THE CLIENT: Murphy USA is a Fortune 200 retail gas station chain with almost 1,300 stores primarily in the Southwest, Southeast, and Midwest of the United States. Since 1996, Murphy USA has been the place people go to save on the gas that fuels their lives; from the low prices on gas to exclusive deals on your family’s favorite snacks and drinks.
THE CLIENT’S OBJECTIVES: Ross Shafer was chosen to speak at two separate Murphy USA events. The first event was the District Manager Meeting at the South Arkansas Arts Center in El Dorado, Arkansas. The goals were to talk to leaders about how to manage the liaison responsibilities between the employees in the field and the corporate office, how to manage staff at the stores while not physically being there, and the importance of taking responsibility for their own success.
The second meeting (6 months later) was an “all hands” meeting held in Lake Buena Vista, Florida (with over 1,400 team members in attendance). The audience consisted of the hard working people who face the Murphy USA customers every day. These folks often endure long hours and high employee turnover. They have to make decisions quickly and efficiently. They strived to learn how to improve engagement and the lives of their employees and garner more loyalty from their customers.
ROSS’S CONTRIBUTIONS: In the first meeting, Ross focused on the behaviors of high performance leaders. He emphasized the importance of humble leadership and making every effort to understand and empathize with their store managers. Ross talked about how to cheer on their team members and celebrate what they do right more often than identifying what they do wrong. Ross conveyed his research that Customer Urgency is what is perceived as customer service today. As always, Ross incorporated a lot of humor and interaction in his teaching method.
In the second All-Hands meeting Ross customized his program to underscore the four core principles of Murphy USA; Integrity (Be ethical, honest, & foster trust),Respect (Value and appreciate others), Citizenship (Believe in the power of good actions), and Spirit (Strive to be the best). Because Ross employs inspiring case studies that perfectly align with these core principles, both Ross (and the audience ) had a lot of fun exploring why these principles are not only good for the customer – but increase the gratification of working at Murphy USA.
