Leaders in REM: Doug Straton

For those who are new here, every week(ish) I'll share various topics that I think are important for the modern leader in Retail Ecommerce Management.

Every so often, I get the privilege to speak with inspirational leaders through my podcast Leaders in REM , and I’d love to start regularly sharing some of my favorite lessons learned from these conversations.

This week, our spotlight is on Doug Straton, an aspirational leader in the ecommerce industry. With a solid background in startups and corporations, he is relentless in challenging the status quo and delivering results. As Hershey's former Chief Digital Officer, he led digital transformation and customer-centric strategies. Currently, as Chief Customer Evangelist at Bazaarvoice and Strategic Advisor at Digital Commerce Global, Doug continues to be a valuable thought leader, empowering businesses to thrive in the evolving digital landscape.

Here are some of the most important lessons I gained from my conversation with Doug:

1. Leverage your strengths and adopt a "why not me?" mentality. Doug's knack for creating things from the ground up was evident from his early days at Michigan State University, where he helped pioneer the Pi Kappa Alpha Iota Iota chapter, now the largest on campus. This attitude carried over into his career, as despite coming from a small company background, Doug leveraged his digital knowledge and previous global experience to write the five-year strategy for the North American digital team. By immersing himself in learning and embracing a "why not me?" mentality, he successfully designed a compelling digital strategy and made a significant impact.

1. Contextualize when managing your team through tough times. During the pandemic, Doug recognized the need to address fears within himself and his team. He prioritized transparency, openly sharing his own anxieties while also ensuring he was available to support each team member individually. Contextualizing the situation became crucial in order to rally the team around a shared purpose. When organizational changes had to be made to keep the business afloat, Doug successfully encouraged his team to embrace change by emphasizing their vital contributions in successfully navigating the crisis and explaining the rationale behind the decision.
2. Mission and purpose are big talent drivers. Doug has discovered two effective strategies for acquiring talent. Firstly, he engages with individuals from dot com backgrounds, such as Amazon. He presents them with a professional challenge: how can they achieve double-digit growth in a category that typically experiences limited growth? Many find this proposition exciting and view it as a real challenge. Secondly, Doug emphasizes the company's mission and highlights its positive impact on society. By leveraging these factors, he attracts the right talent and has never encountered a shortage of qualified individuals.
3. Position your ideas carefully. Doug once pitched to retailers a shop-along technology that would allow families to create a shared cart wishlist. It was the initial doubts about its feasibility that first taught him the value of positioning ideas carefully. Another instance that did the same for him involves the "Project Minority Report," an early concept of online category management that he brought to life at Hershey. While not the sole originator, Doug played a pivotal role in its development. About ten years ago, he struggled to articulate the idea clearly. With the help of others, he was able to revise the concept and learn to convey the value of an idea and express it in a way that resonates with others.

Such wonderful insights from Doug Straton. If you're interested in listening to the full interview, be sure to check out the Leaders in REM podcast, available on Spotify and Apple .