'Work Hard, Distinguish Yourself,' Walmart CEO Tells SCC Crowd

Walmart CEO Bill Simon spoke in Owens Auditorium at Sandhills Community College Nov. 2. Photo by Hannah Sharpe

As of Friday, November 4, 2011

Bill Simon told Sandhills Community College business students that any of them could one day have his job — president and CEO of Walmart U.S.

“There’s nothing that stands in the way of your success if you apply yourself and work hard, but you’ve got to distinguish yourself if you want to be successful,” Simon said. “You’ve got to look at your life in bite-size chunks and try to determine the best path.”

Simon is responsible for the strategic direction and operational performance of the U.S. business, including more than 3,700 stores and 1.3 million employees, for the world’s largest retailer. Sales at U.S. stores account for 62 percent of the company’s total revenue, which annually tops $400 billion.

Simon spent almost an hour Wednesday answering some of the more than 100 questions submitted in advance by the college’s business students. Local business people and politicians also attended the event.

“I’ve spoken to students at Harvard and other universities, and I am here today,” he said. “To me, this is more important than that. You are the next generation of leadership in our country.”

Simon learned about leadership and humility during a 25-year career in the U.S. Navy and Naval Reserves.

“There’s a big difference between positional authority and personal authority,” he said. “I learned that the hard way when the paymaster on my first ship repeatedly ‘lost’ my paycheck after I tried to impose my will because I was an officer with gold bars on my uniform. Now, I try to be hands-off, brain-on. I’ve learned over the years that there are lots of ways to get there.”

Simon personalized most his answers and often injected humor.

Asked how he starts his day, Simon said, “By yelling at my kids, like everyone else.”

But Simon was dead serious when talking about Walmart’s return to its “everyday low-price” strategy, the bedrock philosophy of founder Sam Walton.

“”When we do our jobs right, people pay less,” he said. “When we don’t, they shop elsewhere. We go the way the economy goes. We don’t look at the recession as an opportunity to do more business.”

The strategy seems to be working because revenue at Walmart’s U.S. stores that have been open at least a year rose three months in a row in July, August and September.

Simon and other executives had promised a quarterly increase by the end of the year, ending nine quarters of decline, and last month’s news apparently indicates they could make good on that vow in the quarter that ended Oct. 28. Results for the quarter will be reported on Nov. 15.

Walmart has also pledged to reduce expenses even more aggressively over the next five years and put those savings into reducing the prices its customers pay.

“Everything we do is focused on trying to offer the lowest prices possible,” Simon said. “Fundamentally, we’re still a small, humble company that grew to be big.”

Walmart, which started in 1952 with Walton’s first store in Bentonville, Ark., had total revenue through the first half of this fiscal year of more than $213 billion.

Simon admitted that his job places plenty of demands on his time, but he tries to remain focused and attentive to the people he is with at any given moment.

“These are some crazy days,” he said. “It can be surreal at times. You just have to stay grounded.”

Patrick Coughlin, president and CEO of the Moore County Chamber of Commerce, said he was pleasantly surprised by Simon’s humility.

“I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was really kind of shocked at how down-to-earth and unassuming he was,” Coughlin said. “His appearance here put a face and a personality of Walmart that a lot of people don’t get to see. I think that was valuable for this community.”

College President John Dempsey agreed that Simon demonstrated “that you can be very successful and still be a nice guy.”

“He was remarkably at ease and calm,” Dempsey said. “He’s a serene guy who is probably calm under fire. I also thought he had wonderful lessons for the kids. He had a lot of really good ideas, thoughts and practical points. I’m extremely pleased with how the day went.”

Chris Gilder, founder and chief innovation officer of Meridian Zero Degrees in Aberdeen, came to listen because Walmart is a customer, and Meridian partners with other companies to operate a self- service solution technology center in Bentonville.

“We sell servicesolutions to Walmart through Hewlett-Packard,” Gilder said. “Walmart has brought a lot of business to us. It says a lot about him to come here and talk to the students.”

The event would likely never have occurred had Simon not vacationed along the North Carolina coast last summer with his family and bumped into Fletcher Myers, a professor in the college’s management and business technology department and coordinator of its entrepreneurship program.

“I was on my sailboat and he was in his powerboat,” Myers said. “We got to talking, and I jokingly asked him if he worked for Walmart after he told me that he was was from Arkansas. That’s when I learned that he was the president and CEO.”

Myers was also vacationing with his family, and his children started calling Simon “the nice dad.”

“We didn’t exchange information then, but I wrote a letter when the school year resumed, asking him to come speak to the students at Sandhills,” Myers said. “All I did was write a letter. It was a team effort by the college to pull this event off. Everyone did a tremendous job, and Bill was tremendous with the students.”

Contact Ted M. Natt Jr. at tnatt@thepilot.com.

More like this story

JER 1 year, 6 months ago

There are jobs available locally. Proof reader at the Pilot should be one of them.

weteachers2 1 year, 6 months ago

Maybe the proofreader wasn't at WORD that day!

TooHot 1 year, 6 months ago

How do you think Wal-Mart can offer the lowest possible price? Being a broker for Chinese crapola? That's doing your job right?

Gotta say tho - they're unbeatable for groceries. If you can put up with the clientele.

teufelhunden 1 year, 6 months ago

But their stuff isn't eactly the freshest I've seen. Check your dates. The produce is from everywhere around the globe and it's half bad already.

blessherheart 1 year, 6 months ago

@teufelhunden ............. you are so right

cantstandya 1 year, 6 months ago

WalMex has the integrity of a side street second hand store,they sell that name that used to have meaning,now try and find anything made in America,remember that moto,well when Americans stop purchasing their foreign made goods that have cost American jobs,from textiles to toilet paper then maybe some local home grown businesses will prosper,everytime someone shopss at a WalMex they are keeping a Chinese family gainfully employed,chech your labels.

JER 1 year, 6 months ago

Do you know why Walmart is so successful? Because people shop there. You can rag on them all you want but people shopping there is what makes them what they are. If any of you American patriots could remember back when Sam Walton started his company, you would know that he specified that the products being sold were to be made in this country. Over time Walmart had to abandon that philosophy because they could not find domestically produced products to sell at prices that their customers deemed affordable. Every one of you Walmart critics end up "slumming" with the rest of us because they sell stuff you want to buy and it gives you those few extra bucks saved to spend at the Fresh Market. Last time I checked, there were 99 Walmarts for every one Fresh Market. Coincidence? I don't think so.

cantstandya 1 year, 6 months ago

The reason WalMex is so successful is that they sell cheap foreign made goods at a cheap price to some of the very people that cannot afford to shop elsewhere do to the fact they have been hit by the economic impact caused by the WalMex companies that have made foreign manufactors very successful since they are not regulated by our own government standards forcingAmerican companies out of business,if the American manufactors could run sweat shops similiar to those used in the far east countries that WalMex purchases goods from maybe we could compete,the only thing American made from there now might be the label stiched on that garmet and thats just to fool the buyer.

MikeNC 1 year, 6 months ago

I agree with JER. I remember the old school 'Buy American' train of thought of Sam Waltons. He was a wonderful man. I was assigned as an Army Recruiter in the mid 80's and was assigned duty in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Bentonville, Arkansas was right down the road and of course the location of Sam's first store. The first time I run into Sam Walton was during a heavy Spring snow storm. There were few people on the road. I drove to the Fayetteville store to get some staples and while picking up a few items a ladies voice on the loud speaker chimed in..."We have an elderly man here at the customer service center who needs some assistance in this terrible weather jump starting his truck.' I planned on giving him a hand in just a couple of minutes after picking up some milk, etc.

Almost immediately another voice came across the store speakers. It was a man and he said..."Good morning shoppers, my name is Sam Walton, I'm not that old and my Ford truck does not need a jump as I have a Walmart battery in mine. I have a fine gentleman here who came to give me assistance and I appreciate such people. I'm giving this man an immediate $500 shopping spree that he can use today or wait until nicer weather with his wife."

Sam was wearing jeans, a heavy winter plaid shirt and a ball cap. A fine man and his eventual death changed walmart philosophy . Walmart emplyees back then were the essence of friendliness and customer service oriented. If an employee did not measure up to the highest of personal sevice standards; they would not last long. Many things have changed and being able to provide 'always less' prices has changed with it. Too bad, but that's the reality of where we are in this world; and we continue to do much of our shopping at Walmart...Mike

cantstandya 1 year, 6 months ago

im_a_harleyman if being a bigot is defined by making an effort to purchase American made goods then I proudly can consider myself just that and if I was one that cared what others think of me I would be offended by your remark,but I don't,I do resort to facts that are well documented to be true ,the lighten up remark stated earlier by yourself seems to be misdirected,have a great day as I will enjoy mine.

JER 1 year, 6 months ago

MikeNC: I liked your remembrances of days gone by.

MikeNC 1 year, 6 months ago

Good days will return JER..Not like yesteryear which can not be duplicated; but very good days just the same. It will just take some doing. Never underestimate what Americans are capable of if given half a chance...Mike

Bflat 1 year, 6 months ago

I rarely go to Wal-Mart. I don't like the huge big box and all that walking just to get a couple of items I might need. I'll shop elsewhere because my shopping experience there hasn't been good, the employees are not friendly, and the savings are not what they used to be. I'll use my coupons elsewhere and save money.

MikeNC 1 year, 6 months ago

Bflat 2 minutes ago I'll shop elsewhere because my shopping experience there hasn't been good, the employees are not friendly, and the savings are not what they used to be.

...And Sam Walton turns once again in his grave....Mike

ChrisRocks 1 year, 6 months ago

Be proud CEO of taking down American business, so you can sell cheap goods made in China. You have no right to tell anyone to work hard in America. You are everything that is disgusting and cheap about corporate slavery in this country. The only way you should be remembered is by shooting you for treason.

ChrisRocks 1 year, 6 months ago

This country used to be based on the mom and pop stores and then #### holes like you moved in and advertised with big stupid smiley faces the cheap goods made in other countries. Why is this whore addressing anyone at a school? I understand it is the sandhills, but that is not a reason to insult the students!

DaveyNC 1 year, 6 months ago

So, ChrisRocks, not a fan, eh? Corporate slavery? Hey, nobody is forced to work there or to shop there. Say, have you ever seen where Sam Walton got his start? Here, have a look.

Now, there must have been 100,000 stores around the country just like that one. In other words, every single one of them could have done what Sam Walton did. So why didn't they? What has evil about what Walton did? He simply out-competed all of them, that's all. Every one of them could have made the same choice that he did. Not evil, just fair competition.