From Aisle 3 to the Top

What makes a great store manager?
When the weekly sales reports are positive, it's a direct offshoot of the attributes [that make a great store manager]. They're committed to our company's values. They're committed to creating an environment where everybody matters.

When store managers are failing, what's the most common problem, and how do you decide if they can be rehabilitated?
My primary focus is whether they're learning: Are they repeating mistakes? Are the mistakes a result of an error in judgment? Are the mistakes the result of not being interested in creating an environment where people can make a difference? You can teach your way through errors in judgment, but having a lack of interest in creating an environment where people matter is very, very difficult to overcome.

The conventional wisdom is the electronics business has become commoditized, which has squeezed margins. How have you tried to counter that with customer service and your Geek Squad?
The biggest challenge the industry faces is these compressed time cycles. When I started, we made money selling VCRs for seven or eight years. But product life cycles are getting shorter and shorter. That's a good thing if you can build an operating model that allows you to help customers connect with [emerging technologies], and the Geek Squad is an important piece of that. The technology that comes today, when you take it out of the box, you just don't plug it in. The Geek Squad can put together these networks that people are creating in their homes, which connects them with things they care about.

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