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.
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Sam embodied everything we now need in order to lead effectively in the 21st century. We currently live in an era in which control of information is supremely important. So a leader must be able not only to communicate information far and wide, but also to get his or her information from a broad range of sources, not only inside but outside his organization, and get them to believe and invest in their vision.
ReplyDeleteSo whether you are selling underwear, like Sam did, or directing a company, church, charity or any other organization, most all of the same rules he enforced still apply today. Sell your ideas to your troops and win their support. Make sure that they are attuned to the organization's strategy and goals, make sure also that important information not only flows freely from you to the bottom but also rises to the leader at the top. And lastly, recognize achievement and growth as Sam did, and do it with unwavering integrity.
Sam Walton is amazing example of the qualities it takes to be a strong leader. I believe that the two most important leadership capacities are a strong moral purpose and an ability to develop and maintain relationships. Sam was gifted in both of these areas. Like Walt Disney, Sam Walton took a personal interest in his employees. He was often seen talking to his employees and sharing his ideas with them. As their companies began to expand this factor never changed. Thank you for sharing this unique look at the life of Sam Walton.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement that Sam Walton's strong communication and management techniques has supported his decision making. This is evident when one would shop at anyone of his SuperCenters. He must have been listening to the complaints of millions of parents with small children, or millions of senior citizens since he decided to put everything under on roof. This was a great idea that allowed busy people to shop for groceries, hardware and prescriptions without going to several different stores. It allowed the people to save time and money at other places and just spend all their money at Wal-Mart. Brilliant!
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