Leadership Tips From Top Retail Execs

The discussion focused on the panelists' views on the following topics: leadership philosophy; how to develop a culture within a company; and how to communicate within your company. Here's a look at their thoughts on each of these topics.

Leadership Philosphy
Ahrendts: The goal at Burberry was to unite the disparate company — the retailer has stores and employees all over the world — around a single brand vision. Ahrendts' mantra has been to work for a higher purpose — the brand. She also noted that people work for people, not corporations. Therefore, you need to build trust around a human factor. Ahrendts cited a quote from retired football coach Tony Dungy that she's taken to heart: When you make ordinary people connect, extraordinary things can happen.