Leadership Lessons Learned at Piggly Wiggly

January 1, 2024

Growing up, I spent many of my early teenage summers working in my dad’s garage. Believe it or not, I can still change the oil, rotate tires, install parts and more. But working in a metal building in the heat of Alabama summers was not in my “career plan”.

Somewhere around 1990’ish (I think I was about 10…LOL!), I got a job at the local Piggly Wiggly grocery store as a courtesy clerk (aka. bag/stock boy).

The training (on-boarding) process for a courtesy clerk was very rigorous. You had to learn how to properly bag groceries in a paper bag, learn which items to Not put on the bottom (e.g. bread, eggs, etc.) and then pass a “timed’ bagging test. You had to learn how to properly front an aisle to make it look full and well presented.

As a cashier, you had to account for money, remember customers by name, maintain a high scans per minute, memorize the “PLU” numbers (produce Lookup #) and more. You also had to pass a challenging “timed” cashier scan and accuracy test. To this day, I can still remember the PLU code for cucumbers and tomatoes.

Fast forward to today. Have you ever walked into a Publix supermarket and noticed how neat the aisles are when the merchandise is pulled to the front of the shelves and ever wondered why milk is always at the back? There is a science behind it. Yes, you’ll buy more if it looks full and neat and yes, there is a reason why milk is at the back.

I’m sure we’ve all had jobs and moments in our life that shaped us much more than we realized. For me, the time in that small grocery store, as a teenager, helped lay the foundation for some of my perspectives on leadership and life skills today.

Yes, there have been many years since that time and while trends in leadership and management come and go, some core principles I learned backed then, still stand out.

It’s fun to look back and think about the “Leadership Lessons Learned at Piggly Wiggly” in the early 90’s.

Here are my top 3.

1.      Leadership is Service

Service is a core principle of leadership. You cannot lead without service.

2.      Face Forward-Always

Leaders always face forward. You learn from the past, but effective leaders do not lead from the past. Have you have seen a Delta Jet flying backwards to a destination? Probably not.

3.      Accuracy Matters

Know your stuff. It shows when you do. Enough said.

I'm sure you may have a similar story, so please share in the comments.

So, remember to motivate someone in a positive way today, lead forward in whatever you do, and the next time in the grocery store and go get the milk first. This is BestLife50.