Advice to Newlyweds

At the wedding reception I once attended, the thing that I remember the most is the father of the bride’s toast to the newlyweds.  As he raised his cup, he offered two most important phrases to remember for a successful marriage: "You're right and I am wrong" and "I am sorry".

This was met with some knowing chuckles from the audience.  Wise words and not just for marriage. There is no doubt these are some of the most powerful words exchanged in sustaining relationships. Both at work and at home.

I think about all the times that my pride or stubbornness or fear of losing "face" has prevented me from saying these simple things. And looking back, how much better things would have turned out and how much wasted time and pain would have been avoided had I been able to swallow my pride.

But letting down our defenses is an act of trust and hard to do. I know it is for me.  However, although there is a risk when that happens, I have found it worth it when I gathered the courage to do it

Turtle on a Fencepost

Bruce Bryant is a corporate operations vice president. At his 25th service anniversary, he spent most of the time thanking and acknowledging all those who had helped him along in his career. He likened it to a saying from his childhood: “If you see a turtle on a fencepost, you can be sure it didn’t get there by itself.”

I think most turtles are treated better these days, but it remains true that each of us owes a lot to others in getting where we are. My thanks is to John Gleeson, whose parents spent their whole careers in our stores. John began his career at Walgreens in the stores as a 14-year-old bottle boy, became the youngest person promoted to a director position in our corporate offices, and ultimately retired in 2007 as senior vice president and Chief Strategy Officer. John taught me how the retail business works and what makes our company successful and different from others.  Most importantly, I came to see Walgreens through his eyes and why he loved it so.

It’s easy to forget about people like John, though, in the busyness of our lives. So today, take a few moments and think of someone who has helped you climb a “fencepost” along the way.  If that person is still with us, find him or her and tell them. Two things I guarantee: It will make his or her day. And it will make yours, too

What Got Us Here Will Get Us There

During a meeting today we were talking about opportunities and we were reminded of the incredible breadth of talent throughout our company. It made me recall of how I came to join Walgreens almost twenty years ago.

I started out my career in consulting.  During my first twelve years, I got to work in lots of different companies and be exposed to lots of different “corporate cultures”. My last five years in consulting was spent at Walgreens full-time working on SIMS. 

When I arrived at Walgreens, I had never considered working in “industry”; I was a diehard consultant.  I sort of had the attitude of Groucho Marx who once said that he wouldn’t want to join a country club that would accept him as a member.  At that point in my career and life, the ideal model for success against which to judge others was me and others like me.  That is, since I had been successful, other people had to be like me to be successful.

Thank goodness I got to spend those five years here.  During that time I was able to see firsthand how things worked and Walgreen people interacted with each other. I came to see how wrongheaded my preconceptions were.  I came to know that talent takes many forms. I saw people up and down the organization who did wonderfully creative things to make our company better in so many different ways whether it be how we pick a store site or how we pick orders or how to serve our customers.  In just about every area I saw people who did their jobs much better than I did mine. In all my years in consulting, I had never seen a company and culture like Walgreens.

At the end of the project as I prepared to roll off the project and move back to my new office downtown, I was approached about joining Walgreens. Up until that moment, I had never thought about working here but in an instance, I knew that this is where I wanted to be.

What was true twenty years ago is still true today. Certainly there have been challenges and probably none more than we face today. But our roots run deep and we have proven resilient in the toughest of times over the last hundred years. I consider myself fortunate to work with so many fantastic talented and devoted people. Thank you for the opportunity to serve with you.  And thank you for all you do to serve our communities and customers. We cannot say it often enough to each other.

Little Victories

In response to a recent blog, The Pharmacy America Trusts, Teresia Walton asked an interesting question: “Are there any such examples of this sort of thing in today’s Walgreens?” The Canning story is great because it was an “epic” decision that could have affected lots of people and reflects the values and standards we hold ourselves to. It was one of those rare events where the stakes were high, alternatives were clear and a decision had to be made quickly and communicated across the organization.

However, a recent example is more typical. This last winter one of our trucks was delayed in a snowstorm and it was determined after it had made deliveries that some of the Rx might have been exposed to freezing temperatures. Rather than take a chance, all the Rx and OTC product that was delivered was pulled from all six stores and destroyed. There was no fanfare and only those directly involved know anything about it.

I believe there are similar decisions made every day throughout the company.  Maybe the stakes are not so high and maybe not so public. But they are just as important because it is the choice that counts.

I read once that there are no “good” or “evil” countries. Rather, the battle for good and evil is fought in each of their leaders’ hearts.  Just as it is in each of us.

Every time one of us acts in the interests of others rather than ourselves, we achieve as big a victory as Mr. Canning’s. And I suspect if he were alive today, he would agree.