Q . HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE AN MBE ?
» I ’ m very honoured . I work as part of a broader team , and nothing would have been achieved without the effort of head office , the exports team at our Sittingbourne depot , and obviously the store itself , and our suppliers .
Q . WHAT ’ S THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECT OF YOUR JOB ?
» Not being able to provide quick fixes for the store when things go wrong . As someone who started my career working in a store , I feel their pain .
Q . AND THE MOST REWARDING ?
» Every day is different . This is the reason I love my job . Being involved in developing new systems and processes is also gratifying , especially when they ’ re well received by the end user .
Q . WHAT ’ S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU ’ VE EVER BEEN GIVEN ?
» That you don ’ t need to give people answers all the time . It sounds simple but there was a time when I ’ d tie myself in knots trying to give people answers that I didn ' t have . I ’ m now comfortable telling people , " I don ' t do that any more ."
. Q . WHO INSPIRES YOU ?
» There have been many people who have guided me throughout my 27 years with Morrisons , but I think the person who has been the biggest influence on my career was Sylvia Jones , who was Retail Programme Director .
Sylvia is retired now . She was an old school retailer . Like me , she doesn ' t have a degree , and she worked her way up from the shop floor to director level . She did this by always doing her absolute best to make things better for the end user , and she worked collaboratively across teams . She also never built expectations that couldn ' t be delivered . I always try to follow her approach .
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