FRONTLINE FRIDAYS with Ron Thurston

What Boot Barn's Chief Retail Officer Knows About Building Leaders

The best leaders don't just build great stores. They build the people who build great stores. In Season 2, Episode 18 of Frontline Fridays, host Ron Thurston sits down with Mike Love, Chief Retail Officer at Boot Barn, to explore what it really takes to develop the next generation of retail leaders — and why most organisations leave that work to chance. Mike came up through buying, planning, and operations across nearly four decades at some of retail's most formative organisations before taking on stores at Boot Barn. Today, he leads a store network of 550-plus locations with ambitions to reach 1,200 — and he's built a leadership pipeline to match. Nearly half of Boot Barn's district managers came up through the stores. Every regional vice president over the past eight years was an internal hire. Ron and Mike explore Love's Law — Mike's framework for understanding why the skills that get you promoted are rarely the skills the new job needs — and what that means for every ambitious leader on the floor right now. They dig into Boot Barn's Level Up programme, the balance between internal and external hiring, why community investment pays dividends no spreadsheet can capture, and what Mike looks for when he walks into a store and wants to know who the future leaders are. His answer: engage and be curious. Two words. Consistently applied. If you lead people, develop people, or are trying to figure out your own path in retail, this episode is for you. What Boot Barn's Chief Retail Officer Knows About Building Leaders — Frontline Fridays, Season 2, Episode 18 is available now. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrohqoj-V_gskdgonZVHPSVNYO0K2mtpO [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrohqoj-V_gskdgonZVHPSVNYO0K2mtpO] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontlinefridayspodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/frontlinefridayspodcast/] Mike: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-love-2348181/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-love-2348181/] Ron: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronthurston/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronthurston/] YOOBIC: https://yoobic.com [https://yoobic.com] | https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoobic/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoobic/]

What 900 Travel Centers Teach You About Frontline Technology

Most technology leaders build for the screen. David Dawson builds for the floor. In Season 2, Episode 17 of Frontline Fridays, host Ron Thurston sits down with David Dawson, VP of Retail and Digital Technology at Pilot Company, to explore what it really takes to build and lead technology that serves frontline teams — not the other way around. With nearly 25 years of experience, David has spent his career building the systems that power Pilot's 900+ travel centers: point-of-sale, payment processing, task management, and digital tools that help cashiers, maintenance teams, and store managers deliver for guests 24 hours a day, every day of the year. He talks about what a 24-7 operation demands of technology, why simplicity is a discipline, and why the best decisions get made closest to the work. Ron and David explore the human side of what Pilot does — including why a Pilot cashier may be one of only one or two human interactions a long-haul truck driver has all day — and what that means for the people behind the counter, the technology that supports them, and the leaders responsible for both. They also dig into the IT Road Trip program, how AI is reshaping frontline operations, and why "simplify, simplify, simplify" is more than a mantra — it's a leadership philosophy. If you've ever wondered what great frontline technology leadership looks like from the inside, this episode shows you exactly that.   How Technology Serves the Frontline: Lessons from Pilot — Frontline Fridays, Season 2, Episode 17 is available now. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontlinefridayspodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/frontlinefridayspodcast/] David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveadawson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveadawson/] | https://pilotcompany.com/ [https://pilotcompany.com/] Ron: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronthurston/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronthurston/] YOOBIC: https://yoobic.com [https://yoobic.com] | https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoobic/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoobic/]

Calm Under Pressure: The Leadership Skill Retail Needs Most

FRONTLINE FRIDAYS S2 Ep.16: Calm Under Pressure: The Leadership Skill Retail Needs Most Pressure isn’t the problem. How leaders respond to it is. In this episode of Frontline Fridays, Ron Thurston sits down with Lesley Hawkins, former Head of Retail at adidas Canada and leadership advisor. Lesley stepped into retail leadership during one of the most challenging moments in modern retail — leading 1,200 associates across 32 stores as teams faced burnout, constant change, and growing disconnection from head office. Instead of pushing harder, she chose a different path: slow down, listen, and rebuild trust from the frontline. By asking three simple questions in every store, Lesley uncovered what teams really needed — and used those insights to reset culture, re-engage teams, and shape a more resilient retail organization. Now, she helps leaders across industries navigate pressure, lead through change, and build teams that can perform without burning out. In this conversation, she shares: * how to lead calmly when everything feels urgent * the three questions every retail leader should be asking * why listening is the fastest way to rebuild trust * how small acts of initiative create powerful cultural shifts * why “raising your hand” is the key to growth and innovation Her message is clear: pressure is constant — but calm, intentional leadership is what drives performance. 🎧 Linktree:https://linktr.ee/frontlinefridays [https://linktr.ee/frontlinefridays]👤 Lesley Hawkins:https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-hawkins/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesley-hawkins/]👤 Ron Thurston:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronthurston/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronthurston/]💡 YOOBIC:https://yoobic.com [https://yoobic.com] | https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoobic/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoobic/]

Leadership Isn't a Role. It's a Weekly Discipline.

FRONTLINE FRIDAYS S2 Ep.15: Leadership Isn’t a Role. It’s a Weekly Discipline. Most retail leaders are told they have to choose: hit results or invest in people. Shalonda Dean spent 25 years proving that’s a false choice. In this episode of Frontline Fridays, Ron Thurston sits down with Shalonda Dean, Founder of Leadership Disrupted Consulting and former leader at Prada, Balenciaga, Apple, Tory Burch, and Intermix. Shalonda built and led a $400M portfolio, launched 120+ stores, and developed more than 100 leaders into bigger roles. But what stayed with her wasn’t the results. It was watching high-potential leaders burn out in systems that didn’t support them. Now, she’s on a mission to change that. Through her People-to-Performance Accelerator™, Shalonda helps retail leaders remove chaos, create consistency, and build teams that deliver results without sacrificing culture. In this conversation, she shares: * why leadership must be a weekly discipline, not a title * how to remove operational noise so teams can perform * what actually drives retention in today’s retail environment * how to scale culture across multiple stores and markets * why results and people are never a tradeoff Her message is clear: when you build the right structure, your people — and your performance — both thrive. 🎧 Linktree:https://linktr.ee/frontlinefridays [https://linktr.ee/frontlinefridays]👤 Shalonda Dean:https://www.linkedin.com/in/shalondadean/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shalondadean/]👤 Ron Thurston:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronthurston/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronthurston/]💡 YOOBIC:https://yoobic.com [https://yoobic.com] | https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoobic/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoobic/]

The Four Pillars of High-Performing Retail Stores

The Four Pillars of High-Performing Retail Stores — Frontline Fridays, Season 2, Episode 14 Retail teams don’t fail because of effort. They fail because of disconnect. In Season 2, Episode 14 of Frontline Fridays, Ron Thurston sits down with Monika Espinoza, Founder & Principal Operator of Better Way Operations and former retail leader at Louis Vuitton Americas. With more than 25 years in retail, Monika has built her career in operations — the part of the business often overlooked, but critical to performance. Her perspective is clear: operations isn’t a support function, it’s a profit driver. And most retailers are underutilizing a significant portion of their store teams because of how they think about and communicate with them. In this episode, Monika shares why high-performing stores are built on alignment, not silos, and why the biggest opportunity in retail today sits within operations teams. She introduces her STEP framework — Strategy, Team, Efficiency, and Performance — and explains how leaders can use it to unlock productivity, improve collaboration, and drive results across the entire store. Ron and Monika discuss: * Why front-of-house and back-of-house teams often operate in silos — and how to fix it * How operations teams can maximize the top line while protecting the bottom line * Why communication gaps are costing stores productivity and profit * How to develop operations talent into business-minded leaders If you’re leading stores, districts, or retail organizations and looking to improve performance without adding headcount, this episode offers a practical and powerful shift in how to think about your teams. The Four Pillars of High-Performing Retail Stores — Frontline Fridays, Season 2, Episode 14 is available now. 🎧 Linktree:https://linktr.ee/frontlinefridays [https://linktr.ee/frontlinefridays]👤 Monika Espinoza:https://www.linkedin.com/in/monikabwo/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/monikabwo/]👤 Ron Thurston:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronthurston/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronthurston/]💡 YOOBIC:https://yoobic.com [https://yoobic.com] |https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoobic/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/yoobic/]