Michael Bergdahl

The 10 Rules
of Sam Walton
by Michael Bergdahl

ISBN:0-471-74812-9 | $24.95 | Available May 2006

"Every month my staff of 34 employees will read a book for motivation and inspiration. I just wanted you to know that we have chosen your book, "The 10 Rules of Sam Walton" for this month's selection. We picked your book because of its motivation and inspiration of sales advice, teaching us how to go above and beyond the competition, as well as how to get customers and hold on to them. Your book gives much wisdom and knowledge of lessons that might take a lifetime to learn. Our employees look forward to reading these books each month, and I just wanted to say thank you for inspiring my staff!"
Matthew J. Rettick, Founder & CEO, Covenant Reliance Producers LLC

Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, is the most successful entrepreneur in the history of the world.
Yet to his dying day, he believed that everyone had something to teach him. He would engage in conversation with people he'd never spoken to before: asking pointed questions and then quietly listening to others talk about their success. Most of the time, Sam would take notes for use later. He used this same approach when dealing with employees or customers.

What lay behind his success?
During his career, Sam developed a list of what he considered the most important rules for entrepreneurial success. As far as he was concerned, there were 10 Key Result Areas which he considered pivotal to his own success:

Rule 1 - COMMIT to achieving success and always be passionate
Rule 2 - SHARE SUCCESS with those who have helped you
Rule 3 - MOTIVATE yourself and others to achieve your dreams
Rule 4 - COMMUNICATE with the people and show you care
Rule 5 - APPRECIATE and recognize people for their effort and results
Rule 6 - CELEBRATE your own and other's accomplishments
Rule 7 - LISTEN to others and learn from their ideas
Rule 8 - EXCEED EXPECTATIONS of customers and others
Rule 9 - CONTROL EXPENSES and save your way to prosperity
Rule 10 - SWIM UPSTREAM, be different, and challenge the status quo

Each of these rules is easily understandable and can be duplicated by all company leaders. But, like so many things Wal-Mart does, they require a high degree of organizational discipline to implement. Often, it is the breakdown in execution of the strategies, not the strategies themselves, which lead to business failures. In this book, Bergdahl shows readers how Wal-Mart does it, and how they can too.

Order The 10 Rules of Sam Walton at amazon.com or BN.com today!