Sam Walton : Made in America My Story

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This is a man who was at work at 4:30 in the morning, had warmth and charm throughout the day, an interest in his customers, and who treated his associates well as persons, not just as clerks and salespeople,” said Walter Loeb, a retailing consultant, according to The New York Times. Unfortunately, many of those values have been lost. While you may not love the Wal-Mart of today, there are many great lessons in this book that you can learn and apply, especially if you follow his philosophy that, " you can learn from everybody." Table of Contents:

Scott, Roy Vernon; Vance, Sandra Stringer (1994). Wal-Mart: A History of Sam Walton's Retail Phenomenon. ISBN 0-8057-9833-1. LS Robson; “He influenced me a great deal. He was a great salesman, one of the most persuasive individuals I have ever met. And I am sure his success as a trader and a businessman, his knowledge of finance and the law, and his philosophy had a big effect on me. My competitive nature was such that i saw his success and admired it . I didn’t envy it. I admired it. I said to myself: maybe I will be as successful as he is someday.” p.7 Walton also made sure they took the time to celebrate. No moment better represents that than the video above. Embrace change: Sam Walton was always looking for ways to improve his business. He was willing to try new things and take risks, even if it meant making mistakes. He encouraged his employees to do the same and to always be looking for ways to improve. Tedlow, Richard S. (July 23, 2001). "Sam Walton: Great From the Start". Working Knowledge. Harvard Business School. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015 . Retrieved March 30, 2012.When visiting a supplier Walton noticed the staff huddling together and cheering at the beginning of a workday. He loved the idea and immediately did the same in his new flagship store. Sam Walton: Made in America” is available in English language editions. There are no known translations available in other languages. Book Editions Ortega, Bob. "In Sam We Trust: The Untold Story of Sam Walton and How Wal-Mart Is Devouring America". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 9, 2005 . Retrieved February 7, 2007. A winning mentality and letting go of your own mistakes or achievements, for that matter, can take you far away - “To succeed in this world, you have to change all the time.” So in 1962, Sam Walton opened his first discounter store in a town called Rogers Arkansas. That was the birth of Wal-Mart. The first Wal-Mart was a big hit immediately, with almost a million dollars in sales per year. Sam Walton recognized these stores were the future of retail and he wanted to stay ahead of the trend by opening up more and more Wal-Marts. Some of the other big retail companies resisted the discounter trend, probably because they didn’t want to give up the 45% markup they were used to charging customers.

It's also a great, constrained time to make sure problems don't get swept under the rug, or grow too big. Everyone knows what's going to be reported at the meetings, so there's no chance to hide and no reason to. Everyone at one time or another has needed a hand, and been helped. 2) Learn from everyone. Sam Walton was born in 1918, to a lower-class family in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. The Waltons didn’t have much but Sam’s parents made sure he was taken care of. He is a very competitive person who values the customers & employees. He also believes in saving every dollar: I often read biographies to learn more about how other successful people started their journey. After I finished like 40% of the book he already had founded Walmart and opened hundreds of stores (and bought an airplane). I'm missing more of the youth part and struggles here. Executive compensation. Walmart executives are rewarded more based on how the company performs. If Walmart doesn’t grow, they make a lot less income.

The book was never boring and seemed quite fair. He admitted in the book to making many mistakes, and that was nice to see. He did not come across as arrogant at all, just very strong willed and having almost unbounded energy and focus on the business.