ffirs_bergdahl.qxd 4/20/06 3:27 PM Page iii The Ten Rules of Sam Walton Success Secrets for Remarkable Results Michael Bergdahl Foreword by Rob Walton, Chairman of the Board, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ffirs_bergdahl.qxd 3/21/06 12:20 PM Page ii ffirs_bergdahl.qxd 3/21/06 12:20 PM Page i The Ten Rules of Sam Walton ffirs_bergdahl.qxd 3/21/06 12:20 PM Page ii ffirs_bergdahl.qxd 4/20/06 3:27 PM Page iii The Ten Rules of Sam Walton Success Secrets for Remarkable Results Michael Bergdahl Foreword by Rob Walton, Chairman of the Board, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ffirs_bergdahl.qxd 3/21/06 12:20 PM Page iv Copyright © 2006 by Michael Bergdahl. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. 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In this book, the Wal-Mart Trademarks include but are not limited to Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated and its affiliates: Wal-Mart Stores, Wal-Mart, SAM’S CLUB, SAM’s, Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, Neighborhood Market, Wal-Mart Supercenter, and Supercenter. This book is in no way authorized by or endorsed by Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated or its Affiliates. All references to these trademarks and brands are used in accordance with the Fair Use Doctrine and are not meant to imply that this book is a Wal-Mart Stores Incorporated Product for advertising or other commercial purposes. For general information on our other products and services, or technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley prod- ucts, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Bergdahl, Michael. The ten rules of Sam Walton : success secrets for remarkable results / Michael “Bird Dawg” Bergdahl. p. cm. ISBN-13: 978-0-471-74812-0 (cloth) ISBN-10: 0-471-74812-9 (cloth) 1. Wal-Mart (Firm)—Management. 2. Retail trade—Management. 3. Industrial management. I. Title: Ten rules of Sam Walton. II. Title. HF5429.215.U6B467 2006 658.4′09—dc22 2005034025 Printed in the United States of America 10 987654321 ffirs_bergdahl.qxd 3/21/06 12:20 PM Page v To my wife, Sheryl, my daughter, Heather, and my son, Paul, who provide the love, support, and motivation I need to succeed! ffirs_bergdahl.qxd 3/21/06 12:20 PM Page vi ftoc_bergdahl.qxd 4/20/06 3:28 PM Page vii Contents Foreword by Rob Walton ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction Set High Expectations for Everything You Do 1 Rule #1 COMMIT to Achieving Success and Always Be Passionate 21 Rule #2 SHARE SUCCESS with Those Who Have Helped You 51 Rule #3 MOTIVATE Yourself and Others to Achieve Your Dreams 71 Rule #4 COMMUNICATE with People and Show You Care 95 Rule #5 APPRECIATE and Recognize People for Their Efforts and Results 117 Rule #6 CELEBRATE Your Own and Other’s Accomplishments 131 Rule #7 LISTEN to Others and Learn from Their Ideas 149 Rule #8 EXCEED EXPECTATIONS of Customers and Others 173 vii ftoc_bergdahl.qxd 3/21/06 12:25 PM Page viii viii CONTENTS Rule #9 CONTROL EXPENSES and Save Your Way to Prosperity 197 Rule #10 SWIM UPSTREAM, Be Different, and Challenge the Status Quo 215 Conclusion Our People Make the Difference 239 About the Author 249 Index 251 fbetw.qxd 3/27/06 11:31 AM Page ix Foreword any authors have written books, positive and negative, Mabout the American phenomenon that is Wal-Mart. Michael Bergdahl has an advantage, in that he worked for my father and came to learn many of Dad’s lessons about success in business, and in life, from Dad himself. My father never set out to run the world’s largest company. He said many times that he wanted to provide value for customers, create a great workplace for his associates, and be a positive force in the communities we call home. He did so with the values of respect, hard work, continuous improvement, and service, which are as relevant today as they were when he laid them down in the 1960s. Dad believed strongly in the power of people, so it’s fitting that most of his rules for business are really about people, and what can be achieved when you believe in yourself and believe in others. Dad has been gone for more than a dozen years now, but his values live on at the 6,700 stores that serve hundreds of millions of cus- tomers every week, all around the world. As large as Wal-Mart has become, we still find ourselves referring to Dad’s “Rules for a Successful Business,” embodied in this book. S. Robson “Rob” Walton Chairman of the Board, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ix fbetw.qxd 3/27/06 11:31 AM Page x flast_bergdahl.qxd 3/21/06 1:49 PM Page xi Acknowledgments Special thanks to the following individuals who helped make this book possible: Sam Fleischman, Literatry Artist Representatives David Pugh, Senior Editor, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Wal-Mart Managers: J. Knapp III Perry Cheatham Frank Baugh Randy Smith Robert Sauvage Andrea Rader xi flast_bergdahl.qxd 3/21/06 1:49 PM Page xii cintro_Bergdahl.qxd 3/27/06 10:38 AM Page 1 INTRODUCTION Set High Expectations for Everything You Do Sam Walton’s ability to maintain the highest standards, while at the same time getting things done with lockstep execution, was his secret for achieving operational excellence. 1 cintro_Bergdahl.qxd 3/27/06 10:38 AM Page 2 2 THE TEN RULES OF SAM WALTON ’ll never forget the first time I met Wal-Mart’s founding father, ISam Walton, or Mr. Sam as everyone at Wal-Mart respectfully chose to refer to him. I had arrived in Bentonville, Arkansas, the previous evening and had stayed the night at a Quality Inn, just down the street from Wal-Mart’s home office. Bright and early at 7:00 A.M. that Saturday morning I arrived for my interviews with the executive staff of the company. The Wal-Mart executives and headquarters staff all work on Saturday mornings starting at 7:00 A.M. and attend their famous Saturday morning meetings so my arrival for an interview on Saturday fit right into their aggressive work routine. I had three scheduled interviews that day: the first interview with the chief human resources offi- cer, the second with the chief merchandising officer (CMO), and the last with the chief operating officer (COO). As I walked over to my interview with the COO, I remember thinking about a question the CMO had asked me about “what kind of vehicle I drove.” Little did I know that when I answered that I drove a pickup truck, I had passed an important Wal-Mart cultural test and that, strangely enough, that answer would be a critical com- ponent to my successful interview on that Saturday. You see, Sam Walton, the world’s richest man, was known around northwest Arkansas as the billionaire who drove an old red and white 1979 Ford pickup truck. I had passed interview test number one. At the end of my interview with the COO, I noticed he was looking over my shoulder into the doorway, so naturally I fol- lowed his glance and standing in the doorway behind me was an old man wearing coveralls. For just a moment I was under the mistaken impression that this was the janitor who had arrived to pick up the trash that Saturday morning, and then it hit me that this was Sam Walton! I’ll never forget the introduction I got to Sam Walton from the COO in his eloquent southern accent. He cintro_Bergdahl.qxd 3/27/06 10:38 AM Page 3 SET HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO 3 said, “Mr. Sam, this is Michael Bergdahl.” Sam Walton looked at me kind of funny and responded quizzically, “Bird Dawg”? For just a moment, I didn’t know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing to be referred to as “Bird Dawg” by Sam Walton.