Inc.com
is fast becoming my favourite magazine website and this article has great
relevance to retailing.
It
concerns Angela Ahrendts who is Senior Vice President of Retail Strategy at
Apple, a job she got after successfully steering a turnaround for luxury
fashion brand Burberry.
Earlier
in her career Angela had been sent to an executive coach to tone down her
demeanour. Apparently she was prone to using her hands for talking (I can think
of a few traders who do that) and that was considered unsuitable for upper
executive levels.
Angela
was very uncomfortable with the coaching and left the session early with a
great quote borrowing from Shakespeare - “So, I just think, that to thyself be
true.” She figured that she had got along fine just being herself so why
change.
The
lesson is clear and the relevance for retailing is compelling. We wrote
recently on this website about the importance of personable, friendly
relationships with your customers. Personal relationships are a significant
advantage for small retailers particularly as a counter to the impersonal
online world. Being yourself, being authentic, and perhaps waving your hands
around can be a big plus - don’t hold back (but make sure you show your better self).