Book Suggestions and Reviews - Book 1 Made In America

One of the things I loved about corporate America was the commitment to developing leaders. I was lucky enough at Walmart and Asurion to take part in leadership programs that provided wonderful reading suggestions on how to succeed in work and life. This blog is a dedicated series with some suggestions of books that I loved and want to share with you.

The first three in the series are about leaders from companies I worked for: Walmart, Asurion and Joan Herlong & Associates, Sotheby’s International Realty. Sam Walton’s book “Made in America” provides tips from Sam on how he built the Walmart dynasty. Jim Collins was a professor at Stanford and trusted advisor who helped shape the foundation and culture at Asurion. His book “Good to Great” should be in everyone’s library. Joan Herlong is a real estate legend in upstate South Carolina. She has just penned her first book “As Is”. It is a great read for both realtors and anyone about to buy or sell a home. She provides great insights on what your relationship with a realtor should look like.

We will start week one with Sam Walton’s “Made in America”. “Made in America” was first published in 1992, the same year that Sam Walton died at the age of 74. The book is an autobiography that covers Sam’s journey to retailer and the history of Walmart. It gives key strategies and management principles that led to overwhelming success and Sam becoming the wealthiest person in the United States.

Sam started his retail career in 1945 when he ran a successful “Five and Dime” store in Newport, Arkansas. It was at this store that Sam learned and developed three key sales principles that gave him an advantage over his competitors: 1) the advantage of lower pricing to generate higher sales volume; 2) having a unique variety of high-quality merchandise; and 3) running wacky promotions to get foot traffic. After 5 years, the landlord seeing how well Sam was doing decided he wanted the location and business and refused to renew Sam’s lease.

This led Sam to relocate to Bentonville, Arkansas where he opened another “Five and Dime” on the town square. Bentonville at the time was a small town of 5,000 people. Sam worked hard and over the next decade built up to 15 variety stores across three states. Sam was a retailer 24/7 365 days a year. The book describes family vacations when Sam would make stops at retail stores to scope the competition and get ideas.

In the early 1960s he sensed a threat to all variety stores from massive superstores, with over 100,000 square feet, and the rise of discount stores in metropolitan areas. Rather than be disrupted by the coming seismic shift, Sam saw an opportunity to build discount stores focused on more rural towns than major cities. He pitched the idea to Ben Franklin executives who were the Five and Dime brand Sam owned for his variety stores. When Ben Franklin passed on the idea, Same with the help of family, borrowed money and opened the first Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962.

1962 is known by many as the birth of superstores in the United States. That year Walmart, KMart, Target and Woolworth all opened their first stores. Walmart was the little fish in rural America. While the other major retailers focused on metropolitan areas, Sam was growing unnoticed across the rural south. By 1968, Walmart had 13 stores and a few warehouses. By the time other retailers took notice of Walmart and wanted to expand into rural areas, Walmart was too far ahead. In 1970, Walmart went public to pay off its debts. Sam describes the massive debt and decision to go public in the book. Over the next decade, Walmart doubled every 2 years, from 32 stores and $31 million in sales in 1970, to 276 stores and $1.2 billion in 1980.

The book walks you though Sam’s 10 rules of business. At the center of Walmart culture is the customer always comes first. The book is an easy read and provides entertaining stories on the growth of Walmart and some of Sam’s parenting strategies that allowed his family to invest (sometimes unwillingly) in the company.

Walmart was part of my childhood and will always have a special part in my heart. I grew up in a small town in north Louisiana. Walmart opened its first store in Bastrop, Louisiana when I was around 10 years old. They always ran funky promotions. I had my first helicopter ride at a Walmart. They brought in a helicopter and gave 15 minutes rides for $5. In 2012, I went to work for Walmart as a Global Investigator focused on harassment and discrimination executive complaints. Over the next 7 years, I worked in the Health & Wellness division leading the Privacy team, and in International Compliance as part of the team that build a central compliance program to oversee the 18 foreign countries where Walmart did business. I was privileged to see Walmart from the inside and can attest that all of the principles you read in the book are still alive and well at the company.

I hope you enjoy the read. Feel free to leave comments on the book or ask any questions.