Molly

  • Alumni

Submitted

sweetgreen: a healthy dose of operating model alignment
Molly
Last modified on December 3, 2015 at 10:07 pm
At the innovative new salad chain sweetgreen, operating and business models align for delicious results. Kale yeah!

Activity Feed

On December 7, 2015, Molly commented on Bridgewater Associates: More than just luck :

Hey Ken, I totally agree with you that Bridgewater is an example of a well-aligned business and operating model. It seems like the ‘extreme transparency’ and ‘elimination of the decision making hierarchy’ you talk about help Bridgewater make more rational, objective decisions, and spot mistakes more easily. One thing I’ve been wondering about is the extent to which the operating model is dependent on Ray Dalio. He is such an extreme personality… I wonder whether it’s possible to start (and maintain) an operating model like Bridgewater’s without someone so forceful. Great job on your analysis!
– Molly

On December 7, 2015, Molly commented on Wegmans: The Best of Four Worlds :

Hey Kim, thanks for this piece — my mom has been going crazy recently over the Wegmans that just opened in Westwood, MA. Now I’m starting to see why! It’s interesting to compare/contrast them with Whole Foods. Whole Foods definitely follows the same pattern of locating itself in affluent areas, but doesn’t have the “European market” atmosphere and (to my knowledge) doesn’t operate its own farm… wow! Whole Foods also doesn’t limit itself to 6 states. I wonder if Wegman’s can sustain its operating model AND expand geographically to really challenge Whole Foods across the US. Great job!
– Molly

On December 7, 2015, Molly commented on Singapore Airlines: Achieving the best of both worlds of low-cost operations model and service excellence :

Hey Wendy! I think it’s so interesting that Singapore Airlines spends 2x as long as its competitors training its stewardesses, and yet saves money in the long run. I can definitely see how this policy would promote customer loyalty. I also wonder whether it decreases employee turnover, and thus ensures a more tenured workforce? That would actually help to decrease training costs and offset what they’re spending on the 4.5 month program. Interesting!