Walton may have been the first true information-age CEO
For years Sam Walton operated under the radar of the vast majority of competitors, analysts and writers. Nobody took him too seriously (if they heard of him at all) until Forbes started digging around one year and found that he was the richest man in America.
His laid back, relaxed lifestyle, along with his lack of concern over living high, made him look very "aw shucksy" to those observers looking from the outside. In reality, he saw things far ahead of his times, as we talked about last post.
Now back to how Walton managed the growth of the company. Again, he knew he needed a pro to put together a system that could put merchandise in his stores at an unprecedented rate and accuracy. He knew that it would have to be done with computerized merchandise controls in place.
He was right, and the results were that he became a champion of just-in-time inventory control, along with sophisticated logistics. In other words, he was fully in the information age in a way that left his competitors in the dust. The information from his systems put him and Wal-Mart in a huge competitive advantage.
Wal-Mart eventually developed the worlds second-largest computer database, only behind the Pentagon - as far as capacity goes.
In all of this, Walton simply kept being who he was. People always underestimated him because they thought he was so far behind the times and not enlightened as they were. Yet in truth, he was way ahead of everyone in the retail space.
As it says at the top of the post, Walton may have been the first true information-age CEO. Walton understood that the vision he had for the company and the ability to get not only product to stores quickly and accurately, but the "right" product to the stores, was the key to the future growth of the company. His understanding and vision proved to be true.
Other Walton Sources:
The Most Underrated CEO Ever The legendary Sam Walton
Sam Walton: The Power of Persistence
Sam Walton Business Quotes for Ya
Remember to Sign up for my feed, bizzbite and digg this!
Sponsored link: The outsourcing every manager requires - Tampa Locksmith
Comment Preview