One of the greatest success stories of the 20th century was Sam Walton. He was famous for dropping in at one of his stores unannounced and seeing that everything was the way he wanted it. Reportedly, he was always kind and friendly to employees and customers alike. Mr. Walton traveled in an old pick-up truck wearing overalls and no one ever thought of him as pretentious.
He had managed a store for James Cash Penny, who in 1914 wrote his famous doctrine on customers service. Mr. Penny used that doctrine as a basis for training his store managers. Sam Walton later tried to adapt the same Penny philosophies to his fledgling new company when he founded Wal-Mart. He wanted to copy a very successful company.
Learn from Sam. Pattern your company after one with a history of success in your chosen profession. Don't copy an operation which has not been around very long and which doesn't have a proven track record. Be very careful about accepting advice from strangers who may have an agenda that does not have your best interest at heart.
©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2009 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp.
