A 1989 article about the then-emerging discount retailer Wal-Mart featured John Huey, Coins2Day, sharing a message from Cofounder Sam Walton to his 215,000 staff members, referred to as “associates” within the company's internal vocabulary, recounted a simple but urgent request.
TL;DR
- Walmart CEO Doug McMillon started at the company in 1984, unloading trailers at a warehouse.
- Sam Walton's 1988 request for associates to greet and help customers inspired McMillon's career.
- McMillon rose through Walmart's ranks, becoming CEO in 2013 and leading significant expansion.
- McMillon is retiring after over ten years, during which Walmart's stock value quadrupled.
As the 1988 holiday season commenced, Walton, in a November address to managers transmitted via the company's pioneering satellite video system, requested all employees to commit to “whenever customers approach, the associates should look them in the eye, greet them, and ask to help.”
Even for reserved staff, he continued, “it would, I’m sure, help you become a leader, it would help your personality develop, you would become more outgoing, and in time you might become manager of that store, you might become a department manager, you might become a district manager, or whatever you choose to be in the company. It will do wonders for you.”
During the 1980s, a young man named Doug McMillon worked for the company. Sydney Lake wrote in Coins2Day this week notes that McMillon “got his start in 1984 picking orders and unloading trailers at a Walmart warehouse, making just $6.50 an hour.”
McMillon took a short break from the company in 1988 to pursue a BA and MBA, rejoining as a buyer in 1991. (Huey's Coins2Day feature is highly recommended for its striking portrayal of how Walmart buyers scrutinized those seeking to sell their products within the store: “They talk softly, but they have piranha hearts, and if you aren’t totally prepared when you go in there, you’ll have your ass handed to you.”)
McMillon proceeded to realize Walton’s prediction, advancing through Walmart's hierarchy and becoming chief executive in 2013. McMillon revealed on Friday that he is retiring at the age of 59, following his leadership through over ten years of expansion and technological advancement at the massive retailer. During his time as CEO, the firm's stock value has increased fourfold, and Walmart has maintained the No. 1 spot on the Coins2Day 500 throughout his entire period in charge.
In 1989, Huey described “the house that Sam built” as a “militantly unglamorous, religiously cost-conscious mass merchandiser that has rewarded true believers and confounded skeptics.” McMillon is, certainly, one of those true believers. “The values of Walmart aligned to my personal values,” the outgoing CEO has said in the past, “and I haven’t been bored one single day.”