Featured Video: Amy Fields—The Northeast Network
In this six-minute video Amy Fields, general manager of Eastside Food Co-op in northeast Minneapolis, describes the creation of their community participation project, Northeast Network. For more than three years, the co-op has hosted a [...]
Strategic Alignment of Board and GM
Of all the important relationships in a cooperative, the one between the general manager and the board is arguably the most critical to the co-op’s long-term success. If the basic elements of trust and accountability [...]
General Manager Contract Template
Updated: August 2nd, 2016 Every board of directors of a retail food cooperative should strive to be an excellent employer for their general manager, the person who is responsible for the success of the [...]
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 [...]