversity, diversity of thought, background, not just, you know, ethnicity. It's important, because we never know who we're inspiring inside of our own Yeah, you're outside of our four walls.

Wendy L. 39:51

Yeah. It's interesting. You say that. I just had a note yesterday from somebody who began as an intern for us, was heading back to Texas. Services and was looking for a job. And I said, Well, what about us? And she was like, Oh, I love that. So she worked with us for about two years in the in the middle of Covid and then had to go home because of family issues. Decided to go to Australia at some point. So there you go. Right the connection. She just and I've been following her on Instagram because she's wandered around Australia, picked berries, done this, all of that, got her yoga accreditation, and now she sent me a note yesterday and said, I'm going to apply for my work visa in Australia, in marketing. And I would love it. Would you mind doing your recommendation? I think about some of the stories you've told about that, that you know you don't realize, and that's another thing that's so, you know, rich about what we all do, right? I

Sharon G. 40:44

think as a leader, the most rewarding thing is seeing someone advance and be successful, and that you maybe had a little bit of influence on that, you know. So hearing that story Marla, it's like that to me, is like I used to always tell my team, I want you to have my job. I want you to be better than me. You know, it's always my mission, and it's great to see that some of them have really had great careers.

Wendy L. 41:10

Yeah. So as we talk about influence and retail and the future of I think I give us credit as Women of influence, that we are, we are leaving a mark and all of that. But I do think we've, you've captured so much of you know, being in the field, being in the stores, learning about your clients, learning about your customers, being open to all of that, and being who you are, because clearly, the four of us are not shy, unassuming people and all representing ourselves to our community. So thank you for doing this again.

You know, I think what's really clear when you listen to these three amazing women is that they are all, first of all, incredibly intelligent, incredibly joyful and incredibly thoughtful about how they influence in both soft and hard ways, their communities, the people who work for them, the people they work for, and how they really think about the power of both empathy and determinedness, if that's a word, in these days of tremendous change, because that lack of clarity does not help anybody in times that are so tumultuous, and how do you use technology to inform that? How do you think about the day to day management of time, and how do you really spend and devote time with that person, one to one, whether it's in the office, in stores, walking the floor, from a client perspective, that's really our super strength these days, when there is so much flying at us and so much both information and change coming in our inbox every day, that we really do have to think a lot more purposefully about the power of influence. So go off and be influential. See you in the future. Cheers for now. You.