Think Big. Start Small. Scale Fast.
Will the Metaverse radically transform your business over the next few years?
Is the answer to your increasingly fragile customer relevance to move from being less format-centric to thinking about your operating system as more of a platform?
Would a radical redefinition of the purpose of your physical assets unleash a whole new world of growth potential?
The answers to all the above questions land somewhere between “maybe” and “probably.”
But here’s the thing: you don’t need all the answers right now. Not even close.
What you need is a wider aperture, a willingness to experiment and the foundation to act boldly when the moment strikes. Mostly you need a commitment to either get started or to let it go–at least for now.
Rumination and half measures get us nowhere.
A few years ago I shared a conference keynote stage with innovation expert Jim Carroll. He extolled the audience of retailers to “Think big. Start small. Scale fast.” A couple of weeks ago I was reminded of his words when a speaker at Shoptalk extolled his advice.
True then, true now.
The real question is what are you waiting for?
My 2024 Retail Predictions: A Reckoning
For the last several years, I've made a list of annual predictions for the retail industry, which I share here, on Forbes, and on my podcast. And then, in what can sometimes amount to an act of self-flagellation, I take account of how I did. So without further ado,...
Shift Happens
I grew up in the outlying suburbs of New York City in the 1960s and ’70s. Like other middle-class kids from the area, I spent many a weekend being dragged around by my mother to go shopping at stores like Abraham & Strauss, Caldor, and Bamberger’s. On family road...
Luxury Hits the Wall. What’s Going On and What’s Next?
Recent earnings reports from the world’s top luxury players have largely brought bad news. Moreover, a fair amount of uncertainty and chaos has been in the air all year as money-losing online-only players like Farfetch and YNAP have run into the arms of new corporate...
"The Store Operations Council enjoyed every minute of Steve Dennis's presentation on retail's future. He always keeps it real and speaks the language of retail experts."
Cathy Hotka
Principal
Cathy Hotka & Associates
"The Store Operations Council enjoyed every minute of Steve Dennis's presentation on retail's future. He always keeps it real and speaks the language of retail experts."
Cathy Hotka
Principal
Cathy Hotka & Associates
