Relentless Focus

Focus is a discipline that many individuals and businesses struggle to maintain. Between the emerging opportunities, daily fires to douse, persistent issues and humans just being human, it’s harder than ever to stay on track. When you add in the compounding pressures of a challenging economy, we tend to lose focus chasing after potential revenue opportunities.

That’s not the case for Publix, the employee-owned grocery store chain, which opened 79 new stores in 2008 and acquired another 49 from Albertson’s. By comparison, Kroger opened 60 stores, Whole Foods opened 20 and SuperValue added 14.

Publix attributes that success to a single factor: customer service. Even though its short-term profits are down,

“Publix is staying at full staffing levels and lowering prices in hopes of keeping its existing customers happy and attracting new ones.”

The approach is nothing new. The retailer’s founder, George Jenkins, built Publix on a simple philosophy of customer service and, wouldn’t you know it, “the same relentless focus … is helping the company through the current tough market.”

That philosophy means that Publix president Todd Jones jumps in and starts bagging to keep checkout lanes moving (his first job at Publix actually was as a bagger). It means that the deli is staffed by eight to 10 people, not two (like most supermarkets). It means there’s usually a Publix employee handy to help shoppers find stuff. The Publix definition of customer service also extends to include its prices, which it has lowered by 20 percent on staple items even as its own costs have increased. Publix plans to open another 30 stores this year, and its sales per square foot ($548) is second only to Whole Foods ($820).

Action Summary:

Focus, focus, focus! Scan your operations and decide on one thing to apply relentless focus to during challenging times. Carry through with that focus as we head into an upswing you’ll leap-frog your competitors!