CrimeAug 14, 2026
Wife of Man Convicted in Jeweler’s Murder Sentenced for Conspiracy Amanda Ileana Hernandez is married to Carlos Hernandez, one of two men in prison for the 2024 murder of Michigan jeweler Hussein Murray.
IndependentsJul 31, 2018
Squirrel Spotting: What Kind of Team Do You Want?
Your first answer might be, “the same team I’ve had for years,” but that is not necessarily the best answer, Peter Smith writes.
Peter Smith has more than 30 years of experience building wholesale and retail sales teams. He currently is president of Vibhor Gems.
To suggest that people are important to a business is akin to recommending a daily dose of fresh air for good health. While it may be a self-evident maxim, what actually constitutes “good people” is decidedly more complex.
Every business, of course, must decide how to best put together its team.
Some prefer harmony and an ease of management that excludes mavericks and outliers. Other businesses prize a performance culture that values individual productivity, and recognizes and accepts the inevitable challenges of managing top performers.
When I ask retailers to tell me about their team, I very often hear, “My people have been with me for years,” as though tenure itself was the secret to success.
I’ve often wondered how successful my beloved Chicago Cubs would be if Andre Dawson was still hitting clean-up at Wrigley Field, or how the San Francisco 49ers would fare if Joe Montana was under center.
OK, OK, I know that sports teams, where athletes must have a great mental approach along with world-class physical prowess, is not the same as sales, but I use sports (insert your own metaphor) to point out that tenure alone cannot be the measure of the competence of an individual, or the health of a team.
In fact, Gallup researchers conducted an analysis a few years ago of 1.4 million employees in its database and found an inverse relationship between employee engagement and the number of years she or he had worked in the job.
The study basically asserted that for most employees, the first year was their best year and thereafter it was, if not exactly downhill, a flat and uninspiring walk into sustained mediocrity. The conclusions from the study revealed that disengaged employees were a drain on profits, sales and customer satisfaction.
Angela Duckworth, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,” wrote: “Do you know anyone who’s been doing something for a long, long time—maybe their entire professional lives—and yet, the best you can say of their skill is that they’re pretty much OK and not bad enough to fire?”
There is clearly a very big difference between your top performers staying with you for years and your mediocre people sticking around—not exactly setting the world on fire, but managing to keep their heads above water.
As I see it, there are really
Editors' Picks
Sponsored by
three ways a business can go:
1) You can value tenure and accept that you are willing to give up performance for the sake of familiar people sticking around;
2) You can prize sales performance and, in doing so, understand that non-performers will be rotated out as results demand; or
3) The default option: You celebrate and value tenure, and choose not to spend too much time thinking about the costs to your business in sales and profitability.
In “Reward Systems,” Steve Kerr (not the basketball one) wrote, “If you reward seniority, you are likely to get very little in the way of risk-taking, innovation and candid, upward feedback.”
Each business, of course, much make its own decision (or no decision) and while I would still pay to see Andre Dawson take a few swings in a Cubs uniform at Wrigley Field, I’ll take Anthony Rizzo. Until I don’t.
Go Cubs!
Peter Smith is president of Vibhor, a public speaker and author of “Sell Something” and “Hiring Squirrels.” He spent 30 years building sales teams in retail and wholesale and he can be contacted at dublinsmith@yahoo.com, peter@vibhorgems.com, or on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.
1) You can value tenure and accept that you are willing to give up performance for the sake of familiar people sticking around;
2) You can prize sales performance and, in doing so, understand that non-performers will be rotated out as results demand; or
3) The default option: You celebrate and value tenure, and choose not to spend too much time thinking about the costs to your business in sales and profitability.
In “Reward Systems,” Steve Kerr (not the basketball one) wrote, “If you reward seniority, you are likely to get very little in the way of risk-taking, innovation and candid, upward feedback.”
Each business, of course, much make its own decision (or no decision) and while I would still pay to see Andre Dawson take a few swings in a Cubs uniform at Wrigley Field, I’ll take Anthony Rizzo. Until I don’t.
Go Cubs!
Peter Smith is president of Vibhor, a public speaker and author of “Sell Something” and “Hiring Squirrels.” He spent 30 years building sales teams in retail and wholesale and he can be contacted at dublinsmith@yahoo.com, peter@vibhorgems.com, or on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.
More on Independents
The Latest
TrendsAug 14, 2026
Paul Morelli’s Latest ‘Wavey Vine’ Earrings Embrace ColorThe reimagined jewel, our Piece of the Week, trades the diamonds in the original 1998 design for blue, pink, yellow, and green sapphires.
Supplier BulletinAug 13, 2026
Your Piece Could Be the One Editors Talk AboutSponsored by American Gem Trade Association
Brought to you by
Why More Jewelry Retailers Are Hosting Turnkey Estate Buying EventsRetailers are seeking new ways to attract customers, increase traffic, and create revenue – Estate buying events are a popular solution.
FinancialsAug 13, 2026
Pandora’s ‘Talisman’ Collection Shines, Lab-Grown Diamond Sales FallIn the United States, second-quarter sales were flat amid soft consumer sentiment and lower in-store traffic.
Weekly QuizAug 13, 2026
This Week’s QuizTest your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
AuctionsAug 13, 2026
This Gold Cadbury ‘Conundrum’ Egg Set a World Auction RecordThe 22-karat gold egg, sold at Batemans Auctioneers in the U.K., was part of a 1980s treasure hunt ad campaign for Cadbury Creme Eggs.
SourcingAug 13, 2026
2,488-Carat Diamond, Largest Found in Botswana, Has a New Owner Lucara Diamond Corp., which recovered the “Motswedi” diamond from the Karowe mine, sold the stone for an undisclosed amount.
Brought to you by
Wedding Band Trends 2026: Personalization Takes Center StageColored gemstones, artisan finishes, mixed metals, and meaningful details are shaping demand in bridal jewelry.
CollectionsAug 13, 2026
John Hardy Infuses ‘Icon,’ ‘Heishi’ Collections with ColorThe expanded collections now feature hand-cut gemstones like topaz, tanzanite, chrysoprase, chalcedony, smoky quartz, and fire opal.
Lab-GrownAug 13, 2026
Jean Dousset Opens Third StoreThe lab-grown diamond jewelry brand’s newest boutique is in Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, California.
SourcingAug 12, 2026
Eshed-Gemstar on the Painstaking Process of Cutting ‘The Legacy Emerald’The gemstone supplier and manufacturer acquired the remarkable 104-gram Zambian emerald at Gemfields’ auction in May.
CrimeAug 12, 2026
Elderly NYC Woman Targeted in Jewelry Swap SchemeTwo suspects offered to trade the woman a “winning” lottery ticket for her jewelry.
SourcingAug 12, 2026
Another Diamond Mine Poised to CloseFinsch has been in business rescue since May, and owner Petra Diamonds said it sees no viable path forward for the mine.
CrimeAug 12, 2026
Jewelry Store Employee Gets 20 Years to Life in Choking Death of BossMichel Patrick DeSalles was sentenced after pleading guilty to the 2017 murder of Omid Gholian, who owned a jewelry store in Manhattan.
MajorsAug 12, 2026
Frederick Goldman Names New SVP of SalesLongtime industry executive Beth Miller has taken on the role.
AuctionsAug 11, 2026
Verdura Unicorn Brooch With Royal Connection Up for Auction The brooch was owned by Virginia Fortune Ryan Ogilvy, who served as a lady of the bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth II for nearly 50 years.
MajorsAug 11, 2026
Signet Jewelers Selects Mattel Exec to Lead Zales, BanterJamie Cygielman will take on the role on Aug. 24.
ColumnistsAug 11, 2026
Creative Connecting: How to Sell Colored Gemstones to Gen ZDuvall O’Steen and Jen Cullen Williams share the best ways to display, present, and explain colored gemstones to younger customers.
Events & AwardsAug 11, 2026
NAJA Announces Lineup For 2026 Fall Virtual ConferenceThe mid-year conference for jewelry and watch appraisers will take place Sept. 5-6 on Zoom.
TechnologyAug 10, 2026
Colorado Jeweler Launches Customization Tool He Built HimselfHonest Hands Ring Co. Founder Benjamin Bosworth shared his thoughts on jewelry technology and why AI can never replace the human element.
MajorsAug 10, 2026
QVC Exits Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Names New Interim CEOQVC Group President and CEO David Rawlinson is temporarily being replaced by a familiar face, former QVC CEO Mike George.
CollectionsAug 10, 2026
State Property Puts a Ripple in the ‘The Voyager’ CollectionThe brand also added two one-of-a-kind brown diamond pieces to the “Sanssouci” series of its “Gardens” collection.
MajorsAug 10, 2026
And IJO’s 2026 Vendor of the Year Is … Ostbye took home top vendor honors at the Independent Jewelers Organization’s show, held last month in Kentucky.
Supplier BulletinAug 07, 2026
Why More Jewelry Retailers Are Hosting Turnkey Estate Buying EventsSponsored by Stratus Estate Buyers
MajorsAug 07, 2026
Retail Veteran Pam Cloud Appointed President of Blue NileCloud, who will officially join Blue Nile on Monday, spent 26 years at Tiffany & Co. and founded jewelry brand Roseate.
MajorsAug 07, 2026
Pandora Appoints Paulo Garcia as New CFO Garcia will take over from the company’s current CFO, Anders Boyer, who is retiring at the end of November.
MajorsAug 07, 2026
Etsy to Lay Off 12% of WorkforceEtsy CEO Kruti Patel Goyal explained why the company is letting go more than 200 employees as its performance improves.
