Retail Leadership with Steve Worthy
You’ve earned your position. Now let’s make sure you lead like it. Retail leadership isn’t what it used to be. And if you’ve been doing this long enough, neither are you. The job gets bigger. The expectations get louder. But the guidance? That usually disappears right when you need it most. And most leaders are left figuring things out quietly while still being expected to have all the answers. This podcast is for experienced retail leaders who’ve already proven themselves and know there has to be a better way to lead than just carrying more. I’m Steve Worthy. I’ve spent over 30 years working across retail — from boardrooms to regional and district markets, through restructures, reinventions, and the parts of leadership no one really prepares you for. I’ve coached thousands of retail leaders and advised teams that support the retail industry, and this podcast exists for one reason: To give you the perspective and clarity most leaders are expected to figure out on their own. Now let’s make sure how you lead actually matches it.
Episodes
Part II is about the moment most leaders mishandle.
After a conference, leaders return energized. New ideas. New language. New urgency.
And almost immediately, they start pushing initiatives into an organization that hasn’t changed its capacity, priorities, or decision rules.
In this episode, I break down why post-conference optimism hides execution friction, and why execution is always the first thing to break whe...
Part III is about the mistake that kills most conference ideas.
Leaders come back with insights, slides, notes, and energy. They share the information. They post about it. They talk about it.
And then nothing changes.
In this episode, I break down why ideas don’t fail because they’re bad, they fail because no one owns them. Conferences create inspiration. Organizations require ownership.
We talk about why initiative...
The Discipline to Say No (The Decision That Determines Everything)
This is the decision most leaders avoid.
After the conferences. After the ideas. After the pressure to “look at everything.”
Part IV is about the one move that determines whether all of this turns into leverage or just more noise.
In this episode, I break down why conferences expand possibility, but leadership requires subtraction. Why saying “we’re ...
After NRF: Decide the Real Problem (Part 1 of 4)
Most conferences don’t fail because the ideas are bad.
They fail because leaders come back with volume instead of judgment.
NRF expands what feels possible. Leadership is deciding what actually matters.
In Part 1 of this four-part series, Steve Worthy focuses on the first and most important post-conference decision: deciding the real problem you’re solving this year.
NR...
There were years when things looked fine from the outside, but they weren’t fine.
Professionally, I was doing the work. Personally, I was carrying more than I should have. I had a coach, a tighter inner circle, and the right intentions, but I still found myself drifting. New ideas kept pulling at me. New opportunities kept showing up. And I didn’t have a reliable way to decide what deserved my energy and what didn’t.
Th...
If you’re a founder trying to sell into retail, this episode may save you months of missteps. If you’re a retail leader evaluating new technology, it’ll reflect what you often wish vendors understood.
In this conversation with Ang Nayyar from StrutFit, we get into the realities of how retailers think, decide, and evaluate solutions — far beyond what’s visible from the outside.
This episode is especially for:
What Happens When You’ve Outgrown Your Role?
In this episode, I sit down with Ryan Holm from Helzberg Diamonds, and we get right into the real tension many retail leaders feel but rarely talk about — the moment you know you’re ready for more, even if you haven’t said it out loud yet.
Ryan’s journey from Dunkin’ Donuts to leading innovation in a Berkshire Hathaway company is filled with the kind of insights lea...
Retail is not complicated. It is hard work.
This episode gets us back to the basics that keep a store alive: profit, time, and turns. I sit down with Maximilian Anderson, founder of SKUMAX, to talk about seeing your true cost of goods, why every item should pay rent, and how to make better decisions with the data you already own.
If you lead stores, this is a clean reset on what to measure, what to move, and what to l...
Conference fatigue is real. The solution isn’t bigger booths. It’s better design.
In this episode of Retail Leadership with Steve Worthy, Jamie Hancock — founder of Buying Time and Commerce Futures — breaks down how to build events that create real learning and real pipeline without turning the room into a pitch fest.
We cover:
- Designing your event like a sales motion: ICP, personas, shared problems, clear outcomes
- Wh...
Retail technology often gets lost in hype. But what does it actually mean for leaders on the ground?
In this episode of Retail Leadership with Steve Worthy, I sit down with Ricardo Belmar, Producer and Host of The Retail Razor Podcast Network.
We cover:
- Why “perfect test stores” can hide scalability failures
- The difference between replacing tasks and replacing people with tech
- AI’s real challenge: implementation and pr...
In this episode of Retail Leadership with Steve Worthy, I sit down with Lucas Piccinin, founder of NetConV, a platform designed to bring real-time expiration date transparency to grocery eCommerce.
We explore how grocers can turn a persistent operational headache into a competitive differentiator by:
- Integrating seamlessly with existing ERP systems
- Using algorithms to dynamically price products based on freshness
- Over...
Everyone’s talking about AI, but few retail leaders are asking the deeper question:
Is your company truly AI-ready—or just overwhelmed with data?
In this episode, I sit down with, Abhijit Patharkar, the co-founder of Nexlytix to unpack the unspoken barriers to effective AI in retail: siloed systems, misaligned storytelling, broken decision-making, and the myth that more dashboards mean more clarity.
We cover:
- Wha...
What if your customer feedback system could make you a better leader—not just improve your metrics?
In this episode of Retail Leadership with Steve Worthy, we’re joined by Eric Sangerma, Head of Growth at Simplesat—the customer feedback platform trusted by brands around the world.
Simplesat helps retail leaders capture, interpret, and act on customer sentiment in real time. But Eric’s philosophy goes even deeper. He bel...
Some stores just stop you.
You walk in, and for a moment—maybe longer—you forget you're in a place built to sell. You're in something more. A feeling. A point of view. A brand that knows who it is.
This episode is a love letter to those stores—and the people who know how to spot them.
Steve sits down with two of his favorite retail minds (and friends), Jack Stratton and Ian Scott, for a fast-moving conversation...
Many retail leaders operate with a limited perspective, often assuming that their market’s approach is the gold standard. But in a world where consumer behaviors, technology, and retail strategies vary dramatically by region, leaders who fail to think globally risk falling behind.
The challenge isn’t just understanding different markets—it’s learning how to apply global insights in a way that drives innovati...
AI is transforming retail at an unprecedented pace, and in this episode of Retail Leadership with Steve Worthy, we explore what leaders need to know now.
From sneaker culture to digital transformation, Jenna Flatman Posner shares how her background as an elite athlete shaped her approach to leadership, strategy, and innovation.
We break down AI’s real impact in retail—cutting through the hype to re...
When Retail Stops Growing You, What’s Next?
No one tells you what happens when you outgrow your company.
You hit every metric, you do everything right, and yet the growth stops. Your company still expects results, but they’re not developing you. They’re not stretching you. And if you’re being honest, you’re starting to feel it.
The hard truth? Most senior leaders won’t admit when they’ve hit this wall. They keep showing ...
Retail leaders talk about innovation, but are they solving the right problems? Too often, companies chase the latest trends—AI, automation, new products—without stepping back to ask: What actually drives transformation?
In this episode of Retail Leadership with Steve Worthy, we sit down with Matt Mueller, innovation strategist and author of The Mindful Innovator, to discuss his upcoming Campus Masterclass: Master the F...
Retail is more complicated than it needs to be, and in this episode of Retail Leadership with Steve Worthy, we cut through the noise with Walter Holbrook, a seasoned retail executive with over 60 years of experience—from stockroom to boardroom.
Walter shares the hard truths about leadership, execution, and why common sense is missing in today’s retail landscape. He challenges leaders to rethink how they approach hirin...
In today's episode, titled "HQ vs. Store: Bridging the Divide," we finish our two-part series - Everything Works at HQ!
- What can HQ learn from stores?
- Why is developing a common language between HQ and stores crucial for successful communication and relationship-building?
- What strategies can stores implement to better listen and execute the corporate strategy delivered by HQ?
We're g...
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