Baronburg & Haven.: Quotations from Sam Walton Himself

I guess in all my years, what I heard more than anything else was: a mere town cannot support a discount store for very long.^{[citation needed]}

I'd hate to see any descendants of mine fall into the category of what I call "idle rich"...I hope they'll feel compelled to do something productive and useful and challenging...working on cures for cancer, or figuring out ways to bring culture and education to the underprivilieged, or becoming missionaries for free enterprise in the Third World. Or maybe — and this is strictly my idea — there's another Walton merchant lurking in the wings somewhere down the line.^{[citation needed]}

There is only one boss: the customer, and he (or she) can fire everyone in the company from the chairman and down, simply by spending their money somewhere else.^{[citation needed]}

There’s a lot more business out there in small town America than I ever dreamed of.

Remain a corporation and retain control if you like, but behave as a servant leader in a partnership.

Money and ownership alone aren’t enough. Set high goals, encourage competition, and then keep score.

Keep everybody guessing as to what your next trick is going to be,” he said. “Don’t become too predictable.

The more they know, the more they’ll understand. The more they understand, the more they’ll care. Once they care, there’s no stopping them.

Information is power, and the gain you get from empowering your associates more than offsets the risk of informing your competitor.

Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free – and worth a fortune.

The folks on the front lines – the ones who actually talk to the customer – are the only ones who really know what’s going on out there.

There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.

The two most important words I ever wrote were on that first Wal-Mart sign, ‘Satisfaction Guaranteed’. They're still up there, and they have made all the difference.

Each Wal-Mart store should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community.

The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And really, if you think about it from the point of view of the customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience.

If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you – like a fever.

I probably have traveled and walked into more variety stores than anybody in America. I am just trying to get ideas, any kind of ideas that will help our company.

I think I overcame every single one of my personal shortcomings by the sheer passion I brought to my work. I don’t know if you’re born with this kind of passion, or if you can learn it. But I do know you need it.

Ignore the conventional wisdom. If everybody else is doing it one way, there's a good chance you can find your niche by going in exactly the opposite direction.

I guess in all my years, what I heard more often than anything was: A town of less than 50,000 population cannot support a discount store for very long.

I had to pick myself up and get on with it, do it all over again, only even better this time.

I have always been driven to buck the system, to innovate, to take things beyond where they've been.

A computer can tell you down the dime what you’ve sold. But it can never tell you how much you could have sold.

Don't take yourself so seriously. Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun.

My feeling is that just because we work so hard, we don't have to go around with long faces all the time. While we're doing all of this work, we like to have a good time.

Celebrate your successes. Find some humor in your failures. Don't take yourself so seriously. Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun. Show enthusiasm — always. When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song. Then make everybody else sing with you. Don't do a hula on Wall Street. It's been done. Think up your own stunt. All of this is more important, and more fun, than you think, and it really fools the competition. "Why should we take those cornballs at Wal-Mart seriously?"

When all else fails, put on a costume and sing a silly song. Then make everybody else sing with you.

All of this is more important, and more fun, than you think. Don’t do a hula on Wall Street. It's been done. Think up your own stunt.

Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.

Baronburg & Haven.