WHY IT IS TRUE: No one who works in a store does so without developing personal thoughts and ideas about how the business might be improved. These ideas may be significant, simple, or even impossible. The bottom line is … the ideas are there, and many times go completely unnoticed.

PLAN OF ACTION: Encourage your staff to share their ideas regardless of how outlandish they may seem. It’s one thing to say it, it is another to act upon it. Tell your people, for example, that on next Thursday night after close we are all going to dinner to talk about ideas for maximizing impact in our community with our customers. Challenge them to come to this event with ideas, any ideas regardless of how outlandish they may appear. Get the juices flowing and your staff members will begin sharing new thoughts and ideas with you on a regular basis. Remember this is not just “your store,” it is also “their store.” — David Richardson

This article originally appeared in the April 2015 edition of INSTORE.