Pros
The CEO is passionate, driven and designed to push this company in only one direction, forward. The name, the credibility and the out of the box thinking, is what puts the company on the map. For him, there is no time to ruminate over the past. Today is tomorrow, and yesterday is forgotten. Not everyone appreciates a blunt response to under performance, but if you pay attention, most of the aggression is on the action that lead to failure (Potentially affecting his company or his team), rather than the person. I have noticed the influence of both the COO and the sales manager in showing him results through more active communications, specifically during our last manager’s convention. People who work for him and work with him need to understand, he is protective of his company. People who waste his time are wasting the company’s time. The COO has vision and has elevated the company to higher levels. The environment of class and elegance is driven through this woman. She has taken on the job of single-handily transforming 16 stores from oversized florescent-blinding warehouses into moody, high end store fronts that reflective those of the contemporary shopper. This is not an overnight situation, and mistakes will be made. She does everything she can to prioritize the needs of the stores, some which require the huge overhauls. She makes it very clear to vendors and contractors alike, we come first. Not always can they accommodate and at times she is left holding the buck as far as producing results for an impatient store. Due to her shared forward momentum with the CEO, she at times trusts too much that a situation is taken care of, when further follow-up might be appropriate, leaving those who don’t speak up to be pushed aside. She needs strong, capable people who see her vision, execute and are eager to fix the issues so she can keep focused on the bigger picture. The Sales manager is a no-nonsense, driven, woman who drives store managers to be accountable and invested leaders. One thing cannot be argued, she delivers results. Her experience with big box corporations has been valuable and she drags the team kicking and screaming closer towards mainstream retail every year. This means taking the brunt of it all from the corporate team, the management team and the customers themselves. It is easy to blame her when things go wrong, or when a situation goes awry, but she is the most reliable, constant force on our team and she commands respect and candid feedback when there are struggles. Not all calls from her will be good ones. Some points will be lost or misconstrued, but this is to be expected as she is doing seven other things while giving the call 45% of her attention. She needs leaders who understand how to run a store and get results without sacrificing the integrity of the corporate values and brand. She needs the right people who will hold themselves accountable when they make mistakes. She demands driven, passionate people who can recognize how much potential this company truly has. Having been here for 12 years it is very clear to me that this company has very specific needs in their supervisors and management. • An Unyielding amount of communication. • Passion and drive in what you do, no matter who’s watching. • Curiosity in the processes of your store, your company and the other stores that are surrounding. • Delight in being outside of one’s comfort zone. • Profound respect to all who support you. • The ability to roll with the punches. • Transparency in your struggles. • Ego in check
Cons
This job is not right for you if: You think a management job is sitting in their office all day long You have strong judgements on sex and think Castle will help you free yourself. You believe you won’t be heavily involved in the selling of product of a sexual nature of all kinds, not just your personal favorites. You keep yourself to a linear belief of what your job entails. You think you won’t be given a sales goal. You won’t respect your team, your store and your corporation. You are a people pleaser waiting for the pat on the head form anyone other than customers You think being sexually inappropriate/aggressive/explicit is “part of the job.” You are unwilling to admit your mistakes. You don’t have a sense of urgency You can’t see the company’s values and your own core beliefs. You think you are better than this job and assume it will be a cake walk. You can’t communicate….overtly You can’t multitask You hate difficult/needy/cold customers You value your weekends and don’t understand what a “Retail Schedule” is. I.E. split days off, mornings and nights, vacation when the store is not having staffing issues. You don’t listen first before you take action. You can’t work with your peers You are unwilling to check your ego at the door and soak in every morsel of information your training managers and team give you. No matter much experience you think you have, clean the slate and jump in.
