One of the best ways to learn about leadership is to read stories about great leaders. My first choice is a good autobiography written by a leader I respect. My second choice is a well-written biography. I think autobiographies are more realistic and include the human
frailties and inadequacies better than a biography does.
Anyway, I read the autobiography of the founder of
Wal*Mart
Sam Walton: Made In America
. Near the end of the book he lists Sam's Rules for Building a Business:
- Commit to your business
- Share your profits with all your associates
- Motivate your partners
- Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners
- Appreciate everything your associates do for the business
- Celebrate your successes
- Listen to everyone in your company
- Exceed your customers' expectations
- Control your expenses better than your competition
- Swim upstream
So here is a guy who drives an old pickup truck to get around, learned to fly an airplane so he could better determine the location of his new stores, loved to hunt and play tennis, and often traveled with his hunting dogs. He changed the face of American business.
Wal*Mart doesn't produce anything, but they are the masters of the supply chain. Walton redefined American business by getting the goods from the producer to the consumer. And along the way, he became the richest man in America. He claimed to be a man consumed with a passion for merchandising. I pray that I could be as consumed with a passion, but not for merchandising. Definitely one of my favorite autobiographies,
Sam Walton: Made In America.
No comments:
Post a Comment