Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

Answer: Nothing

At times it's good to see some of the biggest companies in the world make mistakes to remind us what not to do. That's what's happened with Wal-Mart (WMT) and their failed attempt at becoming "trendy."

This was underscored yesterday as Claire A. Watts, executive vice president of apparel merchandising, was announced to be leaving her job next week. Some analysts have said it's about time.

What happened, no matter how it is spun, was the company left its core purpose and core customer; it's nothing more complicated than that.

Clothing for the retail giant is estmated to account for between 10 to 15 percent of store sales. When people rejected the trendy lines, it made a huge impact on same-store sales, causing the stock to lag.

One quick note on management careers: know what you're getting into before you commit. With Watts - who has been spoken of favorably, as she was named as one of Fortune magazine's 50 most influential business women, won the Sam Walton Hero Award, and received the highest honor within the company, being awarded with the Sam M. Walton Entrepreneur of the Year Award - what did it get her? A goodbye.

As Warren Buffett said concerning management, good businesses can make bad managers look good, and bad businesses can make great managers look bad. It all has to do with the business. Think of that within a business too. Does your offer for advancement coincide with the stated purpose of the business? Does it work with the core customer the business serves? If it doesn't, know that you're taking a big risk in your career. Watts found that out the hard way.

Wal-Mart has stated in the past that it will adapt itself to whatever market it serves. I think they're finding out it can't be done. I understand adaption as far as regions and weather etc., but to change the entire focus to try to impress a customer that may not even frequent your store, is a mistake.

The other mistake in hiring Julie Roehm, who attempted to make Wal-Mart into a trendy store brand, fell through horribly as well. The results were the same. The core customer of Wal-Mart doesn't respond to this.

I've been surprised at how long Wal-Mart has held on to this. Months ago it was shown that it wasn't working. For Wal-Mart to be one thing in the heartland and something entirely different on the coasts, doesn't make any sense.

It would be better to open a new franchise to compete directly with Target (TGT) than to continually try to force this into the company; it simply won't work.

The bottom line is we need to keep our discipline in serving our core purpose, values and customer. Those that get away from that will be punished by their customers. If people will do it to Wal-Mart, they'll do it to anybody.