The National Association of Convenience Store (NACS) has announced the general session speakers for this year’s convention that starts Tuesday, Oct. 17, in Chicago, and runs through Friday, Oct. 20.
Actor William Shatner of “Star Trek” fame, Chip Conley, a strategic advisor, and Eric Chester, a motivational speaker, are the headliners.
On Oct. 17, Chester, who also is an author, will focus on creating a culture that makes a company a great place to work. He has one word for retailers: Culture.
“Culture is nothing that can be passed down from the corporate office,” said Chester. “You’ve got to be a great place to work.”
During his talk, he will focus on how to do that through compensation, alignment, atmosphere, growth, autonomy, communication and acknowledgement.
Conley, a strategic advisor with Airbnb, learned how to be a great manager by observing one of his former bosses do it all wrong. It was at his very first job making milkshakes and bagging fries at McDonald’s. On Oct. 18, Conley will talk about how to keep convenience store employees motivated and share tips like listening to employees and asking what you can do to support them.
“The way you treat your employees will have a large influence on how they treat your customers,” Conley says.
Shatner, a Hollywood icon and philanthropist, will serve as the closing speaker of the NACS Show on Oct. 20. Cultivating a career that has spanned more than half a century, Shatner has been a director, actor, producer, recording artist, author, horseman, Priceline.com pitchman and screenwriter.
The mission of the show is to connect retailers to new products, ideas and businesses. This year’s expo will feature a 400,000-s.f. expo floor with more than 1,200 exhibiting companies showcasing thousands of products.
This year, attendees can choose from more than 60 education sessions tailored to meet their needs. Sessions range from specific top-of-mind topics to level of expertise to store size specifics.
For more information, log onto nacsshow.com.
