Sam Walton

But Sam was also frugal, to put it mildly.

It wasn't unusual for managers to get a cream pie in the face, to have to dress up like a clown and greet customers for a day or to shave their heads when a goal was achieved.

He would rather be out with the folks doing the real work of retail than sit around in meeting in the home office.

Walton loved listening to individual employees. He particularly liked talking to the truck drivers—they saw more stores per week than anyone else, and they tended to say what they really thought.

Walton also had an allergy for bureaucracy. He wanted to reduce the number of layers in the company, from chairman to the store associates.

You might call his style: management by looking over your shoulder.

When Sam feels a certain way, he is relentless. He will just wear you out. He will bring up an idea, we'll all discuss it and then decide maybe that it's not something we should be doing right now—or ever. Fine. Case closed. But two weeks later, he'll bring it up again.

Our very unusual willingness to share most of the numbers of our business with all the associates … It's the only way they can possibly do their jobs to the best of their abilities—to know what's going on in their business.

Never be satisfied. There's always room for improvement.

Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom.

I probably have traveled and walked into more variety stores than anybody in America. I am just trying to get ideas, any kind of ideas that will help our company. Most of us don't invent ideas. We take the best ideas from someone else.

He got arrested in Brazil while studying competitors.

I learn from everyone I meet even if it's learning what not to do.

I probably have traveled and looked at more stores than any other person in the world.

I was a little bit of a tightwad. I'm still a tightwad. I'm not ashamed of it.

I have always been driven to the point of obsession in everything I've ever done.

I just don't believe in paying full price for anything.

I'd rather have them calling me 'cheap Sam' than 'extravagant Sam.'

I'm a great believer in getting out and walking around and seeing what the competition is doing.

I've been in the store business all my life, and I love it. I love the smell of the floor wax.