J. C. Penny is now apologizing to the public with a TV ad. Why?
Because the CEO, Ron Johnson, who was supposed to turn around the giant departments stores downward spiral only paid attention to his own vision implementing his ideas in all the J.C. Penney stores before testing them.
The headline in the Huffington Post article reads, ”
J.C. Penney Pricing Disaster Destroyed Employee Morale
“Every other month we had to re-ticket everything because he decided the color of the ticket should change,” the article says.
Employees were frustrated, frightened for their jobs, and exasperated.
A Successsful Leader Listens
The article goes on to tell how the CEO didn’t listen to:
- Customers
- Employees
- Advisers
Customers abandoned the stores and went to their competitors. Profits went down. Thousands of employees were fired.
This proves the point that a Vision alone does not make a successful leader. A leader also must listen to his followers and test out his vision before launching it.
Now, Johnson has been replaced, and J.C.Penny wants their customers back. Here’s what the new CEO is doing…apologizing.
Apologizing when you are wrong is a valuable leadership quality
And, that is exactly what the new CEO is doing, hoping that former customers will forgive him and return. An apology shows humility and the willingness to listen and make positive changes.
If you are a leader in any capacity, there is much to be learned from mistakes detailed in the Huffington Post article.
Here’s hoping that the new leader’s willingness to listen will help J.C. Penny bring back customers, raise employee morale and become the store that people have loved for decades.
