This is One Thing I Learned from Working at Costco
I’m a big fan of Costco for several reasons, but the biggest one is that if it weren’t for Costco, my life wouldn’t be what it is today.
You see, I worked at Costco for eight years. Through Costco, I was able to move from the Toronto area to Victoria, which is something that I never imagined would happen. I still know many people working at the Costco I helped open. My wife knows that if we are going to Costco together, it’s going to be a longer errand because I’ll spend more time catching up with former coworkers than actually shopping there.
I also learned a lot of lessons from Costco that I carry with me to this day. One of those lessons was on the importance of being nimble and came directly from Costco’s co-founder and former CEO, Jim Sinegal. He preached this edict repeatedly, and it was publicly stated in this Inc. article.
Here’s a quote on being nimble directly from that piece:
“We want to always try to stay in that position, in that posture. To be very adroit and very nimble, and able to react quickly and stay ahead of the competition. How well we do that will determine how successful we are in the future.”
In uncertain times, being nimble is a huge asset. It allows you to change direction quickly and course-correct as needed. In the past few weeks, I’ve had to do this. I put forth my efforts on two projects that I had on the back-burner based on what I believed would best help people right here and right now. This meant other projects had to be shuffled around and reprioritized. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I didn’t run my business — and my life — as nimbly as possible.
I’m certain that I’m not alone in having to make changes in the face of uncertainty. You’ve probably had to shift gears as well. Different things have my attention now than just two weeks ago. I’m betting the same can be said for you, too.
The word “nimble “ has origins in the Proto-Indo-European root, which means to assign, allot, or take. I encourage you to allot some time this week to see where you can be nimble in your life. Just assign that nimbleness to one thing and build from there. It’ll make dealing with change and uncertainty that much easier.
