Leadership Capacities

From the purchase of his very first retail store to the opening of the first Wal-Mart, Sam Walton held true to his moral purpose. His upbringing and hard work taught him the value of a dollar. He believed that the American consumer’s life should be made easier, even if it meant changing the way big business operated. Sam’s strong leadership skills were demonstrated time and again through his ability to build relationships. His relationships were created both in and out of the business world. As part of “Buy American”, he made deals with all kinds of small and large manufacturers. From a partnership with his brother and profit-sharing with his business managers to visiting his employees unannounced, Sam recognized the value of positive relationships.

Sam not only valued his relationships, but he was a good listener. He never stopped listening to the customer. Listening to the customer required Sam Walton to handle change seamlessly. A good example of this is when he spent almost $700 million building up the computer and satellite systems to retrieve data from his stores as fast as possible and his efforts in the early 90’s to eliminate unnecessary packaging to help the environment. As large as Sam Walton became, he continued to stress the importance of thinking small. He recognized that all of the $50 billion chain’s success came one store at a time. If one store was doing well selling beach towels, Sam wanted this knowledge shared with all of his stores. If the store was not doing well, Sam wanted this knowledge shared as well.

It was Sam Walton’s strong communication and management techniques that supported his coherence making. Sam was able to bring not only his employees, vendors, and other companies together in his vision but also local communities. All across the country, Wal-Mart supports a number of different institutions, events, and nonprofit organizations. Sam and his family have also given the opportunity for students from Central America to attend college in Arkansas. Sam Walton’s leadership has reached many. In fact, “every week, nearly 40 million people shop in Wal-Mart” (Walton, 1992, p. 216).


References:
Fitzgerald, K. (n.d.). Sam Walton: The Model Manager of Wal-Mart. Business Biography, Retrieved February 20, 2009, from http://www.stfrancis.edu/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/bbios/biograph/walton1.htm

Huey, J. (1998, December 7). Builders & Titans: Sam Walton. Time, Retrieved February 20, 2009, from http://www.time.com/time/time100/builder/profile/walton.html

Walton, S. (1992). Sam Walton: Made in America. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Qualities of Leadership

Sam Walton was an entrepreneur in the retail world. He had a burning ambition and believed that spirited competition was good for business. These characteristics combined with his inspiration lead me to think that Sam Walton would primarily be a “controller”. Sam was always seeking new ideas for his stores and handpicked the smartest guy from an IBM school to computerize his operations as early as 1966. He like other controllers, like fast-moving challenges and become bored if the pace is too slow. This characteristic can be best exemplified through his wife’s Helen Walton’s words, “I kept saying, Sam, we’re making a good living. Why go out, why expand so much more? The stores are getting farther and farther away. After the seventeenth store, though, I realized there wasn’t going to be any stopping it”
(Walton, 1992, p. 78).

Like many successful leaders, success did not come without much hard work and persistence. Growing up in a poor family and moving from Oklahoma to various towns in Missouri, did not deter Sam as a child. Having parents that struggled to make ends meet did not stop Sam from putting himself through school during the Great Depression. When the landlord of his first successful store would not renew his lease, he did not give up on his dream. He instead turned a profit of more than $50,000 and bought a store belonging to the Brothers’ Ben Franklin chain. Throughout his life, Sam encountered the naysayers and critics every step of the way. His management style and getting rid of the middle-man tactics were just a few controversial ideas that later proved success for Sam. Still today critics can be found pointing fingers and placing blame on Wal-Marts for our troubled economic times.

Through it all, I think the biggest turning point for Sam Walton was the opening of the first Wal-Mart in 1962. That store, along with the thousands of others since followed Sam’s values: hometown identity, being welcomed by a greeter, honoring graduating seniors with a scholarship, donations to charitable causes, and extending the cheapest prices to the consumer every day. When this dream became a reality, Sam Walton was empowered and took his leadership to a new level. However, it did not change Sam Walton. Even after the fortune and fame, it was not uncommon to find Sam Walton stopping by any of his stores to talk to the employees. Sam Walton remained a humble and passionate leader to the day he died.

References:
Fitzgerald, K. (n.d.). Sam Walton: The Model Manager of Wal-Mart. Business Biography, Retrieved February 20, 2009, from http://www.stfrancis.edu/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/bbios/biograph/walton1.htm

Huey, J. (1998, December 7). Builders & Titans: Sam Walton. Time, Retrieved February 20, 2009, from http://www.time.com/time/time100/builder/profile/walton.html


Walton, S. (1992). Sam Walton: Made in America. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Overview of Sam Walton

“We’re all working together; that’s the secret. And we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone, not just in America, but we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better lifestyle, a better life for all. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished; we’ve just begun.” (Sam Walton, 1992)

Sam Walton’s vision came true through his remarkable leadership skills. Born on March 29, 1918 into a poor farming family, Sam grew up an ambitious boy during the Great Depression. Sam Walton got his start waiting tables, lifeguarding, and delivering newspapers to put himself through the University of Missouri as his family struggled to make ends meet. After graduating, he first entered the retail world by working as a management trainee at a salary of $75.00 a month. Not long after, he met his future wife, the daughter of a prosperous banker and rancher, and had his first son in 1944.

With help from his father-in-law and money saved during his military service, Sam first changed the retail world as everyone knew it when he purchased his first department store. Central locations, a wide range of goods, discount merchandising, and longer hours were just a few of the new business ideas Sam Walton applied to the store locations he continued to buy. Sam was always looking for new ideas to improve business and more so to keep the customer happy. After successfully buying and opening numerous stores, including Walton’s Family Center, the first Wal-Mart opened its doors in 1962. It became the world’s number one retailer and has led to over 5,700 Wal-Mart locations in the world.

Although Sam Walton went from a poor town boy to the richest man in America in 1985, he spent much of his career unnoticed by the public or the press. His hard work and visions changed the structure of business that continues to be copied by many. Creating hundreds of thousands of jobs for our economy and giving all of us “low prices” has made Wal-Mart a common name in every household. Sam Walton’s hard work, ambition, and risk-taking have surely changed the American way of life.

References:
Fitzgerald, K. (n.d.). Sam Walton: The Model Manager of Wal-Mart. Business Biography, Retrieved February 20, 2009, from http://www.stfrancis.edu/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/bbios/biograph/walton1.htm

Walton, S. (1992). Sam Walton: Made in America. New York, NY: Doubleday.