Word: walton
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John Huey, managing editor of FORTUNE, co-wrote Sam Walton: Made in America
...Mart's influence grew, however, and passed that of competitors K Mart and Sears, Walton began to be villainized by some, especially beleaguered small-town merchants. They rallied a nostalgic national press, which--from its perch in Manhattan--waxed eloquent on the lost graces of small-town America, blaming that loss squarely on Sam Walton...
...Walton viewed all these arguments as utter foolishness. He had been a small-town merchant. And he had seen the future. He had chosen to eat rather than be eaten. And anyway, he believed that small-town merchants could compete--if they would make major changes to adapt. As it turned out, of course, the consumer voted heavily with Walton. He gave America what it really wanted--low prices every...
There is no argument offered here that Sam Walton didn't clutter the landscape of the American countryside or that he didn't force a lot of people to change the way they made a living. But he merely hastened such changes. The forces of progress he represented were inevitable. His empowering management techniques were copied by businesses far beyond his own industry; his harnessing of information technology to cut costs quickly traveled upstream to all kinds of companies; and his pioneering retailing concepts paved the way for a new breed of "category killer" retailer--the Home Depots, Barnes & Nobles...
...than America have also grown superb business leaders. One legend in Japan is Konosuke Matsushita, whose company includes Panasonic and other well-known brands. Witnessing his father's bankruptcy as a small child prompted Matsushita to develop new values of how an enterprise ought to be run. Like Sam Walton, he paid attention to the consumer and sought ways to increase demand and reduce prices. He forced the competition to embrace this concept, making the market grow while creating more profit. He also showed that human well-being and making money are not inconsistent. In downturns he found other jobs...