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In todays world, where success is often tied to financial accomplishments, status, and impressive job titles, Warren Buffett offers a refreshing perspective: True success is about the love we share. Yes, love. Buffett once said, Basically, when you get to my age, youll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. Buffetts wisdom gets to the core of what matters, reminding us that, ultimately, lifes real currency is the relationships we nurture that lead to two-way love. Who do you want to have love you? Are you a leader, manager, founder, or CEO with scores of people looking at you for guidance, support, motivation, and leadership? I have news for you: Love, in the right business context, does indeed matter for leadership. Thats the premise for my book, which will be released in March of 2025. The big idea behind the chapters I wrote may challenge your belief system. Lets do a quick thought exercise. When we loosely throw the word “love” around in casual conversation, its perfectly natural to express it regarding certain people, places, and things. Think about it. Its acceptable to profess love for a favorite sports team. I have no problems sharing with others that I love my Los Angeles Dodgers and bleed Dodger blue. Professing love for the college or university we attended is acceptable. Its even perfectly acceptable to proclaim our love for a special pair of jeans we might wear only a few times a year. In the workplace, we may go home and proudly tell our loved ones, I love my job, or I love my coworkers. But leaders arent always comfortable expressing love for a team of people they oversee. They may spend nearly half their waking hours with their employees doing good work to the satisfaction of customers, yet they find it hard to infuse the word love into the business lexicon. To me, that type of thinking is bizarre. For every leader ashamed of or fearful of mixing love with work, I point to 10 others whose leadership behaviors unabashedly demonstrate love for their team, company, customers, culture, and everything they contribute to the world. While Im certainly an idealist, Im far from depicting the workplace in some Utopian, Norman Rockwell-portrait of the perfect corporate life. You must do your part by stretching your thinking to reimagine the possibilities for a more loving, human-centered, and humane workplace that results in profitable outcomes. As a leader, you have the power to create a workplace where love and care are not just words but guiding principles. Let me ask you: What if you saw your colleague, coworker, or direct report as a real person with real hopes, dreams, and fears as crucial as your own? And what if, one day, you decided to connect to the heart of people at work as you would a good friend, as one human being caring for another? This is the power and responsibility of leadership in creating a loving workplace. As you imagine being in this frame of mind, let me ask you another question: How would the dynamics change in the workplace as you encountered new challenges and solved complex business problems with the very folks you are kind to and care about? I believe the workplace and how we conduct business as usual would radically differ. This is especially true if youre in a leadership role, whether youre the shift lead supervisor of five people on the manufacturing floor, the founder of a 50-person startup, or a Fortune 500 company CEO. People also want to experience purpose, growth, and success in their jobs and feel their leaders are doing their best to care for them. Thats the bottom line: People want to feel cared for. But I call it for what it really is. In this age of toxic polarization, finger-pointing, and looking after No. 1, that, right there, is the new measure for your success. As Buffett said, when its all said and done and you reflect on your achievements in life, it would be great if you could confidently say to yourself, Because of my willingness to care for and serve others, and because I put people first, I am loved. Like this column? Sign up to subscribe to email alerts and you’ll never miss a post. Marcel Schwantes This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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E-Commerce
This year has not been a great one for grocery stores, with chains like Kroger and Safeway closing locations in recent months. Now, the Southeastern grocery chain Winn-Dixie appears to be following in their footsteps, with its parent company planning to sell or possibly shutter 32 Winn-Dixie stores by the end of 2025 as its focus shifts to its home state of Florida. It will also transition or close eight Harveys Supermarket locations. The 40 stores impacted span Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Southeastern Grocers (SEG), the Jacksonville, Florida-based company that owns both chains, posted a list of stores that it will transition, with some identifying new operators such as Piggly Wiggly and Super 1 Foods, and others marked “pending.” It’s unclear which of the pending stores will close and which will transition to new ownership. Reached for comment by Fast Company, SEG reiterated that it has “reached agreements or is advancing plans with multiple grocers.” It said store closures are expected by the end of the year, but did not elaborate. SEG further noted that southern Georgia will maintain stores in Brunswick, Folkston, Lake Park, St. Simons Island, and Valdosta. The company expects the transitions will be completed by early 2026. A new name for a new era SEG announced the transitions and closures alongside news that it will rebrand as the Winn-Dixie Company. The new name will roll out by early 2026. The change honors Winn-Dixies century-long legacy while positioning the grocer for growth through investments designed to modernize stores, enrich the customer experience, and reimagine the neighborhood grocer for the next 100 years, the soon-to-be Winn-Dixie Company stated in a press release. The company is also expanding, despite the divestitures. Its acquiring Hitchcocks Markets in three Florida cities: Alachua, Keystone Heights, and Williston. Each will become a Winn-Dixie, with the Williston location expected to open by the end of the year and the other two locations slated for summer 2026. These new stores and transitions will leave the company with about 130 grocery stores and 140 freestanding liquor stores. SEG is also moving forward with dozens of remodels while growing its liquor store portfolio and its own product offerings. Plus, it will be piloting tools such as third-party delivery and return kiosks.
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E-Commerce
Breakfast has started to get a little riskier. More than six million eggs have been recalled since Sept. 29 over salmonella concerns. This week those concerns grew when the FDA expanded its earlier recall from Arkansas-based Black Sheep Egg Company and elevated the recall to Class I, which describes the highest possible risk to public health. The move follows a string of other recent egg recalls. In August, the FDA announced the recall of large brown cage-free Sunshine Yolks produced by Country Eggs, LLC of Lucerne Valley, California, and sold under the Nagatoshi Produce, Mizuho, and Nijiya Markets brands. Those products reportedly sickened at least 95 people across 14 states. Other recent recalls have also affected Costcos Kirkland brand eggs. Why the uptick in food recalls? If it seems like there has been an uptick in recalls recently, that’s not entirely unfounded. Food recalls have increased by around 20% from 2020 to 2023, according to a Trace One report. However, experts say that much of the reason for a greater number of recalls is because tests are more sensitive to picking up contamination. This heightened sensitivity leads to more recalls, as contamination is identified earlier and more accurately, says Darin Detwiler, LP. D., author of Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions and a professor at Northeastern University. Likewise, food safety regulations have gotten more stringent since the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011, which means recalls are triggered more easily. Since the passing of the act, “theres been a huge improvement in food supply regulation,” Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN and author of Health Shots said last year. “Regulations such as all facilities are required to have a preventative control plan, enhanced produce safety rules, and more frequent FDA facility inspections have helped with improvement.” Amidor added, “In addition, facilities must give the FDA access to food safety records, greater authority over imported food, and comply with the agency to issue mandatory recalls.” The growing list of recalled eggs Per the Oct. 20 recall notice, the recall now includes Black Sheep Egg Company brand 12- and 18-count cartons of Free Range Large Grade A Brown Eggs with Best By dates of 8/22/2025 through 10/31/2025. Likewise, Kenz Henz of Santa Fe, Texas recalled its 12-count containers of “Grade AA Large Pasture Raised eggs”, which came from Black Sheep Egg Company over possible contamination. The affected cartons are marked with UPC code 86949400030, Julian dates 241244 and 246247, with best-by dates of October 11th through the 14th and October 16th and 17th. The FDA also said that the eggs have been distributed to other companies in Arkansas and Missouri from July 9 through Sept. 17, and said some of the products may have been repackaged. The notice explained that the list will be updated as the FDA receives new information with the potential for more products to be added to the recall list. The updated recall comes after salmonella was found at the company’s processing facility in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas in late September. During the inspection, 40 environmental samples tested positive for salmonella, including seven different strains of the bacteria. Per the announcement, the “FDA does not have information available at this time to suggest that this firm is the source of an ongoing outbreak. “ Black Sheep Egg Company said in a Facebook post that while the FDAs tested non-food contact surfaces which found salmonella, however, the eggs “tested negative for salmonella and showed no signs of contamination. The post continued, Out of an abundance of caution and with the safety of our consumers in mind, we made the proactive decision to initiate a voluntary recall on certain lots of eggs.” The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that Salmonella causes “about 1.35 million illnesses, 26,500 hospitalizations, and 420 deaths” per year in the U.S.
Category:
E-Commerce
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