Walton Continued to Innovate
There was a time in the retail business when people would have to go from department to department and pay for each item from each department at a different register. It was quite a hassle at the time.
Walton saw this and made changes in his Wal-Mart (WMT) stores by putting all the check-out counters up front. All the registers were moved to near the exits. Now customers could pay for everything in one place rather than be forced to go 
through the process over and over again.
I know that this doesn't sound too revolutionary, but at the time, it was huge. If you ever had to go through that, the changes by Walton were a big breath of fresh air for those shopping in his stores.
Many times when we think of innovation, the thought is that it's always relating to huge disruptions in the industry of products or services that make the difference. Of course, those things are important. But we need to understand that for those that count the most - our customers - this was a huge, positive disruption that changed the entire industry for the better.
It was another one of those common sense ideas that Walton adapted to his stores that kept him so far ahead of his competitors, even when he was smaller in sales volume than they were.
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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