Board Discipline
In order to be effective in leading a retail food cooperative, a board must protect the integrity of its process. Two keys to sound board process are the ability to speak with one voice and [...]
Engagement From the Grassroots
Bonnie Hudspeth, Outreach Coordinator Neighboring Food Co-op Association, New England Region Following the successful opening of Monadnock Food Co-op in Keene, NH, Ms. Hudspeth share tools and strategies that were effective and instrumental in [...]
How do your employees really feel?
Happy employees are productive employees. They offer your customers a great experience in your store. They are likely to stay longer, returning many times your investment in training them. They may even recruit friends to [...]
Seven Steps to Re-energize your Cooperative Culture
By Adam Schwartz 166 May-June 2013 "Culture is to an organization what water is to a fish—it is the environment that exists all around us." If I asked you to describe the culture of your [...]
Governing With Excellence, Using Awareness and Discipline
By Thane Joyal 166 May-June 2013 Why is it that some of our retail food cooperative boards really make a powerful difference in their communities, while others flounder? What can we learn from strong boards, [...]
Four Pillars of Cooperative Governance Part 2
By Marilyn Scholl, Joel Kopischke 171 March-April 2014 In the January/February 2014 issue of Cooperative Grocer magazine, we introduced the Four Pillars of Cooperative Governance as a model for the co-op sector to steer our [...]
6 simple tips to combat burnout
Have you ever found yourself losing all interest in the job you used to love? Instead of feeling energized by your success, do you find yourself unfocused, disengaged and exhausted by the thought of work [...]