The Power of Being Friendly
One thing that everyone that knew Sam Walton said was that he was a very friendly, talkative man. In a recent television show about him, one person being interviewed talked about how he could sit down with someone and pretty soon they would almost tell him anything that he wanted to know.
He said, "Now, I'm a friendly fellow by nature -- I always speak to folks in the street and such." This is somewhat of an understatement. He was legendary for being genuinely friendly and liking and caring about people.
Think of that concerning managing and running a business. The great majority of people love to share their experience and knowledge with people, but they won't do it with someone they don't like or trust. Walton had an ability to be liked and trusted very quickly. As a result he was able to gather information about an enormous amount of things connected to the business he was in that it helped him in immeasurable ways.
On the other side of it, it also helped him when he was told the way that people did things that he knew were just plain wrong.
What's important is that we need to cultivate within ourselves a genuine liking for people and wanting to dig into their brains for all that they have connected to our area of business we serve. This isn't to be done with the purpose of getting information only ... people know the difference.
When you really enjoy being with people though, it rubs off and they enjoy talking to you. And when it's someone in a similar industry as you, guess what it is that you'll be talking about? Your industry of course.
I've done this a number of times with people and there wasn't a bad moment ever when I tried to pick their brains for everything I could, because the conversation was based upon genuine interest and respect. It's not something that can be faked.
Walton had it in huge way and was a big factor in building Wal-Mart (WMT) into the company it is today.
Other Sam Walton Sources:
Sam Walton: 10 Rules for Building a Successful Business
Sam Walton - Retail Success Story
Sam Walton: King Of The Discounters
Sam Walton: Great From the Start
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