30 Sam Walton Quotes On Success, Teamwork, & Change

Check out the best Sam Walton quotes that reflect his profound wisdom on leadership, customer service, teamwork, and business success.

Sam Walton was an American business magnate and entrepreneur best known for founding the Walmart Inc. and Sam’s Club retail chains.

Born on March 29, 1918, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, Walton’s journey began with opening a small variety store. His ambition and business acumen led to the opening of the first Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962.

Walton quickly expanded the brand with his innovative business strategies, including large-scale purchasing, competitive pricing, and exceptional customer service.

Under his visionary leadership, Walmart Stores Inc. became the world’s largest corporation by revenue and the largest private employer globally.

Beyond his business achievements, Walton was known for his philanthropic efforts, humility, and down-to-earth nature. He has donated generously to various causes, including education and health initiatives.

His name was inducted into the National Retail Federation Hall of Fame in 1984 and he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992.

Sam Walton’s business ethics, commitment to customer satisfaction, and focus on teamwork made him a role model for aspiring business professionals.

He died of blood cancer in 1992 at the age of 74 but his legacy continues to influence the retail industry and inspire business leaders around the world.

Here are some of the most famous Sam Walton quotes that provide valuable insights into the mindset of this legendary businessman.

Top 10 Sam Walton Quotes

1. “Individuals don’t win; teams do.” — Sam Walton       

   
2. “Lose your smile and lose your customers.” — Sam Walton 

   

3. “High expectations are the key to everything.” — Sam Walton             

   

4. “We’re all working together; that’s the secret.” — Sam Walton  

   

5. “To succeed in this world, you have to change all the time.” — Sam Walton 

   

6. “Celebrate your successes. Find some humor in your failures.” — Sam Walton

   

7. “Commit to your business. Believe in it more than anybody else.” — Sam Walton 

   

8. “Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom.” — Sam Walton     

   

9. “I had to pick myself up and get on with it, do it all over again, only even better this time.” — Sam Walton
10. “The way management treats associates is exactly how the associates will treat the customers.” — Sam Walton

Best Sam Walton Quotes

1. “Most everything I’ve done, I’ve copied from somebody else.” — Sam Walton
2. “You can make a positive out of the most negative if you work at it hard enough.” — Sam Walton
3. “We let folks know we’re interested in them and that they’re vital to us. Cause they are.” — Sam Walton
4. “The goal as a company is to have customer service that is not just the best, but legendary.” — Sam Walton
5. “The key to success is to get out into the store and listen to what the associates have to say.” — Sam Walton
6. “Control your expenses better than your competition. This is where you can always find the competitive advantage.” — Sam Walton
7. “Each Wal-Mart store should reflect the values of its customers and support the vision they hold for their community.” — Sam Walton
8. “You can’t just keep doing what works one time, everything around you is changing. To succeed, stay out in front of change.” — Sam Walton
9. “When somebody made a mistake – we talked about it, admitted it, tried to figure out how to correct it, and then moved on to the next day’s work.” — Sam Walton
10. “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” — Sam Walton
11. “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” — Sam Walton
12. “If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can, and pretty soon everybody around will catch the passion from you – like a fever.” — Sam Walton

Famous Quotes From Sam Walton

1. “I’ve always had a strong bias towards action.” — Sam Walton
2. “My role has been to pick good people, and give them the maximum authority and responsibility.” — Sam Walton
3. “If any one thing characterizes our Walmart associates and company, it is this philosophy of caring and sharing.” — Sam Walton
4. “Great ideas come from everywhere if you just listen and look for them. You never know who’s going to have a great idea.” — Sam Walton
5. “If you want a successful business, your people must feel that you are working for them – not that they are working for you.” — Sam Walton
6. “Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free and worth a fortune.” — Sam Walton
7. “If we work together, we’ll lower the cost of living for everyone… …we’ll give the world an opportunity to see what it’s like to save and have a better life.” — Sam Walton
8. “You can make a lot of mistakes and still recover if you run an efficient operation. Or you can be brilliant and still go out of business if you’re too inefficient.” — Sam Walton
9. “It was a real blessing for me to be so green and ignorant, because it was from that experience that I learned a lesson which has stuck with me all through the years: You can learn from everybody.” — Sam Walton
10. “We couldn’t care less about what is forecast or what the market says we ought to do. If we listened very seriously to that sort of stuff, we never would have gone into small-town discounting in the first place.” — Sam Walton

Conclusion

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