Stephen Douglas Black

If you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly!

This saying is one of my earliest learnings on how to be successful. It was during my early years at United Supermarkets of Oklahoma where I spent the first 27 years of my career. I went from being a produce manager, assistant manager, store manager, director of I.T. systems to head buyer and got to

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about your name….

What you come into this world with….your name. What you leave this world with…..your name. What you do between entry and exit will determine your legacy. You have a legacy now. Most people think you have to be a certain age before you can have a legacy or even have passed away.

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Legacy’s Biggest Influence – Work Ethic

In the days of old when every child worked along side their mom or dad, taking care of the house chores or all around the farm, there were multiple moments in every single day that a good work ethic was learned, taught and lived. Those days are over.

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5 Keys to a successful marriage…

With Melanie, her sister (Melissa) and our two daughter-in-laws (Beth & Sarah) being in Hawaii this week for a time of relaxation and fun, it’s made me reflect on our trip to Hawaii in 1997 for our 20th anniversary. This is Beth & Sarah’s first time to see Hawaii, Melissa’s second, with no family responsibilities

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Life Lessons

after your last breath

Listen to the Epilogue from the audiobook of The 5 Rules:   My dad found out on his seventy-sixth birthday, April 30, 2013, that he

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Stephen Douglas Black

With 45 years of expertise in the retail grocery arena, Steve Black has had a remarkable career. He’s been an integral part of companies that are true innovators and trailblazers, such as Rouses Markets, Lucky’s Farmers Markets, Sprouts Farmers Markets, and Sunflower Farmers Markets, to name a few.
His leadership-focused mindset and hands-on experience have enabled him to contribute valuable insights at every turn-impacting businesses through coaching & training teams dedicated towards personal growth on both individual & organizational levels.
Steve Black and his wife, Melanie, along with their daughter Taylor live in Colorado and enjoy spending time outdoors on their four – wheelers, trout fishing, photography, and traveling to see their two sons, daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren.

Lessons by Stephen Douglas Black

Winning the Holiday

If you’re going to win the holidays in our business – you must have a team full of difference makers. As we all know – December is our busiest month of the year, and this year is one of the shortest time frames (27 days) between Thanksgiving and Christmas that we’ve had since pre-COVID days. …

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Thanksgiving Celebration & The Laws of the Harvest

Thanksgiving, as we know it today, is rooted in a harvest feast celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag in 1621. This marked a moment of giving thanks for a successful harvest after a tough year. The Pilgrims, who had settled at Plymouth Rock, were ill-prepared for the harsh New England winter. They suffered from …

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You Gotta Be In The Room!

Today’s Rocky Mountain Gold leadership lesson happened on my walk this morning and it reminded me about a lesson the Maxwell Team teaches us; “You gotta be in the room”. (view from my walk) That teaching is that the best way to grow in your influence and to grow as a leader is by being …

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What You Can See

We had some crazy fog roll in on Thursday and Friday this week and it was completely cleared up by Saturday. My morning walks on Thursday and Friday were very scary from the dense fog and I also had an unbelievable hard time seeing what was around me and it blocked the beauty of the …

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5 Traits of a Good Boss

  Most of my writings have been about the positive influences in my life over the years. And one of my bosses early in my career told me that I would learn more from bad bosses than the good ones. I thought it was a good one liner at the time. And however, little did …

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47 Years – 4.7 Decades – 17,167 Days

July 31, 1977 was the beginning of my lifelong journey with Melanie Janell Roll. Today – July 31, 2022 is 45 years, 4 and 1/2 decades and 16,425 days into that journey. As we stood in front of a packed church in Clinton, Oklahoma in 1977 – on that day so many years ago holding hands

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why she was the best teacher I ever had….

I believe that everyone has that ONE teacher that changed them. Believed in them. Encouraged them. Helped them to believe in themselves, maybe for the first time. That ONE teacher for me was my Jr. High & Sr. High English teacher, Mrs. Sarah C. Turney. Melanie and I have remained in contact with Mrs. Turney’s

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lessons from cutting firewood ….

About eighteen years ago – I had an awesome idea. My boys were teenagers and we’d always bought firewood. It made sense to me that we could cut our own and actually make money. I did some research on chainsaws, bought one, an extra chain, gas can, 2-cycle and chain oil and gloves.

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Standin on “G”, Waitin on “O”

One of my key components of success is a serious sense of urgency. Just like in the Olympics, those that win the medals have a serious sense of urgency. They are always looking for something that can give them that .001 percent advantage over their competition.

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If you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly!

This saying is one of my earliest learnings on how to be successful. It was during my early years at United Supermarkets of Oklahoma where I spent the first 27 years of my career. I went from being a produce manager, assistant manager, store manager, director of I.T. systems to head buyer and got to

Read More

about your name….

What you come into this world with….your name. What you leave this world with…..your name. What you do between entry and exit will determine your legacy. You have a legacy now. Most people think you have to be a certain age before you can have a legacy or even have passed away.

Read More

Legacy’s Biggest Influence – Work Ethic

In the days of old when every child worked along side their mom or dad, taking care of the house chores or all around the farm, there were multiple moments in every single day that a good work ethic was learned, taught and lived. Those days are over.

Read More

5 Keys to a successful marriage…

With Melanie, her sister (Melissa) and our two daughter-in-laws (Beth & Sarah) being in Hawaii this week for a time of relaxation and fun, it’s made me reflect on our trip to Hawaii in 1997 for our 20th anniversary. This is Beth & Sarah’s first time to see Hawaii, Melissa’s second, with no family responsibilities

Read More