What 77-year-old grocery store board members taught me about life

Last week, I had a very cool life experience.

I haven't talked much about this, but I'm on the board of a large, multi-billion-dollar, regional, family-owned grocery chain in St. Louis called Schnucks.

It's an institution in St. Louis, and I have vivid childhood memories of riding under the cart while my mom grocery-shopped there. 

They give kids a free cookie (and you know I was all over that). How and why I chose to join the board is another email for a future date!

Back to the life experience.

Schnucks acquired a large grocery chain in Wisconsin and, to show our commitment to the people and acquired company, the entire board flew up there for two days to meet the management team, visit tons of stores and throw a celebratory dinner.

The private jets, fancy accommodations and yummy meals were amazing, but they were NOT what left a lasting impression. 

The company we acquired has an absolutely AMAZING culture.

That word gets thrown around. Lots of people speak in platitudes. But this was a stark reminder to me: Culture is what people DO.

At the stores, we witnessed some very talented folks who cared deeply about their customers. 

Outside of every grocery store is a huge boomerang that shares their “Boomerang” theory: "All our decisions are based on this question: Will it bring the guest back?"

They call their customers "guests," which I love, because how you treat a guest is different from how you treat a customer.

They are a billion-dollar company and, yet, every day, each store does… a DAILY STANDUP! Like a startup. We got to witness it.

It was brief, had numbers, recognitions and some fun. It was perfectly run, and you could feel its impact.

They have 27 "Boomerang Basics" (which is a lot), but they live them because they are clear behaviors. 

My favorite one, which I saw during every store visit, was the "10 Tile Rule.” If a guest is within 10 tiles, you say hello and ask if they need help. 

It made people feel so cared for and, of course, naturally led to more sales as guests had their questions answered.

This wasn't the purpose of the trip, but I got the benefit of hanging out with a handful of folks who were between 60-80 years-old and EXTREMELY successful. 

We rode in cars and planes together. We talked about life, sports, family and everything in between. I had a few major takeaways:

• Business and entrepreneurship are lifelong, fun endeavors! The eldest brother, Craig Schnuck, is 77. He was the most engaged person in our group with store associates. He walked with a pace in his step and twinkle in his eyes. His family business was expanding — it was very cool to see! Another board member, James White (former CEO of Jamba Juice), just wrote a book on culture. He was on TV the next day.

  It stuck with me that early on, we try to prove ourselves. Then, we are building, but there is a stage where you get to relish business — and they are all in it!

• 40 and 70 ain’t that different. I'm 41. The average board age is probably 70, maybe late 60s. Yet, from a business POV, we talked about similar things: goals, metrics, ideas, plans, bets. The game doesn't change, but I think you get better at it over time. On the personal side, they think about longevity, diets, where to ski in the winter. Everyone was curious about AI, and many use ChatGPT. It made me realize that I won't be so different in 30 years! That's a long time, and means I'll have many opportunities to do different things.

I notice I feel sad and excited as I write this.

All of these folks are empty nesters. And they miss the stage of having kids at home. Most days, I don't even realize it’s a stage — it feels like LIFE. 

But, talking to these folks and hearing about their lives made me realize that having kids at home is not only a stage, but a short, previous one. Oof, I'm tearing up. 

This left me with two further learnings:

• Lots of time will come back. My big kids will be gone this decade before I turn 50. Mila, six years later. After that, I can travel, attend events, dinners — you name it. There will be 20+ years until I’m Craig's age where I can do business post-kids. That's a lot of time for a third or fourth act, and I'll be smarter, more well-connected and wealthier, to boot. Maybe that is why 99% of Buffett's wealth came after age 59!

• Given the point above… Cherish this time with the kids. I already do this, but it was validated: travel less, cut back on dinners out. Enjoy the mornings, the evenings and the weekends with kids. Be present, off the phone and look at their faces to take them in. They will only keep changing and evolving. The relationship I have with my kids is one I want to be a 10/10.

So there you have it, cool life experience! Enjoy the pictures.

jesse