FOOD INDUSTRY Sam Walton was Latino! By Ramón Portilla, Founder of HumanX Insights ho has yet to hear of Sam Walton? 吀栀e 3. Pursuit of excellence founder of Walmart is an iconic 昀椀gure in Pursuing excellence is rooted in many Latin the retail world. traditions, where dedication and e昀昀ort are highly Born in 1918 in Oklahoma, Walton began valued. This means a constant commitment his career in a discount store during the to improvement and innovation for our store WGreat Depression. managers. A simple way to begin this process is In 1962, he opened the 昀椀rst Walmart in Rogers, Arkansas, with a to meet once or twice a week with the entire team vision of o昀昀ering low prices and excellent customer service. and encourage discussion of suggestions on how to His legacy is re昀氀ected not only in Walmart's global expansion, improve and empower your people to implement those which reached global sales of nearly $650 billion this year but also ideas successfully. in the core values he established that guide the company today. After working 16 years for Walmart and Sam's Club in Bentonville, 4. Acting with integrity Arkansas, and studying a lot about this leader and his values, I Integrity is part of our essence. Being honest and transparent identi昀椀ed tremendously with the spirit of those principles and my builds trust with both employees and customers. Latino blood. And yes, sometimes I would say, "this Sam Walton Consistency is critical in how we behave about this value. Even was Latino!" when faced with di昀케cult situations, 昀椀rm and decisive actions make "Mr. Sam," as they used to call him, knew that the business's us grow as a company and set a signi昀椀cant example with our teams. success depended on the development and motivation of his sta昀昀. 吀栀is philosophy is crucial. E昀昀ectively managing a team drives business results and creates a ThThe fe fuuttuurre oe of rf reettaaiil:l: productive work environment, ensuring that our teams are stable, MMoorree h huummaann e exxppereriiencenceess and we don't lose talent easily. I want to share with you Sam Walton's four values and how to When I think of Sam Walton's values, I immediately translate them into our culture: con昀椀rm what the future holds: retail that is not only focused on providing quality products and services but also 1. Respect for the individual on creating more human experiences for both customers It is true that our Latin idiosyncrasy sometimes and employees: manifests itself as rebellious. However, we have a strong sense of respect above all hierarchies. 1. Human experiences for customers As a store leader, we must ensure that our teams feel Respect and customer service enable us to deliver respected, listened to, and valued. For example, having memorable experiences. Customers value feeling listened a recognition program for our employees is a 昀椀rst step. to and respected. It is time for us to think about how to personalize interactions with customers, remembering 2. Customer service their preferences and o昀昀ering speci昀椀c recommendations. Customer service is the heart of retail. Hispanics are 吀栀is not only enhances their shopping experience but also undoubtedly hospitable. But are we just as hospitable creates an emotional connection with the store. in our stores? As a manager, do you walk the aisles with your employees, 2. Work experiences for employees focusing on customers and To provide better work experiences for employees, thanking them for their fostering an environment of respect, development business? and motivation is crucial. We want employees to be Establishing a customer- ambassadors and invite family and friends to work with first policy is essential. us, which is a virtuous circle for growing our business. You can start with small So, the next time you visit Walmart or Sam's Club, I invite actions such as making you to look at how they operate based on these principles. sure your sta昀昀 always says, Learn from them and implement what makes sense for "good morning" and that our organization. We have much to gain and nothing to the word "thank you" is lose. never missing at checkout. 3434 JJUULLYY//AAUUGGUUSST 2T 200224 4 AABBAASSTOTO..CCOOMM