Leading with Positivity: April Sabral's Retail Revolution

Episode Transcript
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Unknown (00:01):
And what I mean by that is making andbuilding deeper connections, making
sure that the relationships matter.
Understanding that how you showup as a leader has a ripple
effect on the people around you.
But I think purpose-driven culture,when you ignite that from within
somebody and you create that magic.

(00:22):
That is a big shift, I think, andwhen I work with retailers, the ones
that we help create that in the room,they see the ripple effect afterwards.
connection is so key.
If you are not connecting with peopleand you're just communicating at them,
you are not gonna have a team that'sbrought into what you want them to do.
It's just not gonna happen.
Mindset is a skillsetalong with other things.

(00:44):
So I just think that trend isgoing to continue because AI
can't replace emotional context.
It just can't.
Hello, and welcome to our firstepisode of the Retail Razor:

(01:05):
Retail Transformers podcast.
The latest podcast in the ever-growingRetail Razor Podcast Network.
I'm Ricardo Belmar.
And I'm Casey Golden.
Welcome Retail Razor fans to the showwhere we cut through the clutter and bring
you the people driving real transformationin retail, the change makers, the
innovators, and the disruptors reshapingthe industry from the inside out.

(01:30):
Yes, this is the podcast where we diveinto candid conversations with the people
reshaping the world of commerce, fromthe boardroom to the showroom floor.
If you're passionate aboutinnovation, leadership, and
the future of commerce, RetailTransformers is the podcast for you.
And if this sounds a bit familiarto our loyal Retail Razor audience,

(01:50):
well, there's a reason for that.
On the Retail Razor Show podcastall the way back in season one.
We started a series calledRetail Transformers.
Each season we brought you an amazingseries of guests that we could
all learn from showing us how theyhave transformed retail or plan to.

(02:12):
Well, we learned from that experiencethat in fact, these were some of the
most popular episodes on the show.
So we said to ourselves, oh, weshould just launch this as a brand new
show, and keep bringing you even moreincredible retail transformers that
are of course more than meets the eye.
Ricardo, you are so lucky that you'remore than an arm's length away if you

(02:33):
think I'm letting you get away withslipping those pop culture references
That's what I
back into the show.
It.
This is the one.
I get one, huh?
All right.
All right.
I'm gonna, I'm gonnatake that as a challenge.
You, you watch, I'll find a wayto work 'em at least one into each
episode one way or another, or, ormaybe I'll switch to making them music

(02:55):
references or, or song lyrics instead.
Okay.
I'm not, I'm, I'm okay.
Like bring me some song
Okay.
All right.
It's a challenge.
It's a challenge.
I'm up for the challenge.
I am up for the challenge for that one.
but how about we go backto talking about the show.
Alright, I would love to.
So, in fact, I'd really love to take amoment here and ask everyone listening,
or if you're watching us on YouTubeto please go check out the other shows

(03:16):
in the Retail Razor Podcast Network.
Hopefully you've already subscribedto the main show, the Retail Razor
Show, but if not, don't worry.
We'll, we'll forgive you.
Just be sure that when you're donelistening to this show, and of course
hitting that subscribe button, you alsogo and subscribe to the Retail Razor Show.
You'll be so glad you did.
And don't stop there.
Check out Blade to Greatness for thebest leadership skills and career

(03:38):
tips you could ever ask for in retail.
Straight from the best leadersin the business, including our
guest for today on the show.
So you see we're already crosspollinating from show to show.
Oh yeah, and then go give Data Blades alisten, where you'll get deep, practical
insights into customer experiencetactics you can use based on real

(03:59):
world research at the point of sale.
If you're a data junkie likeCasey here, then you absolutely
want to check out Data Blades.
A hundred percent.
So that brings us to four shows, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, it does amazing, isn't it?
Did you ever think we'd beproducing four shows when we started
Retail Razor Show back in 2021?
No, I definitely didn't.

(04:20):
Frankly, if you even told me then thatI'd even be part of a regular YouTube
series, I would've laughed at you, oreven been the person to initiate that.
That's right.
That's right.
Honestly, you could go back toour original show on Clubhouse.
If anybody remember Clubhouse andI wouldn't have expected we'd be

(04:43):
expanding that into all of thesepodcasts in less than four years.
I have to agree there.
This has been quite the wildof ride, but very exciting.
I can't express just how much I lovehearing the feedback though from, loyal
listeners to the shows on how much theylearn and take away from each episode.
I'm always so impressed to hearhow much of an impact, all of
these podcasts are having, and Ireally love to see that happen.

(05:04):
Yeah.
, And I think this show is reallygoing to make an impact too.
I love how this will give somany people the opportunity to
give back to the industry andshare their knowledge and wisdom.
And most of all, I can't wait tosee reactions from our audience
about some of the more unexpectedguests we'll have this season.

(05:24):
That is so true.
Of course we'll also have some, I guess Iwould say expected guests two, won't we?
Way to drop a hint there.
But yes, we are asking many of ourprevious retail transformers to come
back on the show and update us on allthe new and amazing work they've been
doing since their first appearance.

(05:45):
Those will be a really special treat.
So in anticipation of that, this mightbe the best time to ask our audience
to please consider giving us a fivestar rating and drop a quick review
on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube,or Goodpods, if you like the show.
We really appreciate your support.
That's right.
So, okay.

(06:05):
Let's talk about our first retailtransformer this episode, someone who is
no stranger to the whole podcast network.
We mentioned before she was one of ourspecial guests on multiple episodes
of Blade to Greatness, sharing threeincredible leadership traits that
every retail leader needs to master.
But not only that, she was also ourvery first retail transformer in

(06:26):
season one of The Retail Razor Show.
Yeah, so it's only natural that we wouldinvite her to be our first guest on this
new dedicated Retail Transformers show.
And best of all, she has been very busywith new, exceptional work that we're
going to be hearing more about today.

(06:47):
That's right.
So of course we aretalking about April Sabral.
April is a leadership and mindset expert,bestselling author of multiple books, and
founder of the brand new Ask April AI, anAI powered coaching and training platform
designed to support retail, hospitality,and service-based business owners.

(07:09):
With over 30 years of experience leadingteams at iconic global brands such
as, lemme look at, check out the listStarbucks Gap, Banana Republic, Davidstea,
April has trained thousands of managers tobecome confident people focused leaders.
Her proven leadership system, the PositiveEffect has been embraced by top brands
including Jimmy Choo, Tory Burch, SunglassHut, Victoria's Secret and Psycho Bunny.

(07:34):
Her bestselling book by the same name wasranked a top global retail book by the
National Retail Federation in 2025 and isfeatured in the Forbes Leadership Library.
And we mentioned April's been very busysince her first appearance on the show.
So not only is she launching thenew Ask April AI, but she's also has

(07:56):
the only coaching certification inthe retail industry that certifies
leaders and coaches to trainand license her proven methods.
And that is launching this fall.
We did say she's quite busy, didn't we?
April is also the executive director ofthe Design District Chamber of Commerce
in Miami, where she combines her passionfor retail with community leadership.

(08:18):
She is a fellow Rethink Retail TopRetail Expert and has been named
for three consecutive years, 2022,to 2025, and she's on a mission to
positively impact 1 million leadersworldwide through practical business
tools and mindset transformation.

(08:38):
Wow.
Talk about more than meets the eye.
That is what transformation's all about.
Absolutely.
And yes, I did catch that youworked your favorite phrase in.
I did, I threw it in there.
Okay.
Okay, so why don't we go straightto our conversation with April then
before I get myself into deepertrouble before the next episode.

(09:00):
I like that idea.
So here's our fantastic discussionwith Retail Transformer, April
Sabral, multi-book author, leadershipcoach, and founder of Ask April AI.
Welcome to the first episodeof our Retail Transformer show.

(09:23):
April, always an incrediblepleasure to have you here with us.
I am so excited.
I can't believe it.
I'm here again.
I love your show and I'm, I'm really,really happy to be here today.
Well, and this is a particularlyspecial one for us, too, April,
'cause you may or may not realize,but you were our very first Retail
Transformer on The Retail Razor Showway back in our season one, episode

(09:48):
nine, which if I remember correctly,is all the way back in May of 2022.
So just over three years ago.
And so it's so perfectly fittingthat you're now helping us launch
the new series on, on this themewith the first episode of the series.
So thanks for being here with us.
Oh, wow.
I did not know that.
That's epic.

(10:08):
Exactly.
Exactly.
It was a different world.
And of course, you're no stranger to othershows since you joined us for the first
season of our Blade to Greatness series.
That's right.
In fact, that's, that's partlywhy you're here, isn't it?
You have such a rich history of trainingretail leaders, plus now multiple books
making a real impact, starting withThe Positive Effect, then Incurable

(10:32):
Positivity, and so much more to helpleaders understand why being positive
is so powerful when leading store teams.
Thank you.
You've seen the retail landscapeevolve significantly over your
25 years at companies likeStarbucks, Apple, Banana Republic.
What are some of the mostfundamental shifts in team

(10:53):
leadership that you've observed?
Yeah, it's interesting.
It's such a good question, this question,what are shifts, right versus change?
I love the word shift because Ithink shift is about like slight
changes can make a big impact.
I'm a big believer in that.
And I think one of the biggest shiftsI've seen over time, which I think was
always there, but more walking awayfrom transactional leadership and going

(11:18):
towards transformational leadership.
And what I mean by that is making andbuilding deeper connections, making
sure that the relationships matter.
Understanding that how you showup as a leader has a ripple
effect on the people around you.
And you know, back in the day when I wasgrowing up in retail, I did fortunately

(11:38):
get a lot of personal developmentand professional development back
then from Gap, Apple, and Starbucksback in the day before the e-comm
boom and all the money was in people.
And so then I saw it go away from people.
And I think right nowit's coming back around.
You know, you cannot cut development, likecutting development is a false economy.

(12:00):
That's what I, I read that term lately andI, and I was like, that is so good because
I like that.
money and you're not saving money,you're actually killing your business.
It's the decisions we make as leaders.
So I think just that and then reallyhoning those skills in positive mindset.
People are so interested now in mindsetpractices, you know how to manifest.

(12:25):
All of that comes along with leadershipwhen you're leading a business and
how to make sure that, that youare being responsible for that.
And teaching others, like back inthe day, people didn't talk about
positive mindset or teaching otherpeople the skills on their team.
They would just say, you're beingnegative, you're being, you know,
you're being not so nice, or you'renot being good at what you do.

(12:46):
And I think that's evolved.
So skillset and mindsetis very important now.
I think that's great.
And I like the, I likeyour use of responsibility.
I do feel like very stronglythat the industry has a
responsibility to its people.
We need them to get that foundationalexperience to lead us into the future.
We do, and excuse me, I'vegot a frog in my throat.

(13:08):
It always happens whenyou get on camera, right?
You're like, I was fine and
That's right.
and, but, I also think purpose-drivenculture over command and control.
Like you know, before itwas like, do this, do that.
Command and control, likeoperational execution.
I mean, I grew up in the Gapworld of execution, which is
amazing 'cause it taught me a lot.
But I think purpose-driven culture,when you ignite that from within

(13:29):
somebody and you create that magic.
That is a big shift, I think, andwhen I work with retailers, the ones
that we help create that in the room,they see the ripple effect afterwards.
I had somebody call me the otherday and they said sales went
up like a couple weeks after.
We don't know if it was yourtraining 'cause it's really hard to
quantify training and development.
I think that's why companies cutit faster, because it's not like

(13:53):
a ROI but it kind of is, theywere like, we, it's the training.
You know, people are letting go of
If sales down suspicion that itbe very easy to make attribution.
know.
But you know, when I'm trying to talkto people about that, one of the things
we talk about the shift is instead ofsaying ROI as well on things we say

(14:16):
ROC, which is return on compensation.
So you are paying people all of thismoney and are you getting the return on
compensation that you want versus the ROIreturn of investment on training because
when people are trained and skilled upand more positive, they do perform better.
So we like to talk about that andeducate, you know, our partners on that.

(14:38):
Do you have, like, do you have anexample recently or like working
with a brand that you can share?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
So, like most recently you would'veseen it posted on LinkedIn probably is
we went to Tory Birch and we trainedthe store manager, field leadership
team in the management conference.
And that was really powerful.
That was focused on mindset.

(14:59):
A lot of it in that training was fromThe Positive Effect, but it was from
Incurable Positivity because theyreally wanted their team to have best
practices on how to lead positivelyand shift other people's mindsets
and take on accountability and, andnot have that blame game, right?
Like, oh, the company'sasking me to do this.

(15:19):
They're not giving methe resources for this.
Complaining about everything that's goingwrong, that's not great for any business.
So we really.
Worked on the change managementmatrix and like that mindset
and giving them the tools.
And the other thing that I'velearned in the last five years
of doing this is standing therelecturing at somebody does not work.

(15:42):
So we have really honed the facilitationgame of getting 200 people in a room
to actually engage with about 50people throughout the whole four hours
of workshop with different people.
And what that does is build collaboration.
There's somebody, you know,in LA that's never met the
person in New York and probably
may not conference that big, but wehave these activities that get them

(16:05):
to actually have self-reflection.
And so that's really powerful.
And I could see the shift, the ripple,like after we left the room and beyond.
So that was a really goodexample of like these
frameworks and their focus, what theywanted us to work on versus you know,
performance management skills and.
I don't know how togive somebody feedback.
It was really about positivity.

(16:26):
It's really a great point.
You know, store managers, a lotof times they kind of live on
an island which is them and HQ.
I remember, I, I, God, it was likea lifetime ago, but I would have
a, a biweekly call in that allstore managers would essentially
call in during the afternoon forsome type of topic or conversation.

(16:50):
It was almost like a lunch and learn.
But it did bring at least like allstore managers in and we did have
an opportunity for open discussion.
I've never even thought about thatas something that I did actually
find a lot of value in becauseI didn't feel like I was alone.
I felt like I was partof a, this larger team.

(17:10):
Yeah, which is that thatpurpose driven culture.
When you can create that alignment amongmany people and give them that vision
and, and create that power from within,you will ignite your team's performance.
There is nothing better than that ifyou're thinking about productivity.
And how to drive more sales like legit.

(17:32):
Like you, you have people,you have to invest in them.
And that's why I love that term of cuttingdevelopment is a false economy, you know?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So it, teamwork, I, I guess,is, is pretty central to all the
coaching skills and, and thingsthat you do in, in these sessions.
Are there one or two really actionabletechniques that you, you could tell

(17:54):
leaders right now is they shouldimmediately implement to really build
that better teamwork environment?
Yeah, I think so.
There's, I was just working in NewYork right last week when I was there
for The Lead conference and the dayprior I was with one of my independent
clients and I was standing thereand I was, it sounds really basic.
This is gonna sound so basic.

(18:14):
But it's not because it's the smallthings, the fundamental things of building
connection with people that really matter.
And I was watching a daily huddle and itwas so great to be back on the shop floor
because I haven't done it for a while,and just speaking at your team, like de
delivering a download of information inthe morning of what's gotta get done.

(18:35):
And then you say, oh, doesanybody have any to say?
And everybody walks away andyou're like, oh, that went well.
Well actually it didn't,nobody had anything to say.
So one thing I asked him to do was,instead of just downloading information
and telling them what's going onfor the day, is to start their team
meeting with asking them, and thisis a Ron Thurston thing, right?

(18:56):
What's one thing you're proud of?
Right asking that question orwhat's one thing you're grateful for
today and get everybody to share.
What that does is it gets everybodyin a positive emotional attractor and
it opens up their brainwaves and it'sscientifically proven that you get
people talking and now they're openand they're in a place of gratitude.

(19:17):
So that's one thing.
And then the second thing is.
Bring what you are trying to get peopleto get into conversations in everyday
meetings by saying, okay, we're gonna talkabout, you know, our vision statement or
our latest or one of the service modelsor something that you feel like, oh my
God, why aren't my team getting this?

(19:39):
I never see them doing it.
Bring it into a meeting and say, okay,so who wants to talk about, you know,
step one of the vision statement andlike, how are we gonna do it today?
How are we gonna embody this today?
That's bringing personal development intoprofessional development, and I don't see
that enough when we're in the conferences.
We teach the framework.

(19:59):
Then I share a story about it, and thenthe next step is we get them into groups,
like small groups, and they have to startwith what are they grateful for, and
then what did they just learn from me?
And then how are they gonna apply it?
These are the three steps,
and that's an easy formulato shift culture, right?
Yeah, I
mean, it has to be intentional.

(20:20):
Being positive is intentional.
If you ask anybody who has a positiveoutlook on life they choose it
and they make that intentional.
Yeah, and it, and it, and one thingtoo, and it is from from those three
steps, I think is so important.
It gets everyone communicating witheach other and that extra, and of
course, you, your, your team isn't gonnafunction if they're not communicating
with each other in the first place.

(20:42):
So I, I do think it's a, a, acritical piece that you're really
reinforcing in that method by gettingeveryone talking to each other.
Well, yeah, leaders think they haveto say everything and then they
have, they think they have to fill,fill the silence, and they actually
don't.
I used to be on conference calls, I'dask a question, 30 people, and I'd say,
I'm really good with silence, so I'mgonna just ask it again until somebody.

(21:04):
So someone says something.
It's kind of like last week whenwe, we were at The Lead, right?
Like Julia and, and Paul, theysaid, okay, who wants to stand
up and offer up something?
And I was like, they picked me.
Of course they did, becausethen I started the conversation.
So one person starts andthen everybody starts.
So
connection is so key.
If you are not connecting withpeople and you're just communicating
at them, you are not gonna havea team that's brought into what

(21:27):
you want them to do.
It's just not gonna happen.
So you really have to askquestions and what questions
like, really think about that.
I get asked all the day,all, all the time, like, what
questions should I be asking?
I'm like, ask chat, GPT.
You've got a.
Yeah, accountability is crucial.

(21:47):
How do you define positiveaccountability and how does it differ
from more traditional approachesto holding teams responsible?
Let's say somebody in our audienceright now is going to go ask
Chat GPT, but really about that.
Where does that North Star forthem on positive accountability?
I think positive anything andspecifically positive accountability

(22:11):
means that everybody knows what it is.
Because
when you feel uncertain aboutthings, you feel uneasy about things.
We all do.
We're going into a situation andwe're not sure about what it's gonna
be like or how it's how it's gonnaplay out, and we can feel uneasy
the more that we provide clarity.

(22:32):
Which is clear expectations, thebetter people are gonna feel, which
is gonna activate not less fight orflight in their brain and actually
put them in a positive space.
So I always say, you know, when I'm in atraining or I'm talking to leaders about
accountability, and it's specificallypositive accountability, ask 10 people
on your team what accountabilitymeans and see what they say and

(22:55):
they give you 10 different answers.
So then I'm like, well that's interestingbecause if we know certainty and clear
expectations creates positive workexperiences and places, then wouldn't
you want to have a definition ofaccountability that everybody's clear on.
So whenever anybody asks me, I sayaccountability is a nine step framework.

(23:17):
That when you actually adopt, itgets everybody clear and working
in tandem to achieve the goals.
It is a nine step framework,and that's what I say.
And then if you know that and youknow the steps, then you've got a
positive framework for accountability.
And number one, being setin clear expectations.
That's the one that everybody misses.
So if we know set clear expectationsis the first step of accountability,

(23:42):
then we need to set a clearexpectation of what accountability is.
Does that make sense?
Yeah, I, it makes perfect senseand I think that's a great
place for people to start.
We're seeing a lot of anxietyaround AI in the workplace.
Something like 89% reportedly areworried about job displacement.

(24:03):
I'm not a self-checkout kind ofgal, but unlike Ricardo, how can
leaders throwing you under the bus
Yeah.
Yeah.
how can leaders in these industriesadopt AI with a positive mindset and,
and help their teams to do the same and.

(24:23):
You know, really release that anxiety.
I think we have to normalizethe conversation around it.
Just like we do a product launch,just like we do a promotional launch,
just like we do when we're buildinga new division, whatever it is, we
need to bring it into conversation.
It can't be an afterthought, you know?

(24:43):
You are correct about that percentage.
'cause I was doing a talk in Miamirecently and studying the percentage
and then how many Google searches?
There are every 30 secondsabout improving my aI skills.
It was like 730 million.
It was ridiculous.
Probably more than that.
Billion.
I can't read the numbers.
The.

(25:03):
But then when you add work on topat work, it actually nearly doubles.
So this is a real fearthat's in people's minds.
So if you are not dealing with change,we know change is, again, uncertainty.
People are gonna get resistant to it.
So I think you have to bring it in.
And number one, share your visionabout how you see AI in your

(25:25):
company improving their role.
Maybe reducing some workload fromsome people, because again, if you
are not normalizing that conversationabout it, you're avoiding it.
And I don't think that's good for anybody.
The number one step in ourchange matrix is vision.
If you don't share avision, people are confused.

(25:46):
If you don't talk about how AI is goingto be working in your company, 'cause
you are gonna bring it in, it's not goingaway, then you are not sharing a vision.
People are gonna be confused.
Right.
And if you're not tooling them up withthe skills, they're gonna feel frustrated.
So you have to really talk aboutand bring it in and, and we've

(26:06):
done that in our organization.
'cause we're a content company,we're a training company, but we
build a lot of content, right?
Video training and all of that.
And we call it meloria.
It's really funny.
It means, it means positivity in Latin.
So we've given her a name, which.
Yeah.
So we talk about, Hey, did you like,literally, I get text messages from
Rena on my team and she's like,did you talk to meloria about that?

(26:27):
And I'm like, oh, yeah, right.
Let's talk to Maori about it.
And last night I was on the plane landingand I was having this thought, and I
was like, meloria's, like there now,she's our ally, she's our team player.
And then I was like, oh, I shouldgo ask, Ask April actually.
Why don't I just ask my own AI version?
So then I've started doing that.
And she built me a whole freakinggo to market strategy on something

(26:48):
that we're launching soon.
And I was like, that was brilliant.
that would've taken me like fiveadvisors, three weeks reaching out
on LinkedIn, trying to find people.
So I think you've got to reframe it asan assistant and, and not a replacement.
It will replace some jobs.
Let's be real.
It will.
It will.
And we need to be talking about thatso that we can upskill people that

(27:10):
may be displaced into other roles.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I mean, retail is just notoriousfor obscene amounts of admin work that
probably shouldn't have, shouldn'texist today for the last 15 years.
yeah
So, I mean, I think with thatcomes new productivity and putting

(27:32):
people in magic spots, right?
Letting them focus on the magic areasversus seen amount of spreadsheets
and paperwork that's out there.
I think you can't just talk about it.
I think you have to demo it, right?
Like you have demonstrate using it.
Like I've been in offsites with executiveswhere they have been spending way

(27:52):
too long trying to figure out theirOKRs and their strategy, and then I
just open up the laptop and I'm like,okay, well let's all talk to her.
I'm like, let's have conversation.
Then it goes like this.
By the end of the meeting, they're like,whoa, we got our OKRs in 20 minutes.
I'm yeah.
Yeah.
yeah.
You know,
a hundred percent.
You know, that's a great point.
I challenge all of our listeners rightnow to upgrade to a paid version.

(28:19):
Yeah.
I think that that might, that right thereis, don't just try it on the free level.
It's like a 30 x
But it's, it's the difference betweenlooking at it and thinking about
it versus embracing and actuallyleveraging and taking advantage
of the results you get from it.
Yeah, and, it's very different.
yeah.
Yeah.
No, a absolutely.

(28:39):
I mean, and I think that's, and youmeant, you said it April, it's one of
those things where you, you can't, Ithink there's a habit or a tendency
often in retail that when there are theseunknown things or unclear things to just
ignore them and maybe they'll go away.
But the fact is they don't go away, right?
They just build and build.
And the AI tools is one of thosewhere if leaders don't embrace it and
actually in a structured way, kindof figure out how are we going to

(29:02):
incorporate this into everything we do?
Everyone else under them isgonna do it for them, but it's
not going to be coordinated.
It'll be, everyone will find their ownway to do it, and it's gonna be very
disjointed and you're not gonna get allthe benefits that, that you could get.
You know, so, so it's definitely anintegration problem from that sense.
I mean, is is there a particular piece ofadvice you give leaders who are grappling

(29:23):
with this whole, how do I incorporateAI in this way that you're telling
everyone, this is where you should start.
Yeah, talk to AI and tell it that you'regrappling with it, how to integrate
it and get it to give you a plan
Yeah.
to start just talking toit and upskilling yourself.
There is tons of free courses.
Now, there are tons of webinars.
We're a training company.
We a hundred percent believe thatwhen you are trained and you have

(29:46):
the knowledge, you will be able toembrace and accept it faster because
knowledge gives you confidence.
So I think fear is areal thing around this.
Your team is feeling fearful.
You have no option But touplevel your skills as their
leader and get educated on this.
So, you know, I think justtraining and upskilling.

(30:08):
So if you are looking at your next 30days and you don't have an AI workshop
or some kind of masterclass that you cando on, LinkedIn learning or whatever,
there's tons of stuff out there.
Just Google it.
I actually feel like I wanna do an AI likemasterclass on LinkedIn because honestly,
last week people just kept coming up to meand I felt like I was a prompt architect.

(30:31):
Like legit.
I was like, I'm gonna a new job about toappear a prompt architect, because humans
don't generally ask a lot of questions.
They think more aboutthemselves than anybody else.
We just do.
It's human nature, so we don'tknow how to engage with somebody
that's not giving us something back.

(30:51):
But when you start engaging with it, itstarts to help you be better at your job.
That's when you start getting the buy-in,'cause you're like, wow, that's making me
look better, sound better, easier, like.
Wow.
I could progress ifI've got this skill now.
So yeah, I was just, last week Iwas, I was walking, people were
just walking up to me and saying,somebody has this question.

(31:13):
That is great.
Yeah.
I just mentioned last week that AI andlike Chat GPT and these, and like a Claude
or or Gemini is a micromanager's dream.
It's a skill.
It is a skill that needs to be refined,especially since typically leaders, great

(31:33):
leaders they overly communicate, but theydo build those dreams and expectations.
But in my opinion, like a greatleader gives you enough rope to
hang yourself with it and thatyou can't do that to Chat GPT.
You have to micromanage that prompt tobe so specific to what you needed to do.

(31:58):
What role you need to take it, it totake on and really define the outcome.
And I say like, it's likeworking with an in like an intern
It is!
All day and like literally workingwith an intern all day because I have
to explain everything and it is askill that has to be developed, right?

(32:18):
Because that's not a great skill of mine.
I hate being micromanaged,but at the same time.
That is the success in AI is being ableto hone in that skill to say, listen,
I may not enjoy doing it, but it'smandatory skill that I work on this and
continue to develop this because I'mgoing to be able to get what I want,

(32:40):
but I'm also gonna be able to learn whatelse I can have that I didn't realize.
and I'm gonna reframe the
micromanaging piece to, you'renot micromanaging an intern,
you're training an intern, right?
You're,
Hmm.
You're, training somebody andwhen you're training somebody,
you can guess what, Redirect.
Reframe, ask another question.

(33:01):
If they didn't get it coach them.
If they didn't get, like what yousaid, ask them to ask you more
clarifying questions so that youcan be clear in what you're asking.
So I think if you reframe itfor train your training, your
assistant, then it becomes fun.
Because literally it's like you sayone thing like you said, and then
it gives you an answer and you'relike, oh no, now you get stuck.

(33:22):
No.
If that was a human standingin front of you, you'd be like,
okay, I must have not been clear.
Let me give you some more informationor, or if you wanna ask me questions
to clarify what I'm actually a lead,then can you ask me some questions?
But we, that's the skill that weteach leaders that they don't have.
They walk around making assumption
Yeah.
making all day.

(33:43):
Yeah.
Well, I think, I think a lot ofpeople have an inherent and not so
much a fear, but maybe a, a lackof ability to iterate on things.
And, and this is such aniterative process, right?
And that's what you learn.
And I think, I like how you saythat you're training it in that
sense, because you really are right.
You're, you're starting witha problem you wanna solve.
And like any problem solving technique,the AI is great at helping you do that.

(34:06):
But, it also needs a little bit of helpfrom you in understanding what exactly
is the problem you're trying to solve.
And the only way you do that is bygiving it more information, asking
more questions, and keep repeating anditerating over until it finally comes
out with what you were looking for.
But I think maybe some of the,the disservice a lot of the early
hype did is, is create this notionthat you're gonna ask one thing

(34:26):
and get all the answers you want.
And that, and that'snot really how it works.
Right?
And, and if you think about it whendo we ever solve problems that way?
In these, in these business areas?
When have we ever solve one byjust saying one thing and getting
an answer and, okay, we're done.
Let's move on to the next one.
Everything we do right, always hasiteration to it, and we always have to
dig and go a little deeper and expand mostof the time because we haven't defined

(34:48):
the problem well enough to get to thatsolution, and you do a lot of these steps
to better define it, and it's no differentwith doing the prompting with AI because
the AI needs a good understanding ofwhat you're trying to do so that it can
give you a result that is gonna satisfy
Yeah, and I think it's important to notethat like in order to have like successful
training, there needs to be some level ofa culture of learning because just because

(35:14):
you train me today doesn't mean I've hadanybody's had a moment to sit with it.
To test it.
I started putting my Monday morningsand afternoon essentially into learning.
I'm going to try new tools, I'm goingto watch some YouTube videos, and it's
very structured of what do I wanna learn?

(35:37):
What tools can I use?
Let me try to create an agent.
Let me, let me kind of like doubleclick in this area so that I can like,
not feel, I can feel like I'm not, notdoing my job, but I feel like I'm gonna
be able to 10 x if I can make surethat I have time to absorb all of this

(35:58):
stuff that's coming in that's new oreverything that I wanted to essentially
like, you know, is being reiterated intopractice and allowing that space for
your team members to just sit with it,try, learn where you're, you are holding
them accountable to engage and act, butreally don't have that result, right?

(36:22):
Especially in retail, there's alwaysa fire drill every day, inboxes,
traffic, sales quotas, and we alsooften don't provide that space
to absorb and to learn and test
Well, if you go back to the beginningof the first question you asked me
about like what shifted in leadership,it's like past life, it was like I

(36:46):
would ask, what did you sell today?
Today I would say, how canI support you grow today?
Mm-hmm.
that's a different question.
Not that I'm not gonnaask, what did you sell?
Because we've all gotta make sales.
But if you just focus on that andthe past review, you are not creating
a supportive growth environment.
If you say to somebody, howcan I support you grow today?

(37:08):
That's a really powerful questionand and that opens up dialogue for
strengthening the skillset for the future.
Always in improvement mode versusjust looking back all the time.
Yeah, that's so true.
That's so true.
So April, since we're diving into theAI question and how to best use it

(37:28):
is probably a good time to ask youfor more details on the Ask April
AI that you're about to launch.
Um, What, can you tell us a littlebit more about how, as, as a platform
that's going to make leadershipdevelopment more relevant, maybe more
personalized and and how it helpsleaders address all the challenges
they're facing, whether it's in retail,hospitality, other service businesses.

(37:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We're really excited because when webuilt retailU six years ago, we, we
were, we built micro learning fourminute videos when everybody was
still doing 12 to 15 minute videos.
And so we kind of innovated thenand how, I feel like it's shifting
now is attention is currency, right?

(38:10):
We all know that shorts is the way to goif you want to get people's attention.
So we've been able to take the courses.
Which are the longer call,they're four minute videos.
They're not really long, but they are
kind of long now.
I'd like to get somebody to watch it anduse an AI version of me and kind of like
consolidate all of that and give youa mini podcast style AI version of me.

(38:32):
Having a conversation withsomebody else, which is awesome.
And it goes through all the frameworksin a very podcast style learning
because everybody listens to podcast.
Podcast, we're on one right now, right?
They blew up after the pandemic.
They were always there, butnow they're really, really
prevalent on how people learn.
And so that's been reallyawesome to kind of use AI.
Version of me and somebody else to havethis conversation about the frameworks

(38:56):
and bring it into real life and havediscussions and debates about it.
And I listened to them.
I'm like, whoa, that was really good.
Like that was our concept.
So that's one piece of it is likeinnovating the learning styles
and distilling it down to moremicro sized on demand, but giving
you the frameworks that work.
Number one.
Also.
Giving you contextualized prompts.

(39:18):
So we talked about like peopledon't know what questions to ask.
I see that all the time.
So I know all the questionsthat people ask because they ask
me all the time in trainings.
We've trained thousandsof leaders at this point.
So we have the most commonly askedquestions and challenges, and so we
give you those contextual prompts sothat they're there and you can have a

(39:39):
conversation with me, the AI version ofme, to get the answers that you need,
and it will reference all the books.
It will reference a course,it will reference a podcast.
It will point you in the directionbecause at this point we have
so much content that we've builtthat we have this massive library.
So it will point you in the direction sothat you can get that deeper learning.
So that's really exciting.

(39:59):
And then what I've really recognizedover the last five years is the
smaller businesses that reallycouldn't afford to have me come in
and do a workshop or didn't have theheadcount to do it, need different
way to get access to our content.
And so we've built a program specificallyfor them and coming down the line,
they will be able to kind of buildtheir own content and, and AI driven

(40:21):
course creation on the platformbecause if their stuff is in Google
Drive, it's on Canva, it's everywhere.
It's like when we go to do an auditbusiness, the on on onboarding
and the expectations, we can'ttrain that in the small businesses
because they haven't set them.
So we have to help em set them.
So we're gonna.
Help 'em with that and then, youknow, have an AI tool that creates and

(40:42):
generates SOPs and all that kind of stuff.
So I'm really excited aboutwhere this is gonna go.
It's gonna be a very affordablesubscription because we want to make
it affordable, but we also are now,which I think makes this very different
training and certifying coaches.
So you come into the AI platformto get your micro learning.
All the courses from retailU,hospitalityU, the positive effects sell

(41:05):
on you all in one banner now, becausethey were all in different banners.
So they're all in one hub and now youcan actually get a coach on demand
to train your managers for you usingthe content so you don't have to.
And that, that's just been amassive learning in the last four
years of working with owners.
And they can't really train the managers' cause they don't have the skills.

(41:27):
So we'll do it for you so thatyou can get back to running your
business and, and doing the magic.
Stay in the magic lane that you are in.
You have to go through the programbecause it starts at the top.
I truly believe that.
But we are going to giveyou additional support.
So Ask April AI is a learninghub for location-based.
Bricks and mortar withthese features in it.

(41:48):
And it's, I'm really excited.
I think it's gonna, I think it'sgonna be, well, it, it's good timing.
I think,
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
great.
I mean, with any great like trainer, likeeven like fitness personal trainer you
can't just go to the personal traineronce and call it good for the quarter.
Yeah.
Right.
It's an
reinforced and it's ongoing andit's a conscious decision that

(42:10):
you're making on a regular basis.
So, you know, trust the processto get you to where you want.
We will also, yeah, we, we trainedit on all of, all of the books and
all the content, so I'm training her
all the time.
Like just yesterday we were going to anevent in New York and a friend of mine,
he's a tech founder, and he was like,I don't know, have my elevator pitch.

(42:30):
What am I gonna say?
Because you know, you know Casey, you likeshow up, you're like, what do you say you
do when you do 50 million things, right?
So I was like, why don't youjust chat GPT it like ask.
And then I was like, holdon, let's ask April AI.
Let's ask chat, GPT, and let's ask April.
AI.
And the difference wasreally, really powerful.
And because I say that becauseyou sometimes, well, why would

(42:52):
somebody sign up for Ask AprilAI when I've got Chat GPT.
Ask April aI actually gave him thepositive reframe on his mindset that
he needed going into the event versusjust the salesy elevator pitch.
It actually asked you to reframe,take a deep breath, meditate,
like all the incurable positivitypractices as well as a pitch, and I

(43:12):
was like, whoa, that was really good.
Yeah.
it's great.
'cause it sounds like you, you reallyget I think you know, when, when it
comes to anything related to training,you, you go through a training and you
remember some portion of it, right?
But as time passes, if you're notcontinuously using what you learn from
that training, you start to forget bitsand pieces of it and the amount that
you retain gets smaller and smaller.

(43:33):
But if you have something like AskApril AI, you can just, you're gonna
keep asking it or tell me againhow I do this or what, how, how's,
what's the best way I can do this?
And you ask all the questions.
It's like constantly being refreshedin the training, which, which
just seems like an amazing toolfor any leader to have that way.
Yeah.
And the frameworks weuse are so simple, right?
That like a three step acronym.
Use this when you have this conversation.
That's why they're so powerful.

(43:54):
'Cause they're very applied learning.
'cause they're groundedin retail ops, right?
We don't have time to have theselong, fluffy conversations.
We had to get people inspired,get them moving, and then give
them, have a three, three step.
You know, I was raised in Gap andStarbucks acronyms were the life.
We had acronyms for everything,and so I think that's powerful.

(44:15):
The acronyms and the frameworksthat it pulls up now because
we've trained it on them all.
It's really cool.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Is, is this, do, do you seesomething like Ask April AI helping
retailers, you know, put the laborback in their stores in a sense?
You know, we, we, we all still talkabout how there is still an issue with
having enough labor in, in stores, right?
Having a large enough store team.

(44:35):
Do you see AI tools like Ask April, AIhelping leaders kind of compensate for
that and, and either because they'rebetter developing the team members they
have and they're enabling to do moreof the, I'm gonna say the more high.
A high value tasks rather than a lotof tedious things that, you know, can
consume all your time, but you don'tget a lot to show for it afterwards.

(44:57):
Oh yeah, a hundred percent.
Like just creating strategydocuments and monthly plans and
to-do lists and all of that stuff.
If you could just say it tosomebody and ask them to do it
for you, like your little intern.
It just saved you a whole lot of time.
I just created a task listyesterday for my team.
I was like, this is what I'm trying to do.

(45:17):
This is what I wanna focus on.
Can you create a task list?
And then which one out of myteam, what should I be doing?
What should they be doing?
It just gave me a priority list.
That was like two minutes beforewe'd be having a discussion.
Somebody would be disagreeing with me.
I'd be afraid to tellthem what I want to say.
There'd be all this othercomplexity going on to make
things longer, so it will save it.
And I think.

(45:38):
It's not about cuttinghours from the stores.
It's about cutting hoursfrom the support functions.
Or reframing what they're doing sothat the labor can go into the stores.
Like if I was in a retailer rightnow, I'd be looking at where we can
save in labor hours total companyto fuel the store experience.

(45:58):
Not to cut from it, but the experienceof the human connection is so essential.
We know that from experience,you can't get rid of that.
Robots are never gonna replacehumans in that perspective.
They will replace stocking and things likethat, but not from an experiential place.
So yeah, I do think that it's gonna help.
I. If you are smart and you're embracingit and you're learning it and you're

(46:22):
looking at ways to integrate it intothese tasks, there should be like an
AI task force kind of cross-functionalthat's kind of looking at how you can
implement things and save costs asa total group, and then where does
that money go to fuel growth, right?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, absolutely.
So.
You've built some tech.

(46:42):
Let's talk about building technology.
April.
At some point I will have a tell all book.
I have a title.
I just need to make sure that the resultssupport the title, so I'm not ready yet.
Like many female founders, what's thereality been for you and your project?
Building tech, what's been tough?

(47:03):
What have you learned?
What did you not expect?
Any big surprises?
Yeah, I think you shouldwrite the book on this.
So you were like one of the firstpeople I called a couple of weeks ago.
I was like, oh my God!
How do I chat somebody.
Question at all.
I think one of the toughest things isif you are not having a tech background,
and then you're going to build atechnology is you don't know what to ask.

(47:27):
It's kind of like you're not a mechanic.
This is the only way I can describe it.
And you have car and you takeit in to get an oil change.
'cause you have this commitment to makesure that it's, you know, taken care of.
And when it's there, the mechanic says,oh yeah, and X, Y, and Z has to be done.
And you're looking at yourcar up there and you're like,
well, I have to get it back.
And I don't know if he'stelling me the truth.

(47:48):
But I have to, I have to give him themoney 'cause he is now got my car hostage.
So, okay, here's more money andfix X, Y, and Z. Even though I
only came in for an oil change.
And I feel like that's theexperience of building a tech It's
like you go into it like, oh, I'mjust gonna do this oil change.
I've got my plan, I've got mygoals, I've got my strategy.

(48:08):
And all of a sudden as you are in it,you're like, whoa, hold on a second.
This needs to be done.
That needs to be done and it costs moremoney and, and you don't really know
what to do because now you are in itand you've got you, you are focused on
getting to the finish line and you wantthis product to come out 'cause you
know how much it's gonna help people.
So I feel like that has been a massivelearn going backwards I think I

(48:30):
would've taken some classes or calledsomebody or prepared myself for that
as opposed to just going cold turkey.
But a lot of people just go into it withan idea that they wanna build something.
Find a developer and you don'tknow if that developer's, a good
mechanic, a a skilled mechanic,got an attitude mechanic.
You, you don't know, right?

(48:52):
There's all these components and I'mreally good at managing, leading people.
I gotta say this really challengedmy leadership skills in another way.
Like it did not work, what wasworking, managing my team in
the other areas of the businessbecause I don't have that skillset.
So again, not knowing what to follow upon, not knowing the questions to ask.

(49:12):
And so you were really helpful'cause I was like, oh my God,
what questions should I be asking?
So yeah, I had to hire thedeveloper and then bring somebody
else in to do an assessment andthen kind of get it back on track.
And so that was just so emotional.
That was just stressful, emotional, likeI've been challenged in more ways this

(49:33):
year than any being a tech founder, Ithought being an entrepreneur was hard.
Being a tech founder, it was like itwill build your resilience like no other.
So I think that, that's a big lesson.
I think one of the hardest thingsas well is just funding as well.
It's you know, these things cost money andyou go into it with all good intention,
wanting to do it, but they, there doescome a point where you're like, how do
we get funded in an easier way that's notso complex to bring our things to market?

(49:59):
So I think, yeah, those, those twohave been the massive big challenges.
Mm-hmm.
Interesting.
Yeah.
I think, I mean, it took me like, Ithink every, I think every tech founder
definitely on like the, the femalefounder side, because I think there is.
You have a lot of business operators andsubject matter experts that have gone
into tech to solve specific problemswhere they, they have the operating

(50:23):
experience and the vision and therelationships in the industry, but
they do lack that hands-on technicalexperience of building a product.
Product.
And it's, it's not you know, there's aton of people moving from retail to go
be a software developer at Meta, right?
Like, that's just, that's a career path.
They're not even the same schools thatwe would attend for a career in retail

(50:47):
for a career in computer science.
Right.
I think, I, I think every femalefounder's threw at least one version
of their software away, like.
I can relate to that.
Whether or not it was, or it, thecode was noodle or just really wasn't
able to, you know, every, everyengineer wants to rebuild anyway

(51:10):
So.
when they their on a platform.
That's so true.
It's like, hold on a second.
Why can't you just help meget this one to the next step?
So one thing I have learned andthankfully with AI is how to code.
Like I, this is a big surprise for me.
Never thought I would learn that andlove it, but it's problem solving, right?

(51:31):
So I'm a problem solver, so Ilove that mind game of doing it.
And so I've learned to codeand I've quite, I've impressed
myself in the last week.
I was like, whoa, I didn'tknow I could do that.
But we have AI.
So much easier.
I wish I would've, like Ihave 25 years of French.
I wish I had 25 years of Java.

(51:52):
I would be so much more successful.
And there's no rolling the R right?
Like it.
Makes so much more logical senseto learn the language to code.
Especially if you're an Excel junkie, likemost people in retail are, we are like
the royalty of if and then statements.

(52:14):
But, but yes, you know, I think Iprobably spent the first, you know, I
probably spent a solid two years justlearning how to communicate and manage
engineers and, and be able to set outwith a project and a sprint to get the
results that I wanted with the sameteam by my side at the end as well.
It is definitely a skillset.
So congratulations, you'remaking it to the other side.

(52:37):
I am because I have so much resilience.
I remember once a bo like one of mybosses back in the day, he said, you are
like a pit bull dressed up like a fairy.
I'm like, mm, yeah, I don't really,
but when I wanna get somethingdone, it's gonna get done.
Like it's, and that's the operaterin me, let, let's get it done.
So, um, but yeah, I'm excited andyeah, I, I actually do love the

(53:00):
whole nerdy side of the coding.
I mean, I was building courses andonline sites and funnels and all of that.
Like I, I, I've donethat for six years now.
And so this whole coding side, I waslike, Ooh, that's what that does.
Oh.
And then I'm like, oh, how can Iadd this and how can I add that?
So it's been, yeah,that's been really cool.
And I think I'm so grateful now to bein the era of building technology in ai.

(53:23):
Honestly, it just makes itso much easier, you know?
Mm-hmm.
that's great.
Looking ahead, what is one key trend inleadership development that you believe
will be essential for the success inretail, hospitality, beauty industries,
over the next three to five years?
Yeah.
One trend in leadership development.

(53:44):
Okay.
That's a great question.
I think mindset training isgoing to continue to be part of
it, i've been saying this for a
long time, but I was raised by anAmerican hippie mother in the UK
that got me into personal developmentearly in my twenties, right?
Manifesting laws of the universe,all of this kooky stuff.

(54:04):
However, as a metaphysical studentand practitioner of understanding
like how the brain works, what youthink about comes about and rewiring
your neurons and all of that stuff.
That cannot be ignored now in leadership,I think, because you can go into a room
and learn how to connect, but if you don'thave the skills to learn, to teach people

(54:27):
how to deal with their negativity andtheir negative mindset and their anxiety.
It's gonna be tough to drive thoseresults, especially when AI is
taking away all of the mundanejobs and the task master jobs.
So you are gonna have to reallybecome versed and skilled
in how to deal with humans.

(54:48):
You can't hide behind the tasks anymore,which means you're going to have to
have those skills on how to reframepeople's mindsets through this massive
change that we're going through.
That was really surprising tome when we went to Tory Burch
and we did a four hour session.
They were like, just, you know, justfocus on, you know, positivity, mindset,

(55:11):
self-accountability, teaching ourleaders how to help their teams do that.
When people are complaining, help themto reframe it, not just tell them to stop
complaining 'cause that doesn't work.
'cause what you resist persists.
So it's not about risking negativity,it's about learning how to shift it
and showing people it is a skillset.
Mindset is a skillsetalong with other things.

(55:34):
So I just think that trend isgoing to continue because AI
can't replace emotional context.
It just can't.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Now I hear a lot of people, you know,especially over the last five years we've
gone, the retail's gone through a lot.
The world's gone through a lot.
And there's been a large emphasison " wartime CEOs," right?

(55:59):
I think that almost every single managerright now needs to be able to have
that point of reflection to say , howam I going to inspire and lead my
team through all of this uncertainty?
And I think this is a momentwhere leadership, where you work.

(56:22):
Is more important than even whatyour hours are, how much you're
getting paid, what the perks are.
It's like we are at a timewith rapid change and so much
uncertainty in the media, in retail.
What is going on with retail andtechnology and with this AI that

(56:42):
it really comes down to who peoplewant to be in the, the ship with.
You know,
Mm-hmm.
that's why.
I feel comfortable thatI'm gonna bet on this.
I have somebody who inspires me, I believein, they're not gonna leave me behind.
I'm safe as long as I engage and Iparticipate and they're here for me.

(57:03):
And having that safety in your leadership,if you can't find it in the industry.
Yeah.
Emotional resilience, adaptivemindset, and learning agility.
These are the three competencies thatI truly believe are going to continue
to become very, very important.
Yeah, I agree a hundred percent.
It's gonna be so, socritical to, to be there.

(57:26):
I think.
like you said earlier, when, when thingsshift versus change, sometimes it's
easy to miss the shift if you don'thave someone leading who's actually.
Embracing the shift and incorporatinginto all the things that you do
and bringing everyone with them.
And if you're not doing that,then of course people will feel
like they're being left behind andthen that reduces the positivity.

(57:47):
Right?
I think the, so many of the thingsthat you talk about April, you, you
don't have that positive mindset,then the people aren't gonna do the
things that they need to be doing.
They're not gonna do the things thatmake them feel confident about it,
make them feel fulfilled with itand, and enjoy what they're doing.
And we all know that when those thingsdon't happen, you don't produce anything.

(58:07):
Yeah, you're either causingresistance to yourself or lowering
resistance as a leader every day.
That that's, that's it, really.
cause leadership is influence,nothing more, nothing less.
That's all it is.
There's a, there's a, that's a easy,high level synopsis of what is it?
So you are causing resistanceor you are lowering resistance.
That's it at the end of the day.

(58:28):
Right.
To, to
No, that's a great way to put it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
So you, you have a newbook coming out this fall.
We, we've touched on it a acouple of times or hinted at
it, Positive Accountability.
Is there any kind of a sneak peekinto some of the core principles in
this book that you can talk about?
Yeah.
It takes the nine step frameworkthat we've been teaching.

(58:49):
And it breaks it downinto more robust chapters.
And I think one of themis the step that always.
I love training this step.
And actually when I was at The Lead,there was a tech team there from Canada
that I trained four years ago, and oneof the leaders was there at, at the
show and he said, you know, we had twoother trainers that came in after he

(59:11):
said, but yesterday I just used thatstep for the accountability framework.
And he was like, and it works every time.
He is it's the one thingI remember from you.
And I'm like, Hey, one thing that, that'sjust golden, but it's the step that says,
share mutual consequences in advance.
And that step is such a powerfulstep because if you set your clear

(59:36):
expectations and you have them repeatback to you, and then you share mutual
consequences in advance so that if theydon't meet the expectations, they've
actually agreed on what happens next.
There's no awkwardness or gotchakind of conversations trying to trick
you into like catching you do thewrong thing because you already knew

(59:57):
what was coming when you agreed thatyou understood the expectations.
And that simply sounds like ifyou don't get this done, you
won't be able to do X, Y, and Z.
Can we agree on that?
And in a store environment, that'sif you don't make the sales goals,
which we are asking you to do.
I will not be able to give you the hours.

(01:00:18):
Are you clear on that in advance sothat when your hours may get cut,
you understand why that's happening?
That one step, that 32ndconversation changes everything.
Because when that is missing and youjust say, here's a goal, and then they
don't make it, and then you go and tellthem, I'm cutting your hours, you've

(01:00:41):
caused at resistance again in the
Mm-hmm.
they're
so confused.
They're like, well,why are you doing that?
Where did this come from?
Yeah.
you didn't tell them in advance.
So consequences, whenever you usethat word, it makes people get itchy.
'cause they're like, well,that's not a positive word.
I'm like, it's actually really positive.
It happened to me twice in my careerwhere somebody sat me down and said, Hey.

(01:01:03):
The expectation is this, and if you don'tmeet it, you won't be able to get this.
And it changed my life.
I, I got promoted because Iwas aware of something I was
doing was gonna hold me back.
And it was my decision to learn to doit better, to shift what I was doing, to
get more knowledge, to seek out peoplethat could help me or just to make a

(01:01:26):
decision to do something differently.
But had they not sat me down and toldme that I. I would've never progressed
because I would've never known why.
And this is one of themost powerful steps.
People get fired because they don't knowwhat the consequences were in advance
if they didn't meet this expectation.
So that's the step that I thinkis just so powerful, and we

(01:01:47):
really go into that with examples.
And break that down.
There is nine steps.
This is just one of them.
There is nine.
But one, it, it resonates every timebecause I run into people and they're
like, oh, that, that really changedthe way that I work with my team.
We're having honestconversations, you know?
We know in, they know in advance.
So when it doesn't happen I'm like,well, you kind of agreed to it.

(01:02:10):
You told me that you understood.
So now you're having a follow up onthe expectations not being met in
a different way, in a positive way.
That's transparent.
So I'm really excited for leaders to learnthat because that can make a huge ripple
effect in a team and in an organizationwhen everybody starts to adopt that
Well, you've got a new book comingout, so I think now is the time in

(01:02:33):
the, in the wake of that for everybodyto go snag a copy of Positive Effect.
Drill into that nine step positivity wheeland download it free at aprilsabral.com.
We'll add a link to ourcomments and our Substack.
Yeah.
And April, this has beena fantastic discussion.

(01:02:54):
We, we can't thank you enough for joiningus today and sharing your incredible
positivity, your rich retail history,and all the leadership skills and
trainings that we've talked about today.
I mean, I know I can't wait forthe new book later this year, and
I just can't thank you enough forhelping us launch this new series.
Well, thank you.
I, I feel like whenever youlaunch one now, I need to be part
of the launch plan because this

(01:03:14):
right.
That's right.
That's right.
awesome.
Well, congrats and congrats on your newseries and I can't wait to listen to more.
Well, congratulations to you.
You've been doing a lot of workand I'm excited to see the launch
of your new book and Ask April AI.
So, thank you so much April.
We so much of, after thisconversation, I think all of our

(01:03:37):
audience is feeling a little bitmore inspired to lead and learn.
So thank you for joining us and sharingyour positive outlook on retail.
Thank you.
Well, Ricardo, I'd say thatmeans our first episode of
Retail Transformers is a wrap.
It is.
All right.
Awesome.

(01:04:01):
If you enjoyed our show, wehave a simple ask for you.
Please consider giving us a fivestar rating and review on Apple
Podcast, Spotify, or Goodpods.
Remember to smash that subscribebutton in your favorite podcast
player if you haven't already, andlike and subscribe to our YouTube
channel so you don't miss an episode.

(01:04:22):
I'm Casey Golden.
Please follow us and share yourfeedback at Retail Razor on LinkedIn,
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And if you want to preview highlightsand transcripts from each episode
right in your email inbox, pleasesubscribe to our substack newsletter.
I'm Ricardo Belmar.
Thanks for joining us.
Until next time, keep transformingretail and stay sharp.

(01:04:44):
This is The Retail Razor:Retail Transformers!

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