Retail in America Podcast Por Ron Thurston arte de portada

Retail in America

Retail in America

De: Ron Thurston
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Retail is changing faster than most leaders can keep up. Retail in America is the show for the people navigating that change — the leaders, the operators, and the builders who refuse to leave the human experience behind. Hosted by Ron Thurston — two-time #1 bestselling author of Retail Pride and HUMAN PRIDE, and a 30-year retail executive — the show explores what it actually takes to lead at the intersection of people, technology, and the future of work. Season 1 traveled 30 states in an Airstream to capture the heartbeat of frontline retail. Season 2 looks ahead — at AI, automation, and the leaders choosing to keep humans at the center of it all. Featuring conversations with technology innovators and frontline leaders, including partners like Microsoft and IBM. If you lead people, build for retail, or care about the future of work — this is your show. The future is already on the sales floor.Copyright 2026 Ron Thurston Economía Exito Profesional Gestión Gestión y Liderazgo Liderazgo
Episodios
  • The Retail Manager is the Moment.

    The Retail Manager is the Moment.
    Apr 15 2026
    Episode SummaryRetail didn't have a middle management problem. It had a leadership investment problem — and solved it the fastest and worst way possible. In this episode, Ron breaks down what actually happens when you eliminate the manager: the floor walks stop, the conversations stop, and the people who make your strategy real disappear. Three human truths about retail, technology, and the people caught in between.Three Human TruthsRetail: Flattening the org chart didn't create efficiency. It created silence. And silence doesn't mean alignment — it means something is breaking.Technology: We didn't replace managers with AI. We replaced judgment with dashboards — and hoped compliance would feel like leadership. It doesn't.People: Forty-four percent of retail workers are planning to leave. Not because of pay. Because of leadership. They're not asking for more money — they're asking to be known.Research & SourcesBloomberg / Live Data Technologies — Middle Manager LayoffsMiddle managers made up one-third of all layoffs in 2023 — up from 20% in 2018. This analysis was conducted by Live Data Technologies for Bloomberg.Bloomberg: Middle Manager Jobs Make Up 30% of White Collar LayoffsCNBC: Middle Managers Are Getting Laid Off — But Their Role Is 'More Important Than Ever'Korn Ferry — Workforce 2025: Power ShiftsKorn Ferry's annual survey of 15,000 professionals worldwide found that 41% of employees say their organization has slashed management layers. 40% of U.S. employees say they feel a lack of direction at work as a result. More than a third feel directionless without a manager.Korn Ferry Workforce 2025 ReportKorn Ferry Press Release: Workforce 2025 ResearchNote: The script references 'over 40% of companies had flattened management layers.' The Korn Ferry Workforce 2025 data shows 41% of employees globally report this, with 44% in the U.S. Both figures are consistent with the script's claim.Gartner — AI & Middle Management ProjectionGartner projects that through 2026, 20% of organizations will use AI to flatten their organizational structure, eliminating more than half of current middle management positions.Gartner Top Predictions for IT Organizations and Users in 2025 and BeyondMcKinsey — The Manager Relationship & Frontline SatisfactionRelationships with management account for 86% of workers' satisfaction with their interpersonal ties at work. Managers also spend nearly half their time on work that is not leadership — admin, scheduling, and reporting. That's from McKinsey's Power to the Middle research.McKinsey: Are You Stuck in the Middle? (Power to the Middle)McKinsey: The Boss Factor — Making the World a Better Place Through Workplace RelationshipsMcKinsey / Business of Fashion — Retail Worker AttritionLack of inspiring leadership is now among the top reasons retail workers leave — alongside lack of career development. McKinsey's frontline retail research documents this shift directly.McKinsey: How Retailers Can Build and Retain a Strong Frontline Workforce in 2024McKinsey: How Retailers Can Attract and Retain Frontline Talent Amid the Great AttritionNote: The script references '44% of retail workers are planning to leave' attributed to Business of Fashion and McKinsey. The McKinsey retail attrition research is the primary source for the leadership/manager-as-attrition-driver data. If you have a specific Business of Fashion report with the 44% figure, link it alongside these.Ron's BooksRetail Pride — Available at ronthurston.comHuman Pride — Available at ronthurston.comSubscribe & ConnectGet new episodes delivered twice a week: ronthurston.com
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    9 m
  • Your Training Is Working. Your People Are Leaving.

    Your Training Is Working. Your People Are Leaving.
    Mar 27 2026

    Episode 16: Compliance Is Not Development

    Your training is working. Your people are still leaving.

    In this episode of Retail in America, Ron Thurston breaks down the critical difference between completing a training module and actually developing a frontline worker.

    Through the story of DeShawn — a high-performing associate who left for a two-dollar raise because he couldn't see a path forward — Ron contrasts two types of retailers. Company A measures compliance. Company B measures capability. One is losing its investment; the other is multiplying it.

    If your dashboard says training is at 90% but your stores are bleeding talent, this episode is for you.

    What you'll hear in this episode:

    Only 24% of frontline workers feel confident they have the right training to do their jobs — and 40% aren't even clear on what's expected of them. Yet most companies report completion rates above 90%. The dashboard and the frontline worker are living in two completely different realities.

    Harvard Business Review is clear: training embedded in daily workflow is what actually drives performance. And the Forgetting Curve shows that people forget up to 90% of what they learn within a month if it's not applied.

    The data on what's at stake: frontline workers who feel properly trained are 3x more likely to stay. 94% say they would stay longer if a company invested in their development. And 85% want another role inside their company — if they can see the path.

    The desire to grow is not the problem. The visibility of the path is.

    Connect with Ron:

    • Subscribe for weekly insights: ronthurston.com
    • Read RETAIL PRIDE: Amazon
    • Read HUMAN PRIDE: Amazon
    • Retail in America is the show about what's really happening inside retail — the space between the strategy and the person expected to execute it.
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    9 m
  • Young People Are Lonely. Your Frontline Team Is the Answer.

    Young People Are Lonely. Your Frontline Team Is the Answer.
    Apr 7 2026

    Episode 15: The Happiness Report & Retail

    The World Happiness Report 2026 was just published. 136 countries. Hundreds of thousands of respondents. Decades of data.

    And buried inside it is something every retail executive needs to sit with.

    In the United States, young people are dramatically less happy than they were fifteen years ago. The primary driver? The same platforms your customers used to find your store.

    In this episode, Ron explores three human truths — about retail, technology, and the people caught in between — and makes the case that your frontline team may be one of the most important forces in the wellbeing of a generation.

    Reports & Sources Referenced:

    • 📊 World Happiness Report 2026 — Wellbeing Research Centre, University of Oxford / Gallup / UN SDSN
    • 🛍️ Gen Z Purchases 62% In-Store — WSJ / Circana data, via PYMNTS
    • 🏬 42% of Mall Visits Are Social in Nature — Westfield / Advertising Week

    Books Mentioned:

    • Retail Pride by Ron Thurston — ronthurston.com
    • Human Pride by Ron Thurston — ronthurston.com
    • Subscribe at ronthurston.com to get every episode delivered to your inbox, twice a week.
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    7 m
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