Whole Foods CEO Jason Buechel on the Challenges and Opportunities of Following a Visionary Leader

ADI IGNATIUS:

Jason, welcome. Let’s begin along with your transition to CEO. It’s at all times attention-grabbing how a founder CEO transitions to the subsequent technology of management. Talk about that problem and what you’ve tried to deliver to that function.

JASON BUECHEL:

One of the fortunes I had was working with John [Mackey] over the course of 9 years and had about an 11-month timeframe to do our transition. It was a nice alternative for me to have the ability to leap into the function. I had a lot of nice assist from John the place he actually needed me to assist take on some of these duties over the course of the 11 months. I used to be ready when my day was to step formally into the function.

Stepping into sneakers like that can also be a actually tough course of for our staff members. John was our CEO for 42 years, and in the end that’s what they knew. For me, it was actually necessary to attach with our staff members, be sure that we may present a imaginative and prescient and that they understood the parts of Whole Foods Market, our tradition, our core values, our increased goal. They had been going to stay intact, and my job was to assist take these duties and assist us with the ability to preserve Whole Foods and the necessary parts intact.

ADI IGNATIUS:

At HBR, we love to present individuals sensible takeaways. You’re not the first and you gained’t be the final to succeed an iconic CEO who’s been in place for a few years. What’s your recommendation to people who find themselves in your function and coming in? What have you ever discovered from the course of that you simply’d wish to share?

JASON BUECHEL:

It’s necessary to know the voice of the staff members. What are they searching for in that transition and what’s necessary for them? For me, I took a possibility over these 11 months to do one thing we name the Whole Conversations Tour, which gave me some nice insights for what was on the thoughts of our staff members.

In some circumstances, that they had fears with John’s retirement of whether or not there are going to be main adjustments to our tradition or our high quality requirements? What are issues going to appear to be going ahead? For our stakeholders, whether or not it was suppliers or clients, neighborhood companions, I feel it’s necessary to know the voice of all of these stakeholders as you’re making the transition.

I feel the different half I might give recommendation on is ensuring that you simply’re not simply making an attempt to be that chief. For me, John and I, we lead in very other ways and that’s why we had been so complementary in working collectively.

It’s additionally about being genuine to your self and at the similar time ensuring that you simply’re supporting the firm and the place it must go.

ADI IGNATIUS:

Your path to CEO shouldn’t be typical. Maybe nobody’s is, however yours particularly isn’t. Talk about your previous and your life and profession and the way it ended up on this function?

JASON BUECHEL:

I’ve had the alternative to work in retail since 2000. My first set of experiences actually got here by means of consulting. I labored for Accenture and had a possibility to work with a lot of main retailers and grocers, each right here in the US and round the world. It was that keenness I had in working inside the retail area.

That profession allowed me to attach with a number of executives at Whole Foods Market, our former Co-CEO, Walter Robb and CFO, Glenda Flanagan. As they had been trying to rent a new CIO or CTO, that they had reached out to me. I had offered some names of some purchasers that I assumed could be good of us to go for the job, and they reached again out and mentioned, “Why aren’t you putting your name on? We’d really love for you to consider joining Whole Foods.”

I got here to Austin, spent two days right here, and simply actually had an incredible appreciation for the incontrovertible fact that the increased goal and core values weren’t simply phrases on a wall. They had been being lived out day-to-day. That was the awakening that that is the proper place for me to go work and spend the relaxation of my profession.

As I joined Whole Foods, I used to be chargeable for expertise in addition to our digital companies. Helping arise each our supply and pickup companies, which we hadn’t but launched. During that timeframe, I additionally helped checked out methods for us to ascertain some organizations and assist practices we didn’t have earlier than like our first operations assist staff.

As I spent extra time at Whole Foods, I picked up further duties in areas like team-member providers (what different firms would name HR), and ultimately stepped into the chief working officer function in January of 2019. And going by means of that function actually helped put together me in taking the subsequent step as much as the CEO place.

ADI IGNATIUS:

I used to be desirous about your previous even earlier than that. When I first bought involved along with your employees, they mentioned “He’s a cheese guy. You have to understand that.”

JASON BUECHEL:

Absolutely. I’ve had a lengthy connection to meals, been gardening since I used to be seven. My dad really was a cheese maker. Both of my mother and father grew up on dairy farms. I used to be in rural Wisconsin and simply have an attention-grabbing connection to our meals techniques and couldn’t be happier to have the alternative at present to be in a function the place I might help affect and assist our meals techniques for future generations.

ADI IGNATIUS:

What does it imply for Whole Foods to report as much as a big, Amazon.com?

JASON BUECHEL:

We are very privileged in a quantity of methods. First and foremost, one of the issues we’ve been actually enthusiastic about over the final six years is we’re actually targeted on the long-term of Whole Foods Market and with the ability to have the assist of Amazon offering us with capabilities that permit us to serve our buyer in the most superb methods attainable. Whether it’s by means of expertise or different providers, with the ability to assist create nice buyer experiences is one of the issues that Amazon has been useful with.

Also, we’re serving to redefine what grocery goes to appear to be on this area. Having a father or mother firm that has sources and experience that we will plug into and make the most of to assist Whole Foods is actually necessary.

I additionally respect the similar issues the place we’re in a position to be Whole Foods and keep our tradition. I discussed earlier we nonetheless have the similar increased goal and core values. While we’re half of Amazon, it’s actually a complementary relationship the place we deliver the easiest of what we will supply and we’re in a position to plug in and leverage the easiest inside Amazon.

ADI IGNATIUS:

I feel we’ve emotional connections to the manufacturers that we like. What do you say to individuals who love the Whole Foods model and its model promise, however don’t really feel the similar emotion towards Amazon?

JASON BUECHEL:

In some circumstances it’s serving to these clients perceive some of the advantages that they’ll use, that Amazon can assist them as effectively. Whether it’s offering a faster checkout in a single of our shops utilizing Amazon One, or in the end some of the assist and work, the place we’re collaboratively methods by which we’re going to assist meet our environmental and sustainability commitments.

That’s one thing a lot of our clients care about and one thing we’re in a position to leverage as Whole Foods and supporting our core worth round the setting.

ADI IGNATIUS:

What do you see as Whole Foods’ largest challenges? Is it merely to develop as shortly as attainable, so as to add new shops? Or do you consider it in another manner?

JASON BUECHEL:

It’s actually determining how we broaden our attain and affect. One of the methods we’ll try this clearly is including new shops, however it’s additionally discovering new ways in which we will serve clients.

One of the issues we launched earlier this 12 months is the skill to have gadgets straight shipped to our buyer’s houses by means of Amazon. We presently have over 800 merchandise obtainable inside our unique manufacturers, our 365 model for instance. That’s one thing we will serve extra clients in new methods.

We’re additionally actually targeted on methods we might help assist our increased goal in nourishing individuals on the planet. It’s not simply progress for progress’s sake, however how can we assist be the pressure for change?

One of the issues I’m actually captivated with is regenerative agriculture. This is a chance that’s in the end going to permit us to take the merchandise that we all know and love at present and be sure that we will proceed to provide these for future generations.

ADI IGNATIUS:

For individuals who aren’t aware of the thought of regenerative merchandise or agriculture, what does that that imply?

JASON BUECHEL:

This is an space the place I feel a lot of customers don’t perceive that our present topsoil continues to lose the vitamins that it wants to provide the merchandise that we all know and love. Regenerative is about not solely serving to deliver these vitamins again into the soil, however assist in a sustainable manner. To be sure that we will proceed to assist our soil and the broader organic environments not solely to proceed to provide the merchandise that we all know and love at present, however in the end create an ecosystem the place it’s not as disruptive as what we’re seeing at present. How can we be sure that we will associate with our suppliers to allow them to assist these practices and be an advocate for them?

One of the issues I’m actually proud of is that we’ve already launched three regenerative merchandise beneath our personal unique manufacturers to assist take that management place. One of my private favorites is our inexperienced lentils beneath our Whole Foods Market model, a nice product. And it’s one of the very first licensed regenerative merchandise from a personal label perspective on the market.

ADI IGNATIUS:

Your technique, if I perceive it, appears primarily nonetheless to be primarily a brick and mortar one. Do you’re feeling the must change into extra of an e-tailer going ahead?

JASON BUECHEL:

The actuality is we’re an e-tailer at present. Whether you’re having merchandise delivered to your own home, you’re selecting them up in a single of our shops, you’re getting some of our unique model merchandise like our 365 merchandise shipped on to your private home: we’re already enjoying in that area. I proceed to see that we’ll have alternatives each in the bodily expertise in addition to on-line.

Quite a bit of our clients like to buy by means of a number of totally different channels. In some circumstances they’d wish to have middle of retailer picked for them and prepared for them to choose it up once they store the retailer, and then take a look at our perimeter, whether or not it’s selecting out their very own meat or seafood or interacting with our staff members. As an instance, at our cheese case, a licensed cheese skilled might help select precisely the proper cheeses as you’re placing collectively your cheeseboard and charcuterie plates.

ADI IGNATIUS:

So fast-forward, not manner into the future, however a 12 months or two or three. How do you assume the in-store expertise will change for Whole Foods clients?

JASON BUECHEL:

We’re going to proceed to search out methods to assist simplify and make issues simpler for our clients. One of the issues our clients discover worth in is our skill to assist save them time. In some circumstances, as I discussed earlier, supply and pickup assist assist that. We need to have the ability to discover ways in which clients can discover merchandise in the retailer quicker. How can we higher present the experience throughout all the totally different areas inside our shops so clients can be certain that we’re supporting the superb occasions and dinners they’re serving to put together for his or her household and family members, and in the end, trying out quicker in our shops?

There’s a lot of issues we’re making investments on the place expertise will assist issues, and investments into our team-member expertise, to be sure that our staff members can greatest serve our clients and assist save them time.

ADI IGNATIUS:

I need to go to an viewers query. This is from Holly who’s in Boston. Do you will have any suggestions for the way firms can greatest develop an inner chief to be the subsequent CEO, together with possibly exterior improvement packages?

JASON BUECHEL:

One of the issues I’m actually, actually proud of is the funding we put into our staff member expertise and focus round inner progress and improvement. We had over 11,000 promotions over the final 12 months, which I’m so proud of.

For instance, once I take a look at my government staff, two of my direct stories really began in our shops part-time. Our head of operations, Bill Jordan, for instance, joined by means of Mrs. Gooch’s [Natural Food Markets], which was one of our acquisitions. He’s labored throughout virtually each half of our shops, a number of areas, and now leads operations reporting on to me for all of Whole Foods Market.

We’re making massive investments into profession improvement packages. We do that for our main management positions inside the group. Just yesterday, I used to be really doing the keynote commencement ceremony for our retailer staff chief profession improvement program which is targeted on a six-month interval, serving to be certain that our staff members are able to take that subsequent step up.

For our most senior management positions, we’ve helped cross-pollinate and have leaders work throughout a number of totally different components of the firm. That was one thing I used to be privileged to be half of, with the ability to lead a number of totally different capabilities earlier than moving into this function.

One of the different issues that’s actually distinctive for us is each for our government staff and one thing we name WFLN, which is the Whole Foods Market Leadership Network, constructed of our 19 most senior leaders. We collectively work collectively throughout all totally different sides. Folks are serving to take part in work in components of the firm they might not lead. For us, it’s actually ensuring we’re working collectively as a staff and serving to be certain that we’re bringing some of these experiences and experience throughout our complete management staff.

I’m additionally actually proud of the reality that fifty% of the group I simply talked about grew up in our shops, and in order that experience of figuring out Whole Foods and with the ability to construct a profession in a useful space is one thing we’re actually proud of.

ADI IGNATIUS:

Let’s shift gears a little bit. This is one other viewers query, from Punjab, Pakistan, and it’s about hybrid work. How do you handle the incontrovertible fact that your frontline employees should be there full-time in the shops, versus white collar employees who’re in a position to work hybrid? How do you steadiness that?

JASON BUECHEL:

We’ve achieved a return to workplace the place our retailer assist staff members are required to be in the workplace three days a week, however in the end many of them additionally must spend time in our shops or in our services, serving to join with staff members.

One of the issues that’s been an necessary half of our imaginative and prescient is one thing I name store-centricity, in ensuring that each single one of our retailer assist staff members has a connection to our shops. We in the end have included it in one thing we name our job-dialogue course of, which is a component of our efficiency administration course of, on setting the expectation, and in the end having staff members discuss the issues they’ve achieved over the course of the final 12 months to attach with our shops, and what these experiences have taught them.

We’ve additionally constructed some packages round our senior management and different leaders that we’ve inside our retailer assist group, and really pairing them with shops and partnering up with our retailer staff leaders, and discovering ways in which we will higher assist our shops, and in the end ensuring that we will deliver these experiences the place our retailer assist staff members actually perceive every part that’s taking place day-to-day in a retailer, what it takes to guide a retailer, and how can we assist enhance our staff member and buyer experiences in the work that we do.

ADI IGNATIUS:

To construct on that, you used the phrase earlier than, the theater of retail. I like that time period. When you consider Whole Foods, the Whole Foods expertise, what’s your theater of retail?

JASON BUECHEL:

For so many of our clients, they’re coming to Whole Foods as an oasis, to get out of the hectic day-to-day life, you already know? One of my favourite examples of that’s our Manhattan West retailer, situated in Hudson Yards in Manhattan, and you get off the busy road and you stroll in the retailer, and it’s simply a direct sense of Zen. For me, we would like to have the ability to create this oasis for purchasers, deliver the theater of retail.

We need our clients to have sensory overloads in the experiences they’ve, as they’re strolling into produce, the smells that they’re having, the stunning merchandising that they’re seeing, the demos of merchandise that we’re doing in the retailer. We will be at our easiest after we’re serving to deliver this theater to life for our clients, as a result of it’s one of the causes they’re coming to our shops.

ADI IGNATIUS:

We have a query from Reno, Nevada in the US. How does Whole Foods take into consideration the phenomenon of meals deserts. You aren’t in all places. You’re in markets that may maintain it. How do you consider the meals desert problem, no less than in the US, and whether or not there’s something you are able to do to alleviate that.

JASON BUECHEL:

This is one of the areas we’ve really made investments in and have tried to search out methods to assist those that could be underserved or don’t have entry to some of the highest high quality merchandise we promote at Whole Foods Market. We have a whole basis that we name Whole Cities, which has been devoted to some of these efforts, in not solely having us set up shops, however in the end investing in communities by means of a lot of totally different packages that may assist deliver entry to meals in these underserved communities.

ADI IGNATIUS:

Here’s a query from London in the UK. Having adopted a very dynamic, well-profiled CEO, how do you consider the function of the CEO? Does it should be a very public-facing function, or not essentially?

JASON BUECHEL:

It actually relies upon upon the firm. You know, are you public or personal? In our case, we’re a subsidiary, and for me, the most necessary function that I’ve is inner from that perspective. Obviously, having duties exterior permits us to assist our stakeholders as effectively, so once I take a look at the time that I spend, it’s in all probability 80% on the inner aspect of issues, and in the 20% I’m spending exterior, it’s actually making an attempt to assist join with and assist our stakeholders.

I give a nice instance on this with our suppliers. How can we assist deliver a voice into different organizations, of us inside authorities, round some of the work that we have to do to assist assist our farmers and our suppliers and ranchers?

It’s determining that proper steadiness, however the accountability I personally have is serving as our inner chief, and ensuring that our staff members perceive the imaginative and prescient that we’ve as a company. I’m spending time straight in our shops, connecting with our staff members, ensuring that they perceive the place we’re going, and ensuring we will get suggestions. My job is to be a servant chief in serving our shops. One of the issues I actually have tried to do is ready the tone throughout the complete group of us being store-centric.

When we launched our new imaginative and prescient, rising with goal, in January, one of the commitments we made is that each single one of our shops is being visited by a member of our government staff. There’s eight of us, so for our 535+ shops, we’re spending a lot of time on this street present this 12 months, connecting with our staff members, ensuring they perceive the place we’re going and getting their suggestions of what they’re seeing. It’s serving to us enhance and elevate many of the priorities and initiatives we’re doing throughout the group.

ADI IGNATIUS:

I don’t assume we’ve been by means of a present this 12 months with out speaking about generative AI. We have a query from Tampa, Florida, which is simply how do you consider AI and the way it can, or possibly already is, altering the grocery purchasing expertise?

JASON BUECHEL:

It’s going to essentially change retail and grocery over the course of the subsequent 10 years. To go into one of your earlier questions, that is one of the nice issues about being a subsidiary of Amazon as effectively, and with the ability to leverage capabilities on this aspect.

When I take into consideration how we work, issues are going to alter. You know, the function of a service provider, which may be very a lot at the middle of retail in how you choose product, choices that you simply’re going to be making round assortment, and pricing, and merchandising. We’re going to have further insights and toolsets that AI goes to actually affect.

I take into consideration all of the totally different, superb issues that that is going to supply for purchasers as effectively, whether or not it’s serving to construct out a purchasing record, to serving to choose merchandise that you simply’re going to deliver collectively for an incredible meal or expertise that you simply’re getting ready for, to serving to present discovery. I feel there’s going to be so many various functions in how that is going to make issues simpler, higher, and extra impactful for our clients, and at the similar time, permitting us to lift the bar on how we take a look at issues like assortment and all of the key issues that we do in bringing the experiences to our clients.

ADI IGNATIUS:

You’ve talked a couple occasions about sustainability, and I do know that’s a massive precedence for you. How does a firm go from wanting typically to do the proper factor in phrases of local weather change, in phrases of sustainability, to actually making it elementary?

JASON BUECHEL:

First and foremost, it’s necessary to be genuine. For us, inside our core values, the setting has at all times performed a function. The work that we’ve achieved in supporting the natural motion is an instance, which has been the main climate-friendly agricultural apply over the final a number of many years. It’s at all times been half and parcel round how we will be sure that that is authentically linked to the work we’re doing. For us it’s simple, as a result of it ties to our increased goal of nourishing individuals on the planet.

When it comes right down to doing issues only for the sake of hitting metrics and targets, if you’re not desirous about how this ties to why you’re doing it, I feel it’s a must to take a step again and actually perceive, “How does this actually connect to the company’s vision, and the mission, and the goals that we’re trying to do?” If it’s not authentically there, perceive the adjustments that you have to make inside the group to be sure that it’s. That could be my high piece of recommendation.

ADI IGNATIUS:

Here’s a query from Ontario, Canada, about retention: what methods has the firm applied to retain staff?

JASON BUECHEL:

One of the high issues is offering progress alternatives for our staff members. I discussed a little bit earlier we had 11,000 promotions over the final 12 months. One of the issues that’s necessary about doing that’s offering methods by which we might help assist our staff members’ progress and happiness.

One space I’m enthusiastic about is an apprentice program. We presently have three stay, a Butcher Apprentice program, a Certified Cheese Professional, and a Bakery Decorator Apprentice. We’re going to be rolling this out so each of our departments and groups has an apprentice program going ahead. This permits staff members to develop expertise and trades they’ll use at Whole Foods Market and elsewhere of their life.

It’s not solely nice for the staff member, however it’s nice for our clients: our clients are literally coming to Whole Foods Market for the nice experience and expertise we will present. By having issues like this in place, it makes certain that our staff members are supported in taking these subsequent steps for progress inside the firm.

I discussed a little bit earlier the profession improvement packages we do. We do that all through our complete group, so we’ve bought packages from a number of ranges inside our retailer, round retailer management for instance. Team members not solely see their present next-step alternatives, however they see the progress and assist they’re going to have at future ranges as effectively.

One different space that I’m proud of is one thing referred to as Cultivate. It’s a mentoring program that we’ve in place, and that is very distinctive to Whole Foods Market. Most different retailers would possibly supply this kind of program for his or her retailer staff chief or retailer management. We open up all this for our staff members in order that they have alternatives to attach with folks to get supporting, teaching, mentoring experiences.

I’ve a nice instance of connecting the two the place we’ve a staff member, Marie in Hawaii, who’s linked with a mentor who’s in Boston, and the expertise that she’s in a position to have nearly in a great strategy to be taught issues that permit her not solely to develop, however deliver new experiences into her retailer. Examples like which have staff members not solely linked to Whole Foods, however figuring out that they’re supported for a whole profession they’ll have with us.

ADI IGNATIUS:

We’re virtually out of time, however I need to ask the cliche query you in all probability get all the time. When I interviewed Howard Schultz when he was CEO of Starbucks, I needed to ask, what does he order when he walks as much as the barista. So if you store Whole Foods, what’s in your basket? What are some of your favorites?

JASON BUECHEL:

Well, each store is a little bit totally different relying upon what I’m getting ready for. When I’m going by means of produce, I’m at all times selecting up bananas, blueberries, avocado. At our seafood counter, I’m no matter’s coming recent. I like our salmon. It’s one of my favourite merchandise. In meat, it’s the ribeye. In cheese, I’m trying to see what artisan cheeses we’ve in place. Current favorites proper now are Uplands and Jasper Hill so far as producers. The Harbison is definitely one of my private favorites. In our ready meals, I hit the salad bar virtually each day for lunch. And in middle retailer, I’m at all times making an attempt to take a look at no matter retailer I’m in, what are the native merchandise? Local is a actually necessary half of Whole Foods Market, so I like discovering new native favorites in no matter retailer I’m at.

ADI IGNATIUS:

I assume your licensed cheese skilled will get a little nervous if you stroll up and ask what they’ve bought?

JASON BUECHEL:

Not in any respect, as a result of they know that I’m enthusiastic about a nice dialog we’re going to have on some of their favorites. And normally it entails tasting a few samples as effectively, so at all times a nice expertise.

ADI IGNATIUS:

All proper, effectively Jason, I need to thanks for being on the present. It’s actually nice to listen to your ideas, and thanks for being right here.

JASON BUECHEL:

Thanks for having me.