See the Patterns, Then Pick One Big Win

Marcus Fulton

You know, uh, when I was managing stores, I used to think I knew exactly what was happening on the floor just by, you know, catching a five-minute vibe when I walked in. But it-it-it’s like my rooftop beehives back home. If I just look at the hive entrance for ten seconds, I might see a couple of bees bumping into each other and think, oh, the whole colony is in chaos. But you have to actually open the hive, look at the frames, and look for the-the real patterns, not just one loud buzzy moment.

Sophie Chenoweth

That’s a classic trap, Marcus. In psychology, we call that cognitive ease, where we just grab the most recent or loudest piece of information and build a whole story around it. But for our Snooze store managers tackling this Day 6 research task today, we’re asking you to completely step back. We want you to become an objective business researcher in your own store. Not a manager putting out fires, but a researcher gathering cold, hard data across those six key areas.

Marcus Fulton

Six areas. Right. Let’s list 'em off so everyone’s clear. We’ve got Store Observations, Sales and Performance, Team Conversations, Customer Insights, Processes and Routines, and finally, Safety and Wellbeing. It sounds like a lot, but honestly, it’s about watching the tide shift, not just looking at one wave, right Soph?

Sophie Chenoweth

Exactly. Like the ocean tides in Newcastle. You don’t look at one splash and say the tide is coming in. You watch the-the gradual movement over time. Take the first area, Store Observations. Don’t just look at who’s making a sale. Stand there for thirty to sixty minutes. Watch how the team actually interacts with customers. Are they hesitant during change? Are there delays or points of friction on the floor?

Marcus Fulton

Yeah, and don’t just trust your gut there. Match those observations with the second area: Sales and Performance data. If you notice your team is avoiding difficult conversations on the floor, does that show up in your conversion rate or your average transaction value on weekends? You’ve got to connect the dots. If you’re just looking at a single shift where sales were down and blaming a specific team member, that’s... well, it’s lazy. It’s like blaming one bee for a bad honey yield when the whole hive’s routine is off.

Sophie Chenoweth

Right, which brings us to the third area: Team Conversations. Don’t just assume you know what the barrier is. Talk to your team members today. Ask them what gets in their way, what they need to stop doing, or where they feel most supported. And do not just act on one person’s complaint. We are looking for repeated themes here. If one person says the weekend handover is messy, okay, maybe. But if your team feedback, your store observations, and your weekend conversion data all point to a breakdown during shift changeover, now you’ve found a real, undeniable pattern.

Marcus Fulton

Oh, that is huge. Connecting the team conversations back to the actual customer journey walk, which is area four. Literally pretend you’re a customer walking in. From arrival to greeting, discovery, and purchase. Where does it feel clunky? Does that clunkiness match up with the store processes in area five? Are there weird workarounds people are doing because the standard routine is too slow?

Sophie Chenoweth

And let’s not forget area six: Safety and Wellbeing. Both physical and psychological safety. Does your team feel comfortable speaking up when things are going wrong, or are they hiding mistakes because they’re stressed? If they’re avoiding difficult conversations with customers or each other, that’s a massive psychological safety indicator. You have to reflect honestly on how your own everyday leadership habits, your own routines, are shaping these behaviors. Are you micro-managing, or are you creating the space for them to succeed?

Marcus Fulton

Yeah, that micro-managing hit home for me, Soph. I almost lost my best salesperson back in the day because I tried to fix every single tiny thing myself all at once. And that brings us straight to Step 2 of the SWOT task today. Once you’ve got all this great research, you have to ruthlessly narrow it down. Just... pick exactly ONE improvement opportunity. Depth over breadth, people. Don’t try to save the entire world by Tuesday.

Sophie Chenoweth

Ruthless is the perfect word for it. It’s tempting to write a list of ten things to fix, but cognitive overload is real, both for you and your team. Pick the one opportunity that scored the highest across your decision questions: Is it within your influence? Do you have solid evidence for it? Is it achievable, and will it actually improve both team and business outcomes? Once you have that one thing, you write your final statement: "I will improve X because of Y."

Marcus Fulton

Boom. Simple. Sharp. And then we translate that into the Action Plan. This is where the rubber meets the road. You need to outline your Goal, then define three specific Actions. And when we say actions, we mean: What is happening, Who is accountable, and When is it getting done. Don’t write "improve communication." Write "Marcus to run a five-minute huddle every Saturday morning at 8:45 AM starting this week." See the difference?

Sophie Chenoweth

Yes. Specificity builds confidence, and confidence drives action. You also need to map out your timeline milestones. Break this down into manageable stages so you can track progress. Who needs to be informed? Who needs to participate to make this stick? And finally, you have to run the Final Check before you touch a single slide for your presentation. Ask yourself: Is this plan realistic? Will my team actually recognize this as a meaningful win, or will they just see it as more retail homework?

Marcus Fulton

Exactly. If your team doesn’t feel the win, the change won’t last. It’ll just fizzle out. So, as you dive into your SWOT today, put on that researcher hat. Look for the patterns, pick your one big battle, and build a plan that makes your team’s life easier. Alright, let’s get on the floor and start observing. Speak soon, Soph.

Sophie Chenoweth

Sounds like a plan. Good luck with the research today, everyone.