Investing In Your Employees: Jim McCann of 1–800-FLOWERS.COM On The Benefits of Offering Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Initiatives For Employees
An Interview With Chad Silverstein
Believe and you will Receive: Being in the right mindset changes outcomes and impacts.
Expand your EQ: Understanding the important people in your life and being emotionally available and continue to challenge yourself to grow.
Building Community and Meaningful Relationships: Creating a community at work and in your personal life, makes us whole
Cultivate Resilience: Being able to fail and face adversity will ultimately help you succeed.
Your resume is a verb: Be a continuous lifelong learner.
Investing in team development has become increasingly crucial for forward-thinking companies, who understand that their greatest assets are their people. From implementing innovative training programs and wellness initiatives to cultivating a supportive work environment, these strategic investments play a vital role in enhancing employee satisfaction and retention. As the business landscape evolves, mastering effective methods to support and retain employees is pivotal for achieving long-term success. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jim McCann.
Jim McCann is an entrepreneur, author, and philanthropist, renowned for transforming a single flower shop into the billion-dollar omni-channel retailer, 1–800-FLOWERS.COM. His entrepreneurial journey began with a deep belief in the importance of social connections, which inspired him to create a company dedicated to helping people build meaningful relationships.
Attribute to Jim McCann, Founder & CEO, 1–800-Flowers
Thank you for joining us. To start, could you share a little about yourself, and how you got started?
It’s funny to think about where it all began. Growing up, the closest thing to flowers outside my house was a patch of weeds.
Back in 1976, I was working as a social worker by day and a bartender by night — juggling two jobs to make ends meet. That’s when an opportunity came up to purchase a floral shop on the upper east side of Manhattan. I didn’t know much about flowers at the time, but I knew a lot about people and the importance of connection.
That shop became my starting point. I quickly realized that flowers weren’t just about the product — they were about helping people express themselves and connect with others in meaningful ways. That idea sparked something bigger, and over time, 1–800-Flowers grew from a single shop into a company dedicated to building relationships, whether through flowers, gourmet gifts, or heartfelt gestures.
Looking back, it’s amazing to see how far we’ve come, but that same passion for helping people connect is still what drives me today.
What was your biggest challenge in those early days?
In those early days, one of my biggest challenges came when I started expanding my flower shops across the New York metro area. I figured there’d be some kind of economy of scale — the more shops I had, the more efficient it would get. But the reality was the opposite. It just got more complicated, and we were bleeding in more directions. I realized pretty quickly that the model wasn’t sustainable, and I thought I had made a huge mistake.
Then in 1986, I came across a small company in Dallas called 800-Flowers. It had already failed, but I saw potential in the telephone number and thought it could be a valuable asset. I bought the company and assumed I could handle it all on my own without involving bankers, lawyers, or accountants. That was a big mistake. I didn’t know it at the time, but by taking it on, I also inherited $7 million in debt.
That was a deep hole to climb out of, but it forced me to think differently. I pivoted to a franchising model, selling shops to families to raise the capital we needed. That’s also when we rebranded as 1–800-Flowers. It was a risky move, and everyone thought I was nuts for naming the company after a phone number. But with 800 numbers becoming more popular in the ’80s, it turned out to be a game-changer.
Was there anything specific that inspired you to prioritize CPD initiatives in your company?
I recently co-authored a book with Dr. George S. Everly Jr. entitled Lodestar. Lodestar is designed to be the ultimate guide for living your best life.
Writing it challenged me to continue to grow as a leader and push myself to think more deeply about how we create meaningful impact, both in the lives of our employees and the communities we serve.
At 1–800-Flowers.com, I’ve always aspired to foster a culture where every individual, whether they’re a current employee or part of our Alumni Network, feels that this is the best place they’ve ever worked. Why? Because we provided them with constant opportunities to learn and refresh their skills, making them highly valued employees within our organization and any organization they join in the future.
Can you explain why this is important for the success of a business?
If an employee remains curious and is constantly learning new skills, it drives our business forward through constant innovation. For a business like ours to remain competitive, we have to constantly be reinventing ourselves and we need our employees to do the same.
Can you please share with us, and briefly explain the first major initiative you started that directly benefited your employees?
About a year and a half ago, the company launched a program in which “Emeralds,” certain employees with promotion potential, were tasked with leading a “bunch” of employees and convening them on a regular basis. “Emeralds” help serve as designated hosts during lunchtime, encouraging people to sit with people they don’t know in common areas and chat, and offering suggested conversation topics that are designed to engage and educate employees. This really became successful for us, which led to our founding of Fresh University — another opportunity we’ve brought to our employees in an effort to offer “classes” where they can continually learn and grow.
Do you have an example of a situation where you didn’t get the result you were looking for, and tell us what happened as a result?
At 1–800-Flowers.com, we once launched a training program to foster cross-departmental collaboration, but participation dropped as employees struggled to find time. We learned the importance of flexibility and redesigned the program. By working closely with managers, we adjusted the program to on-demand, bite-sized modules, making it easier for employees to engage. This shift increased participation and ensured the program better aligned with our team’s needs.
What has been the most impactful CPD initiative you’ve seen other companies offer, and how did it inspire or influence your own approach?
One of the most impactful (CPD) initiatives I’ve seen is Google’s approach to encouraging innovation through their ‘20% time’ policy, where employees are empowered to dedicate a portion of their workweek to passion projects or ideas outside their immediate responsibilities. It fosters creativity, ownership, and a culture of learning — leading to some groundbreaking developments.
Seeing the success of initiatives like that inspired us to think about how we could create similar opportunities at 1–800-Flowers.com. We’ve focused on building a culture where employees feel supported in learning and growing — whether that’s through leadership development programs, access to online courses, or even encouraging cross-departmental collaboration to spark new ideas.
What challenges might companies face when implementing these initiatives, and how can they overcome them?
I believe that the endless quest for growth is universal.
We need to challenge our preconceived notions about fear, anxiety and panic and our interpretation of them, once we do, we make room for opportunity.
Know that you can overcome hardship to thrive and flourish. Believing that will help you rise to the challenge.
Can you share a story of an employee who significantly benefited, and how it affected their performance or career trajectory?
We have a long-time employee who began their journey as a call center representative. This individual demonstrated significant promise and quickly advanced to managing stores. They then transitioned to retail store operations, where they created our store operations manual and traveled across the country to open new stores. In the midst of all this, they earned their law degree and eventually moved into one of our top in-house legal roles. With all the opportunities they were creating and learning, they just wanted to keep going and learn more.
Could you please list the “Top Five Benefits of Offering Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Initiatives for Employees”? Can you explain what you mean?
I recently co-authored Lodestar with Dr. George S. Everly, Jr., which explores the importance of continuous learning and striving to do better. This mindset is at the core of the culture we aim to instill in our employees every day.
Believe and you will Receive: Being in the right mindset changes outcomes and impacts.
Expand your EQ: Understanding the important people in your life and being emotionally available and continue to challenge yourself to grow.
Building Community and Meaningful Relationships: Creating a community at work and in your personal life, makes us whole
Cultivate Resilience: Being able to fail and face adversity will ultimately help you succeed.
Your resume is a verb: Be a continuous lifelong learner.
How do you measure the success and ROI of these CPD initiatives?
I measure this through our own business impact, but also in the engagement we have seen with employees with both Emeralds and Fresh University.
Ultimately, as I’ve said, if an employee says 1–800-Flowers.com is the best company they have ever worked for, then I consider that a very high metric.
Looking forward, how do you see the role of CPD evolving in the next 5–10 years?
CPD will be at the core of talent management and development for employees and will become even more important as business leaders understand the impact on their bottom line and that when they provide opportunities to invest in their employees, it makes their business even more successful.
What advice would you give to business leaders who are hesitating to make these changes?
If you are not engaged in being a lifelong learner as a leader and employee, your organization will fall behind. For example, AI is going to change the way we do business and think about the world.
Can you share any upcoming initiatives or plans you have for further investing in your employees?
I am excited to continue to grow Fresh University and perhaps you may even see more CPD opportunities that expand Lodestar off the pages.
How can our readers follow your work?
About five years ago, I started Celebrations Pulse, a weekly newsletter that connects with our customers in a more personal way. It’s not about sales — it’s about sharing stories, reflections, and ideas that inspire connection. What’s been really special is how it’s grown into a community, with readers sharing their own experiences and insights. Today, it reaches more than 10 million subscribers.
You can sign up for Celebrations Pulse at celebrations.com/pulse, or follow me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jim1800flowers to stay connected.
This was great. Thank you so much for the time you spent sharing with us.
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein is a seasoned entrepreneur and Thought Leader with over 25 years of business experience. He has founded, operated, and exited multiple companies and now builds into a handful of high impact CEOs. Chad has launched multiple online communities, including a recent leadership development platform, and also serves as a strategic advisor for Authority Magazine’s thought-leader incubator program.
To learn more and connect with Chad visit: chadsilverstein.io
Investing In Your Employees: Jim McCann of 1–800-FLOWERS On The Benefits of Offering Continuous was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.