YEO members get a personal tour of the evolution of Maverik stores from a Country Store through to the most recent prototype.
The second and final day of the National Advisory Group’s (NAG) Young Executive Organization (YEO) Roundtable hosted by Maverik in Salt Lake City wrapped up on Thursday, May 25, 2017.
YEO members gathered at Maverik’s “Base Camp” headquarters in the morning for a session on Next Generation Leadership in the Family Business by Lisa Stewart, president, Impact 21.
“Change is difficult to manage both in a family business when succession changes to the next generation, or a leadership change to a new management team,” Stewart said. An open dialog will help manage the transition.
Stewart explained her own experiences with leadership transition and outlined common issue that arise.
As you change the dynamics of your management team, culture changes too, Stewart said. “You do have to evolve and make sure you embrace your culture and make decisions with your leadership team,” she added.
She noted that there is a difference between a financial investment and a commitment to investing in the business; both require a financial investment, measure of cost and benefits and accountability to drive plans forward.
Tips for Closing the Gap Through Collaboration
-Align the business before transitioning leadership.
-Hand off management of the day to day to the next level of management.
-Communicate a little more formally than in the past to eliminate confusion.
Consider what matters to the previous generation:
-The history of the company
-What it took to get to this point
-An appreciation for the lessons learned
Consider what the outgoing leadership desires:
-Transition or to bow out gracefully
-A role that still adds value
-A leadership approach or team that really engages with the organization with the passion they have had in their day.
Store Tours
Following the session, attendees took a bus ride to visit four different Maverik stores that demonstrated the evolution of the company’s store design. The first location was an example of a 30-year-old Country Store, of which the chain still has about 70. The next store showed the original Maverik store design, of which the chain has about 125. The third location featured the latest design as of spring 2016, of which the chain has about 25 stores, with plans for 40 by the end of the year. Lastly, attendees saw an example of a Country Store that was rebuilt as a Maverik store, opening to the public last week.
YEO members will meet again at NAG in Nashville, Sept. 10-13. For more information, contact NAG Executive Director John Lofstock at [email protected].