Talent management and assessments, executive...
jeaniewells@columinate.coop
785-766-8454
Thank you for attending our workshop on building a strong board-GM relationship on September 20, 2022, offered as part of the NCG fall meeting. Below are several resources that we mentioned during the session. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, and thank you for all you do for your co-op! —Leslie Watson & Jeanie Wells [...]
By Mel Braverman, Jeanie Wells 177 March-April 2015 Almost every cooperative retail grocery is feeling increased competition in its community. Twenty years ago, merely having featured products consistently available was enough for co-ops to be successful, but this is no longer an option. In the last few years, not only has the conventional industry become smarter operators of its natural/organic sets, we have also [...]
By Carolee Colter, Jeanie Wells 162 September-October 2012 As we go about our work of assessing organizational structures and conducting employee surveys in food co-ops, we frequently encounter an ongoing struggle between the marketing department (or lone marketing staff person) and the heads of the sales departments. Comments we’ve heard from marketing staff: The departments just don’t seem to understand that I’m trying to [...]
Contemporary food co-ops have begun important discussions in their organizations around equity and inclusion. As part of that process, they’ve had to accept and deal with some painful truths that their co-ops have not always been perceived as inclusive, especially through the shopping experience.
Columinate Library – lots of articles and videos on building great GM/Board relationships. GM Development Program Manager on contract services Peer networking at conferences or regional relationships. Rural Grocery Initiative has good resources for rural stores. Columinate, NCG, INFRA have people and resources to help. NCG and INFRA stores have access to association resources, FCI has some primers and templates Mighty Community Markets [...]
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GM Retirement Planning Best Practices, or How to Retire Gracefully When a general manager (GM) is planning to retire, (as opposed to leaving the co-op for another job), the specific date of departure is flexible and known well in advance. The outgoing GM's legacy will be affected by how s/he handles the transition. Timing Once you decide to take the leap, let your management [...]
We all spend a lot of time in meetings, but not all meetings are an effective use of our time. Here are nine simple steps to make your meetings more effective and worth the time. Meeting Purpose. Why is this a group meeting? If it’s a standing group meeting, such as a bi-weekly management team meeting, articulate the group’s purpose clearly to [...]
Alysen Land, general manager, Ozark Natural Foods: “Bill has helped our cooperative grow and continually improve. Bill has helped me weather difficult times in my career, and has proven to me again and again that he is a good friend and fellow cooperator.” Jeanie Wells, operations, expansions, and startup consultant, CDS Consulting Co-op: “I first met and worked with Bill in the 1990s and [...]
Bill Gessner likes working with people, and most of the time, you’ll find him wherever groups are creating plans for the future. Throughout his career, Bill has worked with hundreds of food co-ops and many development organizations. It is not an exaggeration to say that his ability to work with diverse groups of people has helped the food co-op sector grow and thrive. He [...]
