What I Learned From Sam Walton

Praise for WHAT I LEARNED FROM SAM WALTON "e;Michael Bergdahl's book presents unique insights into the staggering international success of Wal-Mart. Throughout the pages of this book, you can almost hear Sam Walton himself coaching and inspiring his legion of employees to greatness."e; -Tracy Mullin, President and CEO, National Retail Federation "e;Retailers, non-retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers will enjoy Bergdahl's insights into Wal-Mart's service culture and its leadership icon, Sam Walton."e; -Roger J. Dow, Senior Vice President Global and Field SalesMarriott International, Inc. Bergdahl outlines his competitive strategy with the acronym P.O.C.K.E.T.S. P-Price: Don't try to compete on price; differentiate your product selection. O-Operations: Break the retail "e;ready, shoot, aim"e; tactical orientation bydeveloping an actual strategy to compete. C-Culture: Build a can-do culture with a strong sense of urgency. Communicate your values and beliefs over and over again to your employees. K-Key Item Promotion/Product: Determine who you are and uniformly communicate your brand message to your entire team. E-Expenses: Become obsessed about controlling costs. T-Talent: Recruit constantly and hire people who have both experience and high potential. S-Service: Never take your customer for granted. Empower your employees to make decisions involving customer concerns.

Praise for WHAT I LEARNED FROM SAM WALTON"Michael Bergdahl's book presents unique insights into thestaggering international success of Wal-Mart. Throughout the pagesof this book, you can almost hear Sam Walton himself coaching andinspiring his legion of employees to greatness."
-Tracy Mullin, President and CEO, National Retail Federation
"Retailers, non-retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers will enjoyBergdahl's insights into Wal-Mart's service culture and itsleadership icon, Sam Walton."
-Roger J. Dow, Senior Vice President Global and Field SalesMarriottInternational, Inc.
Bergdahl outlines his competitive strategy with the acronymP.O.C.K.E.T.S.
P-Price: Don't try to compete on price; differentiate your productselection.
O-Operations: Break the retail "ready, shoot, aim" tacticalorientation bydeveloping an actual strategy to compete.
C-Culture: Build a can-do culture with a strong sense of urgency.Communicate your values and beliefs over and over again to youremployees.
K-Key Item Promotion/Product: Determine who you are and uniformlycommunicate your brand message to your entire team.
E-Expenses: Become obsessed about controlling costs.
T-Talent: Recruit constantly and hire people who have bothexperience and high potential.
S-Service: Never take your customer for granted. Empower youremployees to make decisions involving customer concerns.

Foreword xi
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xiv
Introduction Picking Wal-Mart's POCKETS--Strategiesand Tactics I Learned From Sam Walton 1
Chapter 1 Pricing Strategies and Tactics 15
Chapter 2 Operational Strategies and Tactics 39
Chapter 3 Cultural Strategies and Tactics 61
Chapter 4 Key Item/Product Strategies and Tactics 87
Chapter 5 Expense Control Strategies and Tactics 113
Chapter 6 Talent Strategies and Tactics 131
Chapter 7 Service Strategies and Tactics 163
Conclusion 187
Appendix Competitive Business Strategies and Tactics;Self-Assessment to Help You Evaluate Your Ability to Compete andSurvive Against Wal-Mart 199
Notes 221
About the Author 225
Index 227