Sam Walton’s simple business philosophy

You've probably heard the remarkable success story of this relatively simple man named Sam Walton who created an extraordinary business empire.

But you may not be aware of Sam Walton's simple business philosophy.

Sam Walton's simple business philosophy consisted of these steps; Commit, Share, Motivate, Communicate, Appreciate, Celebrate, Listen, Exceed customer expectations, Control expenses, Swim upstream.

The purpose of this article is to briefly share his simple 10-step philosophy and then point you to some helpful resources.

Let's get started.

Rule 1: Commit to your business.

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

Rule 2. Share your profits with all your associates, and treat them as partners.

In turn, they will treat you as a partner, and together you will all perform beyond your wildest expectations.

Rule 3. Motivate your partners.

Money and ownership alone aren't enough. Set high goals, encourage competition, and then keep score. Don't become too predictable.

Rule 4. Communicate everything you possibly can to your partners.

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.

Here is a helpful article on how to communicate more frequently with professional email.

Rule 5. Appreciate everything your associates do for the business.

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

Rule 6. Celebrate your success.

Don't take yourself so seriously. Loosen up, and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun. Show enthusiasm – always. All of this is more important, and more fun, than you think, and it really fools competition.

Rule 7. Listen to everyone in your company.

And figure out ways to get them talking. To push responsibility down in your organization, and to force good ideas to bubble up within it, you must listen to what your associates are trying to tell you.

Rule 8. Exceed your customers’ expectations.

Give them what they want — and a little more. Make good on all your mistakes, and don't make excuses — apologize. Stand behind everything you do.

Here is an excellent article on how to give your customers great service.

Rule 9. Control your expenses better than your competition.

This is where you can always find the competitive advantage. You can make a lot of different mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you're too inefficient.

Rule 10. Swim upstream.

Go the other way. 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.

Here is a helpful article on how you can find a breakthrough in your business by sometimes doing things that are unexpected.

How to make a breakthrough in business (+Checklist)

Helpful Resources:

If you have special skills that can help businesses get closer to these business principles, you can learn how to turn this into an income as a marketing consultant. Go here to learn how with our Nomad Marketing Starter Guide.