Target CEO (and Head “Coach”) Brian Cornell Focuses On Retail Fundamentals

Brian Cornell grew up playing football, baseball, basketball and track, and like any sports lover grew up as an avid reader of Sports Illustrated. It was on the cover of that esteemed journal that he first saw John Wooden, the legendary coach of UCLA men’s basketball who has inspired generations of coaches, athletes, and leaders. The Wooden mystique further influenced Cornell when he found himself walking the UCLA campus himself as a student.

Now the chair and CEO of one of America’s most iconic companies, Target, Cornell just shakes his head in wonder as he thinks about just how much he has learned from the great coach—especially his emphasis on the fundamentals. In a recent interview, Cornell spoke about the fundamentals of retail and the “socks and shoes” moments for which Wooden was famous, on top of winning 10 national championships.

“When we think about retail fundamentals, we focus on making sure that we’re reliable, which in our business is code for the promise that when you shop, either online or in our store, what you’re shopping for is going to be available,” he said in the interview. It’s all about putting yourself in your customer’s shoes, explains Cornell. “We want you to feel like you can shop at Target for all the different needs your family has, which means we’ve got to make sure we provide a great guest experience.”

If that sounds pretty basic, well, that’s because the fundamentals are always very basic. That’s why they’re so easy to overlook. “You know, you can run great plays in basketball,” offered Cornell, “but if you’re not playing defense, if you don’t block out and rebound, it won’t matter that you’ve got a 40-point scorer on your team. You may not win the game.”

Spoken like a true disciple of Coach Wooden, who used to drill down to the fundamentals to the point where he wanted his players to put their socks on a certain way and tie their sneakers a certain way that optimized performance. “Those fundamentals in sports and business are so critically important,” noted Cornell.

At Target, Cornell has created a mentoring and coaching culture of which his childhood hero would certainly have approved. In the interview, he shared some of the highlights of this culture, which includes lessons and practices such as these:

To complete the full circle moment, Cornell was the recipient of the 2023 John Wooden Global Leadership Award from UCLA Anderson School of Management. And don’t think for one minute he didn’t fully appreciate the connection between sport and business.

“So it is a chance to coach again, and teach and share some new stories,” admitted Cornell when asked about his leadership style at Target and his recognition. “After all these years, I guess I’m still on the field.”