Sam walton made in america review

In a story rich with anecdotes and the "rules of the road" of both Main Street and Wall Street, Sam Walton chronicles the inspiration, heart, and optimism that propelled him to lasso the American Dream.

Meet a genuine American folk hero cut from the homespun cloth of America's heartland: Sam Walton, who parlayed a single dime store in a hardscrabble cotton town into Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world. The undisputed merchant king of the late twentieth century, Sam never lost the common touch. Here, finally, inimitable words. Genuinely modest, but always sure if his ambitions and achievements. Sam shares his thinking in a candid, straight-from-the-shoulder style.

Sam Walton is one of the greatest businessmen that ever lived. It is hard not to agree with that statement. He founded Wal-Mart from scratch in the neglected Midwest of America and transformed his company into the largest retailer in the world. No small feat.

The book feels like a family gathering - Sam Walton sharing with his grandsons the story and secrets of his success. If I may, I would say it is mandatory reading for entrepreneurs, especially those in the retailing business.

And I love how Sam Walton puts it, “it is a story about entrepreneurship, and risk, and hard work, and knowing where you want to go and being willing to do what it takes to get there. It’s a story about believing in your idea even when maybe some other folks don’t, and about sticking to your guns”.

It’s a story of ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things.

I am sure you will love reading the book, still trying to be efficient, I will focus on the business implications of his philosophy - both practical and from a cultural standpoint.

In the end of his story, he tries to summarise his professional successes in 10 rules, stated below. But, honestly, the best rules are the ones that we can imply from his life, which will follow afterwards.

Rule 1: Passion. Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anybody else.

Rule 2: Don’t be cheap. Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners. In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations.

Rule 3: Challenge. Motivate your partners. Money and ownership alone aren’t enough. x Come up with new and more interesting ways to motivate and challenge your partners. Daily. Don’t become too predictable.

Rule 4: Be clear. Communicate everything you possibly can with your partners. The more they know, the more they will understand. The more they understand, the more they will care. Once they care, there’s no stopping them.

Rule 5: Care. Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. A pay check and stock option will buy one kind of loyalty. But all of us like to be told how much somebody appreciates what we do for them. If you want your people to take care of your customers, you have to take care of your people.

Rule 6: Have fun. Celebrate your successes. Find some humour in your failures. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Loosen up, and everybody around yourself will loosen up too.

Rule 7: Always listen. Listen to everyone in your company. And figure out ways to get them talking. The folks on the front lines are the only ones who really know what’s going on out there.

Rule 8: Expectations. Exceed your customers’ expectations. If you do, they’ll be coming back time and time again.

Rule 9: Be frugal. Control your expenses better than your competition.

Rule 10: Create your own rules. Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom.

The aforementioned rules could be enough for most, but they don’t even tap the surface of why Sam Walton did so much. So, I will pinpoint below what I view as the core of Sam Walton’s business philosophy, and what makes it all stick together beautifully.

Core value 1: Work hard.

Core value 2: Dream. Set your expectations very high. Believe in yourself.

Core value 3: Don’t be afraid to fail. Never quit.

Core value 4: Be competitive. Push harder. And, always plan on winning. Create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Core value 5: But, stay honest. Honesty will bring you reciprocity.

Core value 6: Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Core value 7: Find your purpose and focus. Be mission oriented. The key is in the unpretentious details, such as calling your employees, associates.

Core value 8: Never do it for others. Do it for yourself. “One person seeking glory doesn’t accomplish much”.

Core value 9: Be and stay consistent. Always. Never forget who you are, and what your core values are. Consistency will win the game.

It is just perfect. It’s simple and perfect.

Before I finish this review, I will now state the rules most retailers were expecting. The secret sauce to Sam Walton’s successful store:

“The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And they want everything: a wide assortment of good quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what they buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience”.

Easy? No.

It is amazing how Sam Walton built every little detail of his empire to make sure his purpose was achieved: providing to the customers, and saving them money. In every spending discussion, in every negotiation, all the associates and stakeholders knew that they were only trying to serve the customers. This straightforward and simple mind-set led to several partnerships with suppliers, with landlords, the stock market, and it all closed the loop beautifully with lower prices, higher volume, more cash flow, more stores...

To Sam Walton, it all translates into thinking small. Here are the six rules of thinking small on retailing from Sam Walton. Each one deserves a moment of reflection (complements the 10 rules of business):

1. Think one store at a time.

2. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.

3. Keep your ear to the ground.

4. Push responsibility - and authority - down.

5. Force ideas to bubble up.

6. Stay lean. Fight bureaucracy.

It is astonishing that the book was written in 1992, and the current best companies and business thinkers I know seem to follow most of the mind-set that Sam Walton set in 1960 when he opened the first Wal-Mart store.

What is the summary of Made in America Sam Walton?

Brief summary Sam Walton: Made in America by Sam Walton with John Huey is the story of the man who created Walmart. It details his life and business strategies that transformed a single store into the largest retailer in the world.

What is the summary of Made in America?

Sam Walton: Made in America is an autobiography written by Sam Walton and John Huey. It tells the remarkable story of how Sam Walton grew Walmart into the behemoth it is today. The book was published in 1993, but unfortunately, Sam passed away in 1992 from multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.

What was Sam Walton's famous quote?

A quote from Sam Walton: “If you want a successful business, your people must feel that you are working for them—not that they are working for you.”

What was Sam Walton worth when he died?

Sam Walton Died The Richest Man in The World; What Was His Net Worth?.