Footwear Insight

4 • Footwear Insight ~ September/October 2022 footwearinsight.com A er attending e Beck's Leadership Summit September 18 & 19, in Santa Cruz, CA, I gained a new understanding of the meaning of "family" in family business. With Julia, Adam, Blaine and Dan in attendance representing Beck's Shoes, this is a true multi-generational successful family business. A 22-store chain with a footprint in six states, Beck's Shoes is led by the fih generation of Becks: cousins Julia Beck-Gomez, COO, and Adam Beck, the CEO. is year, for the first time, Beck's opened up its internal Leadership Summit by inviting other retailers, along with brands, to the event. e overarching theme at the summit was simple and straightforward: Sharing success stories, discussing strategies, focusing on staff and seeking out ways to make everyone's business better. It was a time to learn about each other and share the passions that drive each of us. e Becks assembled like-minded people. It reminded me of watching a rowing team with eight aboard, directed by a coxswain, all pulling together in the same direction. Beck's Leadership Summit was a selfless event in which they invited other retailers—aka competitors—into the room. e aernoon's presentation given by Jim Knight (Author of Leadership at Rocks) brought out some memorable points that should resonate with all of us. If you haven't read Jim's book, you should. His presentation focused on customer service and the customer experience, core values for Beck's. Purposeful is the word that both Julie and Adam use to describe their approach to continuing the workplace feeling their family built. "In creating our company culture, there are no accidents. You have to be purposeful, because whether you are or not, your culture exists. Our mission is to exceed the expectations of everyone we encounter." Jim spent some time talking about the culture of stores, defined as a collection of people with individual behaviors. A key takeaway: ere must be a shared mindset among your entire team, otherwise, behaviors can devolve to each individual's agenda, which produce random actions, leading to customer confusion. A Family Business That Is Exceeding Expectations Letter from the Publisher Photo: Frank James The overarching theme at the conference was simple and straightforward: Sharing success stories, discussing strategies, focusing on staff and seeking out ways to make everyone's business better. Julia Beck-Gomez and Adam Beck

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