The following represents beliefs and values of the Chairman of the Board of EMG, Don Eames,
which he has been consistently reinforcing in his messages throughout his career.


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On change - the rubber band effect:
“Getting a leader to understand their leadership style and the effect it is having on their organization and business outcomes is very hard. In any behavioral change initiative there is a high likelihood that it will not last. When you stretch a rubber band and pull it out to one side, you increase tension. There is always the possibility that if there is a trauma, the rubber band will snap back to its original position and the leaders will return to their original and comfortable style. Again, change is hard.”
December 2009


On growth:
“If you are not changing and growing your business you are dying. If you are not open to new ideas your business is stagnating. We have all seen top business leaders fall into this trap, becoming complacent with their business and losing their leadership edge and entrepreneurial spirit. This puts future growth at high risk. Finding new customers and creative ways to profitably grow your business must consume a majority of time for top leadership. New ideas are critical to innovation and growth. The best source of new ideas is your employees. In order to harvest new and creative ideas, leaders must learn to ask for them, provide a forum for idea generation, be open and listen to understand, and be eager to include their employees in idea refinement and implementation. This process energizes the employee, the leader and the entire organization. Leadership edge, entrepreneurial spirit and new ideas are critical to change and growth.”
April 2008


On foundational excellence:
“Over the past year we have developed brilliant strategies but we have not achieved the best results from these initiatives. Because the foundations of our business are weak, we run the risk of not achieving our objectives and risk that outcomes will be minimized. As we have seen, because processes, procedures and systems are not formalized, home grown/grassroots solutions have been developed just to get the job done. Without standardizing our business processes and systems there are inconsistencies from department to department, from store to store. This situation in Eldorado exists in many departments. For example, in the demand planning department, there are no formalized processes and systems around sales trending, forecasting and product replenishment. Today, buying decisions are based on emotions not on science. The result is that poor instock performance jeopardizes our ability to achieve our sales and profit objectives, our advertising and promotional outcomes and most importantly our customer experience. The development and implementation of SOPs, processes and integrated systems is urgent and critical to our future.”
March 2007


On customer centricity:
"To win in the future we must master customer centricity. We must improve the employee experience and invite them to contribute their unique ideas and experiences in service of the customer. We must treat customers uniquely and honor their differences, as segments and as individuals. We must meet customers unique needs - end to end. The world is changing and Best Buy must change with it. The only thing that won't change is our commitment to self-renewal and growth."
February 2006


On a values based environment:
"We must make sure that our 3 main constituents remain equally balanced; our employees, our customers and our shareholders. When you clearly understand the Company Values, your role in living the values, expectations for you as an employee, and the unique contribution you and your team members make, it translates into a better employee and customer experience and better return for the shareholders. You must take "personal" responsibility to build a values based environment."
September 2005


On building an end to end "WOW" customer experience:
"In today's very competitive world, Best Buy will only continue to win with the customer if we provide an incredible, end to end "WOW", experience for our customers. Every time you touch a customer, in print, on TV, in the store, on the phone, on the internet, in his house, the customer must feel that Best Buy and its employees do an incredible job. Customer loyalty can be quickly eroded so factoring the customer into everything we do is mandatory... The experience we provide to our customers is the competitive differentiator."
May 2004


On people development:
"Great people don't sometimes make a difference, great people always make a difference." Our people are our best resource for improving the customer experience - we must continue to build a culture of learning at Best Buy. Why is it important? Getting our leaders, you, to prioritize people development is one of the things you can to do to improve the employee experience, improve the customer experience and improve financial outcomes. Our goal is to develop a "culture of learning". Knowledgeable employees sell more. They build trust and respect with their customers. If they understand their customers needs, understand products, technologies and selling skills, they will produce more margin and reduce returns and exchanges. If we get our customers what they need, not what we want to sell them, both the customer and Best Buy win."
September 2003


On characteristics of Great Leadership:

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Great leaders understand the strategy and have a point of view, can sell the vision, use change in a positive way and have business priorities in order. The customer always comes first. They make sure that their people have what they need to succeed. Investment = Outcome. They empower their people and hold them accountable for people development, business results and the customer experience. Great leaders are engaged. They know their business, praise great performance and challenge gaps. They are honest with self and others and have a positive attitude. They motivate yet demonstrate humility. They rally around winning and have fun...they are contagious."
March 2003