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Meet the new boss: Do it Best’s Starr

2/20/2018

Dan Starr likes to visit stores incognito, walk around unrecognized and drink in the customer experience unfiltered.


He’ll be able to get away with that practice for a little while longer, but the window is closing. That’s because Starr’s new day job is CEO of Do it Best Corp., one of the three or four most visible positions in the hardware distribution business.


Starr took over for Bob Taylor on Jan. 4, promoted from the post of executive VP and COO. (“It’s the board’s job to select the new CEO,” said Taylor, a home channel Hall of Fame inductee. “It’s my job to make their decision easy.”)


On the surface, Starr shares many of Taylor’s qualities. He peppers his interview with references to Do it Best’s mission and goals, he sings the praises of recently visited members (California dealers Friedman’s and Meek’s, for instance), and he embraces what he calls a servant-led culture.


 Starr waved off the idea that his tenure will bring a change in leadership style that might be a jolt to the organization. “Growth is going to be the continued focus,” he told HBSDealer. “We’re not grappling with a crisis, and this isn’t a turnaround situation.”


Still, everyone’s different, and Starr says his own style will emerge over time. Until then, here’s his current-day insights on the retail industry, leadership and how to enjoy visiting a hardware store.


On visiting stores


“When I go to a store, it's less about me critiquing than it is about me learning. I might actually park away from the store and walk around and get the customer experience -- the signage and exterior presence of the store, basically the invitation to the customer. Inside the store, how long does it take them to greet you, do they ask an open-ended question designed to really improve the customer experience? And it's not just about the merchandising.


"When you walk into the store, you look for what is the store's identity. What are the categories that they view as convenience, and the categories where they try to make a statement, and say, “We’re going to own this category.”


On high performers


“If you look at what makes a high performer, a lot of the times it is the usual suspects. Do they have the right location; is it a clean, welcoming environment; is the customer experience everything that it should be -- all of those key things.


"And then sometimes you get surprised. You have that much volume in that little space? How do you do that? As a co-op, we’re always trying to learn. That’s the essence of it."


On the CEO transition


“We're not grappling with some kind of crisis or challenge, and this isn't a turnaround situation. We're going through a leadership change. You want to have a strong business plan and a long-term strategic plan -- those things are in place. The key is to assure both the members and the team that it's going to be a smooth transition where you're not going to see the kind of disruption that might come along with radical change.


"I'm a big proponent of the idea that change within the organization has to take place in order to keep up with a competitive environment. But you won’t see the kind of differences in leadership and style that would be a jolt to the organization. We’re not in that kind of turnaround, and that’s a huge blessing. Growth is going to be the continued focus."


On non-hardware retailers that are admirable


"There’s Wegmans and Nordstrom among a few other examples. Both of those organizations have delivered not just a temporary flash in the pan performance; they have delivered long-term solid performance and really helped define themselves in an exceptional way. And both are servant-led cultures, which is really important to me."


On the concept of "servant-led" culture


"The real essence of that to me is that folks who aspire to a leadership role within any organization are first and foremost dedicated to serving others. That applies to the customer, of course. And I would say it applies with equal strength to the team and to the community.


"What we preach internally here is the notion of the inverted hierarchy. We don’t look at leadership as a command-and-control top-down authority. It’s more about making sure that you give the team the tools to be successful and remove the obstacles to success."


On big-box competition


"You can pick lots of examples in an individual marketplace where you have independents who are not competing very well with the big box. You could just as easily pick some markets and find members of ours or other independents who are thriving. They’re not just surviving in the shadow of a big box, but are absolutely thriving.


"I absolutely continue to believe in the strength of independents that they can compete and compete well at every level. And that includes not just big boxes, but the disruption that comes through an online world."


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