The 10 Rules of Sam Walton: Success Secrets for Remarkable Results [Paperback]

Michael Bergdahl (Author), Rob Walton (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 11, 2007

Praise for

The 10 Rules Of Sam Walton

"The 10 Rules of Sam Walton is one of those books that should be read and regularly reread by . . . everyone-business-people, students, teachers, parents, and children. It transcends the limits of a traditional book about lessons in business and makes it a book about life and about successful living!"

-J. K. Knapp III, former Wal-Mart store manager,current manufacturer and supplier to Wal-Mart

As founder of Wal-Mart and its many successful divisions, Sam Walton reinvented the retailing industry through his singularity of focus, high expectations, and never-say-die attitude.

During his successful career, Sam Walton developed a list of what he considered the most important rules for entrepreneurial success. As far as he was concerned, there were ten key result areas that he considered pivotal to his own success.

Now, in The 10 Rules of Sam Walton, author and former Wal-Mart employee Michael Bergdahl reveals these rules-and the stories behind them-to help you achieve success in both your professional and personal lives. Straightforward and to the point, this book offers valuable lessons that Walton himself followed, and taught, throughout his lifetime-from Rule #1: "Be passionately committed to achieving success" to Rule # 10: "Be different and challenge the status quo."

Whether you're an entrepreneur or an hourly paid employee, The 10 Rules of Sam Walton will provide you with a blueprint for success that has proven itself time and again.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Sam Walton was one of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time. He was also a self-made man. Starting from scratch, with a singularity of focus, he built Wal-Mart into the largest and most successful company in the world.

As a continuous learner, Walton was committed to constantly increasing his own knowledge. He challenged existing business theories and paradigms by developing and implementing a new set of rules and used this new information to build and improve every aspect of Wal-Mart. During his career, Walton—who associates respectfully referred to as "Mr. Sam"—developed a list of what he considered the most important rules for entrepreneurial success. As far as he was concerned, there were ten key result areas that he considered pivotal to his own success.

In The 10 Rules of Sam Walton, author Michael Bergdahl offers you an insider's perspective of Mr. Sam's genius, by revealing the story behind the self-professed rules Walton embraced in order to become successful. Entwined in each of these rules are reoccurring themes of innovation, common sense, hard work, the power of positive thinking, and how to treat people.

With each chapter dedicated to one rule, you'll quickly discover how to:

• Motivate yourself and others to achieve your dreams
• Communicate with people and show that you care
• Appreciate and recognize people for their effort and results
• Listen to others and learn from their ideas
• Control expenses and save your way to prosperity
• Swim upstream, be different, and challenge thestatus quo
• And much more

Each of Mr. Sam's ten rules is easily understandable and can be duplicated by anyone in both their professional and personal lives. But, like so many things Wal-Mart does, these rules require a high degree of discipline to implement.

As a former Wal-Mart employee, Bergdahl had the opportunity to work directly with Sam Walton. These experiences have provided him with a treasure trove of great lessons, experiences, and stories that he now shares throughout the pages of The 10 Rules of Sam Walton. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Back Cover

Praise for

The 10 Rules Of Sam Walton

"The 10 Rules of Sam Walton is one of those books that should be read and regularly reread by . . . everyone—business-people, students, teachers, parents, and children. It transcends the limits of a traditional book about lessons in business and makes it a book about life and about successful living!"

—J. K. Knapp III, former Wal-Mart store manager,current manufacturer and supplier to Wal-Mart

As founder of Wal-Mart and its many successful divisions, Sam Walton reinvented the retailing industry through his singularity of focus, high expectations, and never-say-die attitude.

During his successful career, Sam Walton developed a list of what he considered the most important rules for entrepreneurial success. As far as he was concerned, there were ten key result areas that he considered pivotal to his own success.

Now, in The 10 Rules of Sam Walton, author and former Wal-Mart employee Michael Bergdahl reveals these rules—and the stories behind them—to help you achieve success in both your professional and personal lives. Straightforward and to the point, this book offers valuable lessons that Walton himself followed, and taught, throughout his lifetime—from Rule #1: "Be passionately committed to achieving success" to Rule # 10: "Be different and challenge the status quo."

Whether you're an entrepreneur or an hourly paid employee, The 10 Rules of Sam Walton will provide you with a blueprint for success that has proven itself time and again.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (June 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470126833
• ISBN-13: 978-0470126837
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.8 x 8.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #734,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Verbose and Sophmoric (the book, not Walton), July 31, 2006

By 

Loyd E. Eskildson "Pragmatist" (Phoenix, AZ.) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The 10 Rules of Sam Walton: Success Secrets for Remarkable Results (Hardcover)

Bergdahl's book contains the "10 Rules" posted in the company headquarters that Sam Walton viewed as key to success. Unfortunately, Bergdahl's accompanying explanation adds little, so I have chosen to add my own instead - acquired from other sources.

The 10 Rules are as follows:

1)Commit to achieving success and always be passionate. (High goals.)

2)Share success with those who have helped you. (Wal-Mart's stock plan was an important driver in the beginning; lately, the stock price has flattened and declined.)

3)Motivate yourself and others to achieve your dreams.

4)Communicate with people and show you care. (Sam continually visited his stores, reviewed achievements, and complimented his people for their ideas and accomplishments.)

5)Appreciate and recognize people for their effort and results. (See #4)

6)Celebrate your own and other's accomplishments. (See #4)

7)Listen to others and learn from their ideas. (Walton always asked his people for their ideas, and gave them the freedom to innovate to match local preferences. He was also famous for studying his competitors, and loved to copy their good ideas.)

8)Exceed expectations of customers and others.

9)Control expenses and save your way to prosperity. (Wal-Mart has become well known for its weekly expense reports that include key ratios (eg. labor) vs. sales; woe to the store manager that is not on top of the situation.)

10)Swim upstream, be different, and challenge the status quo. (Wal-Mart blazed new directions in store re-supply, use of information technology, initial store location strategy, creating the "Super-Store" concept, and always low pricing - each were key to his success.)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Agree with an earlier review, March 9, 2007

By 

Susan C. Van Abs "forever dieter" (groton, ma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The 10 Rules of Sam Walton: Success Secrets for Remarkable Results (Hardcover)

I agree with the earlier review that describes this book as "verbose." This is not as good as Bergdahl's earlier book. Read the other book he wrote instead. It is much better.

It is amazing to me how San Walton's 10 rules are different depending on who wrote the book! For a good read, read Walton's own book, MADE IN AMERICA, and then read the books written by some of his former employees.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dull, repetitive, full of clichés and platitudes, August 1, 2007

By 

A Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: The 10 Rules of Sam Walton: Success Secrets for Remarkable Results (Paperback)

Don't waste your time with this book. It's a half-hearted attempt to profit from readers' interest in Wal-Mart and the success of Sam Walton. The author struggles to find SOMETHING significant to add but falls short. Lacking anything substantive, he instead fills the pages with a few, uninteresting anecdotes (which he recycles throughout the book) and with generic, empty motivational clichés (also recycled).

Some examples:

"Believe in yourself and believe in your dreams."

"If you want to achieve your full potential, live each and every day with enthusiasm and purpose."

I mean, really?