Example Projects

Retail

PetSmart Inc.

Client Need: PetSmart’s unique retail environment is about more than just selling things. Their stores bring people and pets together in ways that can impact lives forever. Every PetSmart employee brings passion to the job, and PetSmart wanted to ensure their managers were able to focus and nurture that passion to create the best possible store experience for customers. To that end, they asked 4th Street to help provide an essential leadership program for their Store Managers across the country.

Solution: We used the results of an in-depth needs assessment, based on key Store Manager success factors, to develop a 5-day program that addresses PetSmart’s unique environment and expectations. The final program agenda includes seven sections that we called: Finding Balance, Finding Time, Making Connections, Developing Individuals, Building Teams, Championing Change, and Getting Results. Twenty-five participants from across the nation attend the program regularly at PetSmart’s home office in Phoenix, Arizona, and 4th Street will continue to co-facilitate the program with PetSmart into 2009 to ensure all Store Managers experience the same high-quality program delivered in the July 2008 initial pilot launch.

Restaurant / Food Services

Burger King Corp.

Client Need: As Burger King continues to raise the bar on all aspects of its operations, the company needed a structured training/mentoring program to prepare new Company Business Managers — who are transitioning from managing a single restaurant to managing multiple restaurants — for their highly demanding roles supporting Restaurant General Managers and their staff. Participants are selected through a rigorous assessment process.

Solution: We developed the “One Big Leap” program—for selected participants—that contains two primary components: classroom training and in-restaurant training. The one-week classroom training emphasizes job roles and responsibilities, time management, coaching, team member selection, and financials. The in-restaurant field guide we created provides participants who complete the classroom training with several months of structured developmental activities conducted in the restaurants with the guidance of designated mentors/coaches.

Customer Service / Call Center

Sears Holding Corp. (previously Sears, Roebuck and Co.)

Client Need: Soon after implementing its one-week “Team Manager School” program for all supervisory-level managers (developed by us), Sears sought to create a more advanced program that would prepare middle and senior managers to support the concepts front-line managers were now bringing to their jobs.

Solution: We developed the three-day “Leadership for Business Results” program that provided a leadership overview for middle managers and advanced guidance in coaching, strategic planning, communicating “up” and “down” in the organization, and tactical partnering for sustained high performance. The program won the company’s prestigious “Corporate Chairman’s Award.”