I'd like to put together a think tank of people - economists, futurists, city planners, a few department-store people - to discuss reinventing the department store.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
When you think about it, department stores are kind of like museums.
One of the most important things we do is we've organized our stores and our workforce into teams.
Most of my ideas come from drawing patterns across conversations I have with different types of people - technology investors, young fashion design students, a CEO. This variety is stimulating and offers many different perspectives on the things I am thinking about.
The department store was a product of the 19th century and became a very important institution as America went into the 20th century. It provided show places in developing towns like Terre Haute, Sacramento, and Dallas.
We're very much in the people business in that there are two important groups you have to work with: customers and employees.
I'm focusing on the issues that bring people together and build broad majorities.
Sales departments use social to nurture leads and close sales. HR posts job openings and vets applicants. Community and support squads mine networks, blogs and forums with deep listening tools.
We need to figure out how to connect people to jobs.
My idea at this time, which was slowly developing, was to create a comedie humaine with little people, average people - samples from every period in American life.
I think it'd be great to own a fun concept store with my friends and just sell books and records.