Sears Chairman Works on Selling Skills

Michael Barbaro:

For 90 minutes on Wednesday, the investor, Edward S. Lampert, the normally reclusive chairman of Sears Holding, spoke expansively about the need to change attitudes and work habits at the merged company.

One effort is already under way: assembling the company’s top 500 managers here for marathon training sessions, where a film clip from “Miracle on Ice,” about the United States hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics, is used to promote team work and improve customer service.

“In the past, we had a situation where people worked here but could not get results,” Mr. Lampert said during the first shareholder meeting for the newly formed retailer. “We need to invest in those people.”

Sears owns nearby Lands End