Growing up playing soccer, it’s no surprise Natalie Morhous loves the Apple TV show “Ted Lasso.” The comedy-drama features an American football coach, Lasso, who moves to England to coach a fictional soccer team, inspiring the players there despite having little to no knowledge of the game.
Morhous, CSP's 2023 Retail Leader of the Year, says she has a “Believe” sign hanging in an area of RaceTrac’s office, mirroring the sign Lasso posts in the team’s locker room. She also has a plaque on her desk that reads, “Be a goldfish.” Goldfish have a 10-second memory, and Lasso uses the phrase to teach players to forget a bad play and move on.
Morhous puts her own interpretation on it.
“For me, it is: Be a goldfish. Take the difficult things that are thrown at you, learn from them, don’t repeat them, and move on,” she says.
RaceTrac, and the c-store industry, are complex. RaceTrac has many layers to its business: its Metroplex Energy company, Energy Dispatch trucking company, RaceWay brand of franchises and more.
“We’re a very diverse, complex business, and problems are thrown at us all the time. And mistakes are going to be made,” Morhous says.
“Be a goldfish” reminds her and her team to work together to fix problems and learn from them.