It’s a great lesson — prepare for opportunity. It’s your responsibility and mine to get up every day excited to learn from those around us and ask questions of them and others.

Regardless of what learning style works for you, Publix people do as much as they can to prepare others for the next steps in their careers.

We pride ourselves on promoting from within, so it’s important to take advantage of all Publix has to offer. In most cases, our internal job candidates are rewarded with new positions. However, we also shouldn’t close our eyes to the value of external candidates. Sometimes hiring people from outside of Publix brings new ideas and new insights.

When you’re part of the Publix family, you get a wide range of people helping you grow and develop — it’s part of our culture. We continue to grow into new markets, and we need associates prepared to take on the challenge.

Mr. George prepared himself by learning all he could about the business and doing a great job. He knew he was ready for something new when he left Piggly Wiggly to open his own grocery store. We’re fortunate he had the desire to push forward and create something unique.

I hope you’ll join me in living this month’s lesson. All of us can benefit from this lesson, and Publix will be a better place because of it.

Ed Crenshaw
CEO