How Texas A&M's Core Values Transform Modern Retail Excellence

What happens when you apply university values to the retail world? Drawing from my experience teaching at Texas A&M University's Center for Retailing Studies, I've discovered that the six core Aggie values—respect, excellence, leadership, loyalty, integrity, and selfless service—create a powerful framework for retail success that goes far beyond theoretical concepts.

The Aggie community doesn't just post these values on a wall; they weave them into everyday actions and decisions. Similarly, the most successful retailers embed these principles into their operations, creating experiences that resonate deeply with customers and team members alike. Respect manifests as creating inclusive environments where everyone feels heard. Excellence drives retailers to consistently exceed expectations through exceptional experiences and products. Leadership means investing in frontline associates and fostering innovation rather than accepting the status quo.

Loyalty extends beyond customer retention programs to create genuine faithfulness between brands and consumers. Integrity—captured perfectly in the Aggie code "An Aggie does not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do"—builds the transparency and accountability that today's informed consumers demand. Finally, selfless service transforms transactions into meaningful connections by anticipating needs and creating delightful surprises without expectation of reward.

As retailers navigate an increasingly complex marketplace, these timeless values provide a compass for decision-making that creates authentic connections with customers. By measuring success through objective metrics like net promoter scores and sales growth while remaining committed to ethical practices and genuine service, retailers can build lasting relationships that transcend transactions. Listen to discover how you might apply these principles to transform your approach to customer experience and team development.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Scott's Thoughts
• 0:44 Texas A&M's Six Core Values
• 1:39 Respect and Excellence in Retail
• 2:30 Leadership, Loyalty and Integrity Applications
• 4:35 Selfless Service and Final Reflections
• 6:23 Episode Summary and Conclusion

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:08

Well, hello everyone and welcome to Scott's Thoughts. I'm Scott Benedict, you know. One of the things I was thinking about the other day was the fact that during my time teaching retailing at Texas A&M University's Center for Retailing Studies, I was really struck by the fact that at Texas A&M they subscribe to a series of core values, not just within the business school but across the university, that I thought at the time and was reminded about recently, really have a lot of interesting application in retail, and I wanted to share a few thoughts on that. First of all, if you don't know, if you're not familiar with Texas A&M, aggies live by a series of six core values, and those core values are respect, excellence, leadership, loyalty, integrity and selfless service. The university states and I can confirm that I witnessed this that their purpose was to develop leaders of character dedicated to serving the greater good, and the students and the faculty and the members of that team there certainly conducted themselves this way. What I thought was kind of interesting is that these values aren't just theoretical and not something up on a poster, on a wall, but they're woven into the way that the Aggie community really embraces in everyday life, how students, faculty alumni and staff act, communicate and lead. Once again, there's a lot of applicability of those core values that I found in retailing. We talked a little bit about this with my students when I taught there, but let me kind of walk through a couple of thoughts here.

Speaker 1: 1:51

First of all, one of the ways that the first value respect manifests itself in retail is that in retail, valuing every person that you encounter, every stakeholder, customers, members of your own team, your suppliers, really means creating an inclusive, welcoming experience where everyone feels heard and that mentality, that way of doing business, really fosters trust, loyalty and a truly inclusive brain culture, and I thought that was very applicable in retail. The second core value excellence really Aggies to a person are driven to excel in everything they commit themselves to, always aiming to perform beyond expectations, and retailing this translates into consistently exceeding a customer's expectation, whether that's through a wonderful shopping experience, through a high-quality product or providing impeccable service. The third Agate Core value leadership is really about setting an example for yourself and for others, for your team, being forward-thinking, courageous and empowering of your team. In a retail context, leadership means investing in your frontline associates, empowering them to take care of and delight customers, and in driving innovation, never being satisfied with the status quo, arriving innovation and never being satisfied with the status quo. Fourth, agricorps value loyalty means embodying unconditional support and a sense of belonging In retail. That's a basis for brand loyalty, creating customers that are faithful to your brand and teams that support a brand's vision through thick and through thin, no matter what.

Speaker 1: 3:46

The fifth Aggie core value integrity. Part of the Aggie code of honor that continues to resonate with me is this statement an Aggie does not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those that do. This is foundational to the mindset that I encountered among students and alumni and fellow professors alike. Retail really benefits from being transparent, accountable and honest, and those retailers and those brands who follow that ethical practices really build long-term credibility with consumers, particularly today when customers have more access to information and inputs on their buying decisions than ever before.

Speaker 1: 4:34

Last core value selfless service. Really, aggies are taught to embrace service without the expectation of a reward, and retailing this means going beyond a transaction, anticipating a customer's need, offering genuine help and building experiences that show that you care first and foremost, and so there's a lot of applicability in the most successful retailers and consumer brands, in the things that I learned when I was at Texas A&M and it occurs to me on an ongoing basis how valuable and important that is. So, to kind of summarize, in my mind, the core value of respect means empowering your team and truly listening to the feedback that you gain from them and from your customers. Excellence means setting ambitious goals and having them being able to be measured in objective ways, like net promoter scores or fulfillment speeds or store sales growth. Leadership means providing mentorship to your team, training and a work culture where innovation thrives.

Speaker 1: 5:50

Loyalty means running loyalty programs that genuinely reward a consumer and help gain feedback on what they like and don't like about a product or about a retailer. Integrity means being transparent, owning mistakes when they happen and doing right by your associates and by your customers. And selfless service means create surprises, pleasant surprises, go the extra mile and do it because it's the right thing, not because you expect something in return. So these core values, which I think were so valuable and one of the great benefits of my time at Texas A&M, have a lot of applicability into the best practices of retail, and I was reminded of that recently and I thought I wanted to share that with the audience. So thanks for listening. I'm Scott Benedict.