My mother would sometimes say to my brother and me, “I am sick and tired of your behavior.” She put such emphasis on “sick and tired” that it was disturbing and frightening, and often led to some type of punishment.
There were other occasions not as many where she would say, “I am pleased as punch with you two.” To this day I am not sure what punch had to do with anything, but I know it was good stuff, and she was proud of us. I bet many of you have similar memories.
There is much going on in our world of loss prevention and asset protection. For me, I am sick and tired of some of it, and I am pleased as punch with other things. Here is my take on a little bit of both.
Things I’m Sick and Tired Of
- Executives whose jobs are eliminated when they were doing good because some C-level folks either think they can do without them or use it as an excuse to get rid of someone they simply don’t like. Most of these displacements happen years after they have worked in a company, and even worse usually come as a surprise.
- Exhibit halls open at conferences while sessions are going on at the same time. How can someone be in both places? Vendors who are spending big dollars don’t get traffic, while retailers are forced to make choices on where to go.
- Negative, destructive thinking and talking about others. Always have thought this was a mechanism to bring the good down to a naysayer’s level. You know who you are lighten up.
- Hearing about companies who still have goals on how many bad guys to catch. Shouldn’t most of our objectives focus on company programs to reduce loss, reduce shrink, and protect assets? Maybe we just like talking about our exceptional investigative skills.
- People who say, “Let’s get together and talk” or “I’ll give you a call,” and those who don’t return calls or emails. Can anyone be that busy?
- Those who have received a helping hand in their careers, but have forgotten to say thank you. Worse are those same people who fail to reach out to help others. Why is that?
I am sick and tired of discussing these things, so let’s switch it up.
Things I’m Pleased as Punch With
- The magazine has now featured three straight interviews with top-level women in LPLisa LaBruno in March, Melissa Mitchell in May, and Anne Sullivan in July. What they all have in common is they speak and live the processes of the business first and foremost. Will our September issue have yet another outstanding woman in LP? We’ll see.
- The quality of people in this industry at the second tier or mid-management levels. There are tons of outstanding thinkers with excellent knowledge of the business issues. The future of the industry is in good hands.
- Good things happening to good people. There have been many recent promotions of strong LP professionals who were given expanded roles in their companies, including responsibilities for auditing, risk, shrinkage, data security, and operations.
- The magazine was a featured sponsor at the USS charity golf event in Long Beach that raised $50,000 for underprivileged and missing kids. Way to go, USS and the retailers in our industry. It is remarkable how many give of their time as well as money to support others who are not as fortunate. Stay the course.
- The many who have reached back to help others coming up in their organizations or in another company. These are the stars of our industry.
- Enhanced cooperation between retailers on finding solutions and sharing information. This has always set our industry apart. Keep it up.
- Vendors who listen first and seek to understand before engaging in the selling process. They are the true “solution providers.”
- Those who drink the “punch” and not the “Kool Aid.”
Overall, I think I am more “pleased as punch” than “sick and tired.” That’s a good feeling.
Jim Lee, LPC
Executive Editor