Leading From Vulnerability
In this short presentation Alex Stone, of CooperationWorks!, expresses the importance of knowing vulnerability. Especially in a leadership position.
Effective Leadership and Self-Awareness
Michelle Oliver from Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op says that being a leader requires knowing yourself. Know your strengths and know your weaknesses. Understand where you need support and ask for it.
The Magic of Commitment
Weaver Street Market General Manager Ruffin Slater on the Magic of Commitment. Ruffin shares what he sees as the power of making a commitment and all that follows from making a decision.
Alignment: Members, Co-op, and Market
Brett Fairbairn, co-op thought-leader, breaks down what it looks like when the co-op, it's members, and the marketplace are not in alignment and why it's so important that they all be in alignment.
Association and Enterprise
In this MUST WATCH video Brett Fairbairn breaks down the definition of a cooperative and the significance of the words "enterprise" and "association" in the definition.
General Managers Speak About Value of Coaching
The to-do list is seemingly endless: cash flow, team building, category management, board relations, reports, goal setting. Many general managers report feeling pulled in many directions during a typical workday, and too soon it seems, another day comes to a close. The feeling that nothing is ever quite finished can be disheartening. The flip side is that being successful in the job means that [...]
Board Leadership Development Starts with Commitment to Good Governance
Monadnock Food Co-op staff with board president, Kathy Burke (dressed as a beet)The Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene, New Hampshire has only been open for two-and-a-half years, and as the board president Kathy Burke put it, “a lot has been going well.” The co-op has exceeded its sales projections and is seeing a profit that has the board fast-tracking conversations about growth. In the [...]
Complaints and Operational Concerns: How Directors Can Respond Effectively
By Michael Healy 182 January-February 2016 As a director, you may notice or hear things about your co-op that may be cause for concern—or are at least worth asking about. How can you respond in a way that honors your sense of responsibility, your board’s clear delegation to the general manager (GM), and your GM’s professional judgment? Here is an approach that opens [...]
Appreciating the Diversity of Member Needs and Motivations
By Marilyn Scholl 140 January - February - 2009 In my work with food co-op boards and staff over the past 30 years, one of the questions I have often encountered is this: How can we get more people more involved at the co-op? The question has prompted a lot of soul-searching and hand-wringing. Co-op leaders intuitively believe that member involvement is vital [...]
Boycotts and Democracy – The Eden Foods Product Boycott as an Opportunity to Renew Co-op Participation and Democracy
By Todd Wallace In the summer of 2014, a Supreme Court ruling in the case of Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby led the CEO of Eden Foods, a prominent organic foods producer, to revive an earlier 2013 court case arguing that the company be exempted from paying for its employees to receive birth-control, as required by the Affordable Care Act. The company’s lawyers cited the [...]