Stop Chasing Unicorns and Rainbows, Lead With What You Have Today

Many companies set high expectations and roll out new programs for their teams to execute. Most then assume that things will happen exactly as they are planned and nothing gets in the way. We ask a lot of our district and store team leaders and eventually, everyone creates visions of these perfect outcomes of ‘observations’, coaching sessions, or team huddles. We don’t always pause to ensure that they make sense for what we are really trying to achieve.

I have referred to these as company unicorns on many occasions. These mythical visions of things coming together in perfect harmony, people magically getting better, and the customer dancing out of the stores excited to return as soon as possible. These are those moments when our store teams and leaders begin to question the sanity of the multi-unit leaders, and especially the corporate people, who they feel are disconnected from the realities of running a store.

Continual improvement is not an optional idea, anymore, and I am not sure if it ever was. It certainly isn’t for any business that wants to sustain any level of success. So how do we approach the idea of getting better, moving the bar higher, without creating the unicorn scenario?

Set Realistic Expectations

Being realistic is the first step to success with any program or approach, especially when change is involved (which is most times). If the bar is too high, if the realities of what is possible are not clear, then your initiative or process will fail. Now, I understand that reality can sometimes be relative to the end user. Again, this is where clarity is essential. Do not try to overcomplicate the process or put too many things into what you are trying to achieve.

A great example of this is a program that had been in process for years in a retailer regarding the Leader on Duty program. We tried to make this role ‘the everything’ the role. The LOD would do this, they would be here, they would lead these discussions, the list went on. District or Regional Leaders would continue to expect this entire list of things to always be evident. Guess what…it didn’t happen, and we had a lot of people chasing unicorns and catching nothing. Stop chasing the unicorns. Simplify what you want to accomplish and communicate them clearly.

Measure Progress

The next two go hand in hand. Knowing how you are doing and being clear with that is critical to the success of nearly everything we do in the retail world. Understand up front how you will measure the goal achievement. Do not limit yourself to typical metrics and lag indicators. If we use the example I mention above regarding a Leader on Duty program, there are very few reports that will tell you whether that has successfully been implemented. Observation or discussions is sometimes key to understanding whether a program or process is fully implemented and provided the desired outcomes. There are no reports for those. From there, you can connect the dots back to more of the metrics that are tied to the business. You now have a view on the effectiveness and impact of your program.

Recognize Even Small Successes

This is an important step, but also requires walking a tight rope. Ongoing improvement is the cornerstone of long-term success. But progress is also not a substitution for reaching acceptable levels. As a leader, setting clear time and performance expectations must also be a part of the discussion related to recognizing success. You can and should still reward and celebrate progressive movement, but if the achievement level is still below the expectation line, that must be clear. That aside, the recognition of these small successes become the building blocks of the long-range vision. Once mastery of the foundational items are complete, layers can be built upon them. Now, instead of launching a program with something that is highly complex or change laden, you can take along the way to reach those ultimate outcomes you are seeking.

All of these are concepts we have in our tool belt today. We have the resources available to accomplish a great many things. Yet we often spend more time looking for heroic outcomes or designing elaborate processes to generate wildly successful outcomes. We do not need to do that. 

Don’t let the idea of these unicorn ideas stop the progress of getting better in small steps with what you have available today. Create your own vision of what the reality of your situation looks like. The unicorn scenario can serve as an aspirational starting point, but don’t stop or penalize yourself or your team when it is not realized right out of the gate. Continue to clarify the outcomes, measure your progress, and celebrate the successes. You many not end up with a unicorn at the end, but you will have a sustainable recipe for success you can use over and over. That seems better than a unicorn, anyway.

How can you avoid the lure of chasing a unicorn, and concentrate on what you can do today with what you already have?

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Photo by Stephen Leonardi on Unsplash