Sam Walton

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> We are proud of what we have accomplished; we have just begun.

> Somehow over the years folks have got the impression that Wal-Mart is something I dreamed up out of the blue as a middle aged man and that it was just this great idea that turned into an over-night success. Like most other over- night successes it was about twenty years in the making.

> I had no vision of the scope of what I would start but I had confidence that as long as we did our work well and were good to our customers, there would be no limit to us.

> The big lesson that we learned was that there was much, much more than we ever dreamed of.

> I was notorious for looking at what others were doing, taking the best of it and then making it better.

> High expectations are the key to everything. What motivates me is the desire to be absolutely on top of the heap. It is not money.

> I get up everyday, bound and determined to improve something. I am never afraid of being wrong. However, once I see I am wrong, I just shake it off and head in another direction.

> We are not interested in charity here in business, we do not believe in subsidizing substandard work or inefficiency.

> We had to keep expenses to the minimum. That is where it started. Our money was made controlling expenses.

> We don't need to buy a yacht. Thank goodness we never thought that we had to go out and buy anything like an island. We just don't have those kinds of needs or ambitions, which wreck a lot of companies when they get along in years.

> We are not ashamed of having money but I just don't believe a big showy lifestyle is appropriate for anywhere. Folks work hard everywhere for their money and we know everyone puts on their trousers one leg at a time.

>   Exercising ego in public is definitely not the way to build an organization; one-person seeking glory never accomplishes much.

> Set a goal and try achieving it, if it doesn't work, anyway you had fun trying.

> I learnt at a very early age that it was important for us kids to help provide for the home, to be contributors rather than just takers.

> You love it when you visit a store and somehow it exceeds your expectations, and you hate it when a store inconveniences you or gives you a hard time or just pretends you are invisible.

> If you want people in the stores to take care of the customers, you have to make sure that you are taking care of people in the stores.

>   If you take someone who lacks the experience and the know-how but has the real desire and the willingness to work his tail off to get the job done, he will make up for what he lacks.

> Every time our executives head across the country on visits, we have drummed this idea into their head that they should come back with something that pays back for their trip.

> The folks on the front lines - the ones who actually talk to the customers -are the only ones who really know what's going on out there.

>   If you are good to people and fair with them and demanding of them, they will eventually decide you are on their side.

>   Folks who stand all day on their feet get exhausted and frustrated too, and they need someone to share it with who is in a position to find a solution.

> There is absolutely no limit to what plain, ordinary working people can accomplish if they're given the opportunity, encouragement and incentive to do their best.

> Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel.  If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.

> We exist to provide value to our customers, which means in addition to quality and service, we have to save them money.

> Every time we save the customers a dollar, we stay one step ahead of the competition, which is where we always plan to be.

>   If we buy anything for more than the best price, my customers shall be buying somebody's inefficiency and that's not acceptable.

> I have always told my buyers, you are not negotiating for Wal-Mart; you are negotiating for the customers of Wal-Mart.

> There is only one boss - the customer. He can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by: spending his money somewhere else.