I first heard this business adage from JD, a seasoned grocery store executive who had well-defined views of what drove profitability in his stores. The grocery business tends to have low margins, and JD made his store managers track and stay on top of their data, day to day, week to week, and month to month. Most of the profit in JD’s upscale chain came from premium prepared food so that’s the measure he watched like a hawk. If a store started to lag in a category of prepared food, JD would immediately contact the manager to figure out why and what could be done to prevent it from becoming a trend.
Nice. In Haiti there is a saying for the fortunate few that can get anything done: “ Little by little a bird builds its nest.”