Book Review: Sam Walton, Made in America

 

                      National Bestseller

                                      ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

GENERE Autobiography

AUTHOR Sam Walton

YEAR OF PUBLISH 1992

PAGES 352

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

WALMART- the superstore. When you search fortune 500 companies Walmart remains at the top. It doesn't need an introduction. The following word after Walmart is Sam Walton - a World War II veteran, an audacious youngster, and a charismatic personality. A classic example of simple living and high thinking. When Sam Walton died in 1992, Walmart's annual sales of nearly $50 billion from 1,740  stores, 212 Sam’s Clubs, and 13 Supercenters. In January 2020, it had revenues of $524 billion and roughly $38 billion from e-commerce, and it employs more than two million people in 11,766 stores around the world.

BOOK REVIEW: SAM WALTON; MADE IN AMERICA

Autobiography is always better. Yes, the obvious reason is information is coming directly from the source, and chances of adulteration are minimized. But, I look from another angle. Unlike biographies, autobiography describes events from the eyes of the central character. My nonfictional reading experiences gave me enough evidence to prioritize perspectives and their origins. 

There is a different charm in reading autobiographies. It seems like the author is talking to readers, describing his challenges and success. I don't want to miss the experience of Sam Walton talking to me.

Made in America is inspiring and educational. This is a tale of believing in simplest idea and turning it into a multi-billion dollar legacy. The book is written in simplest format with Sam and his family members explaining chain of events.

Sam Walton shared the mantra of his success after creating one of the largest and most profitable organization in the world. He could be described as street smart who dedicated all this beliefs in discounted retail industry. He was passionate, hardworking, friendly and down to earth. But above all his curiosity to learn was never over. He admitted, he did not come up with even a single new idea and all his ideas were taken from others. Most importantly, he executed those ideas better than any one else He always kept close watch on the failures of his competitors. The downfall of K-Mart was one of his biggest lessons.  Walmart was registered in 1962 and many big sharks like Sears and Kroger were already having the lions share in retail market.

Sam Walton’s work also demonstrates that genius is not in decoding complex things but is in simplifying things to its essential truth. Sam Walton simplified whole retail into a simple idea – “Reasonable quality goods at everyday low price and customer satisfaction guaranteed”. He devoted his entire life to achieve the goal of lowest price. He developed sophisticated procedures, hired people, designed incentives to accomplish best results. He formulated a recipe to execute the retailing idea and then he just applied same recipe again and again from his first discount store in Newport in 1945.

Unlike other management stories such as Everything Store and Elon Musk, Sam Walton’s Made in America discusses minimal about best practices, tricks, and strategies. The book is more about what it looks like to materialize sheer passion and commitment without losing self. 

Readers can learn so many things from Sam Walton's life.   This is a necessary read for entrepreneurs, students, and people who want to discover themselves and serve humanity. I can better compare this book  with Dhanda; how Gujrati do business

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