Sam Walton: An American Success Story
What Can You Learn From “The Sam Walton Way?”
By Michael Bergdahl, International Speaker
Author of the Book, “The 10 Rules of Sam Walton”
I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with, and around, Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. That’s how I learned that “The Sam Walton Way” IS “The Wal-Mart Way.” What’s interesting about Sam Walton is that he was an ordinary man who accomplished the truly extraordinary through vision, hard work, and a never- say-die attitude.
Starting with little money, and a few people who believed in him, he built a corporate empire of staggering proportions. His company is now the world’s largest in sales ($378 billion), number of employees (2 million) and in the sheer size of its IT systems. The company has 7000 stores in 14 countries and it is still growing! Wal-Mart’s sales are greater than those of Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined! In fact, today, Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the world, and it faces staggering challenges never faced by any other company before! If current growth trends continue, at 7% per year, the company will eclipse $500 billion in annual sales in just over 4 years, and will become a trillion dollar a year company in sales by 2023!
So, just what can we learn from the amazing success of Sam Walton and Wal-Mart?
In a word, PLENTY! I think the tactics Sam Walton used to build Wal-Mart can be replicated by every one of us in our businesses and in our personal lives! I was so impressed by what I’d heard about Sam Walton’s leadership style that I moved my family from Dallas to the Ozark Mountains, in order to experience his leadership firsthand! And, I was not disappointed.
When I worked for Wal-Mart, I worked at the Home office in Bentonville Arkansas, and had the unique opportunity to work with Sam Walton one on one. He was one part business, one part entertainer, and one part preacher! He used every opportunity to reinforce
By Michael Bergdahl, International Speaker
Author of the Book, “The 10 Rules of Sam Walton”
I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with, and around, Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart. That’s how I learned that “The Sam Walton Way” IS “The Wal-Mart Way.” What’s interesting about Sam Walton is that he was an ordinary man who accomplished the truly extraordinary through vision, hard work, and a never- say-die attitude.
Starting with little money, and a few people who believed in him, he built a corporate empire of staggering proportions. His company is now the world’s largest in sales ($378 billion), number of employees (2 million) and in the sheer size of its IT systems. The company has 7000 stores in 14 countries and it is still growing! Wal-Mart’s sales are greater than those of Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined! In fact, today, Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the world, and it faces staggering challenges never faced by any other company before! If current growth trends continue, at 7% per year, the company will eclipse $500 billion in annual sales in just over 4 years, and will become a trillion dollar a year company in sales by 2023!
So, just what can we learn from the amazing success of Sam Walton and Wal-Mart?
In a word, PLENTY! I think the tactics Sam Walton used to build Wal-Mart can be replicated by every one of us in our businesses and in our personal lives! I was so impressed by what I’d heard about Sam Walton’s leadership style that I moved my family from Dallas to the Ozark Mountains, in order to experience his leadership firsthand! And, I was not disappointed.
When I worked for Wal-Mart, I worked at the Home office in Bentonville Arkansas, and had the unique opportunity to work with Sam Walton one on one. He was one part business, one part entertainer, and one part preacher! He used every opportunity to reinforce