COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — Tom Bandy, founder of BandyWorks, and Mason Cowan, director of managed services at BandyWorks, have released a new book, C-Store Growth Mindset: Making Peace with Accountability.
The findings are based on a decade of operations experience and a career of retail data analytics, the company said. In their experience, the authors have found that many convenience-store operators, while great businesspeople, lack one thing that inhibits their growth and success: an accountability system.
There is little disagreement that accountability is essential to management and improves results, they said, yet “using” accountability is often delayed, ignored or done half-heartedly.
“My own inability to use accountability correctly cost me much time with my family and literally millions of dollars,” said Bandy (pictured, left). “I was determined not to let valuable mistakes go to waste. Since learning the principles we detail in the book, both my family and business lives are so much better. Even more enjoyable is how much those that live and work with me enjoy how we relate and succeed.”
For many, accountability is a negative idea, the authors said, but when done correctly, “it makes business so much easier, fun and successful, they believe. The C-Store Growth Mindset outlines a systematic approach to incorporating a databased accountability system into convenience-store organizations.
The book keys in on five principles of accountability used to lead and manage successful convenience stores:
- Vision and mission
- People and teamwork
- Process
- Goals/key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Tracking and follow up
To ensure that they defined the principles correctly, Cowan found and reviewed more than 20 university and other resources from independent professional researchers as validation. Following these principles outlined in the book serves as a roadmap to establish a process and best practices for accountability for c-store owners, the authors said. The book relays a straightforward approach with case histories from six c-store operators on how they have applied the principles in their businesses.
“All five principles are used every day in my work,” said Greg Hendricks, vice president of operations for Garrison Food Mart, Shamrock, Texas, on of the c-store operators. “I cannot just pick one. This new book is a concise summary of things we do every day. I like it as it just makes it easy to focus on the things that make sense.”
Colonial Heights, Va.-based BandyWorks is a family-owned company focused on c-store customers’ growth. It manages data analytics for clients so they can better manage growth. The company’s collaborative process, relationship building and problem-solving focus saves time by making it simple for clients to see operational status. The company boils down data to the bare essentials—the good and the bad—and identify efficiencies and deficiencies, and delivers the right information to store managers to make it easy to digest and execute essential work. They call these deliverables “coachable insights.” BandyWorks has worked inside convenience stores to understand the challenges of operations, including hiring, developing employees, cleaning, stocking, serving customers and complying. It is easy to overwhelm store staff as well as the area managers and directors who are responsible to keep stores open, staffed and thriving—BandyWorks aims to remove that obstacle of overload to make processes easier, it said.
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