Chapter 1
The “LEIR” Lands at Walmart
1984
Many bosses feel there’s no place for fun at work.
Today’s employees demand that work be fun.
The challenge is to reconcile these two conflicting expectations. Work is most productive when it’s fused with fun. Fun can be an essential element to conducting business, retaining customers, enhancing external perceptions of the business and brand, attracting and retaining talented employees — and helping to build competitive advantage. — Leslie A. Yerkes Creating Fun in the Workplace
Just before dawn on a crisp Monday morning in early 1984, ourWalmart twin-engine Aero Commander lifted off from the Bentonville,Arkansas airport for the short jaunt to Dallas, Texas. Jerry Turney sat at the controls. David Glass, CFO for Walmart, had nestled into his seat to enjoy a cup of coffee while perusing the Wall Street Journal. I, the recently appointed head of the new Sam’s Wholesale Club division, was seated across from him. I reported directly to David and anticipated having time to talk about a few upcoming projects. However, the purpose of today’s trip was a visit to the first prototype Sam’s Wholesale Club, which was to open soon on Garland Road in Dallas.
Shortly after takeoff, David looked up from his newspaper and said, “Ronnie, isn’t it strange that our Walmart store sales are booming, yet these economists back east are forecasting doom-and-gloom? They use indicators such as the GNP, housing starts, interest rates, and all that. Thank goodness our customers aren’t paying heed to that stuff. We’ll just choose not to participate in the recession.”
Thinking about his statement while soaring over the vast stretch of northwest Arkansas “chicken country,” I began to reflect on my childhood days in the nearby town of Hiwasse. In fact, reflections like this would prove to serve as a foundation for my personal life, as well as a guide for my career. Anyway, back to the chickens. You see, northwest Arkansas was then, and is even more so today, one of the largest poultry production areas in the country. I recalled the times my mother would wake my sisters and me early in the morning to go look for chickens along the roadside. During the fifties and sixties, residents caught chickens at night and loaded them into wooden crates for transport to the slaughter houses. Many of the chickens would fly off the trucks through broken slats in the crates. For a poor family like ours, these wayward birds served as some pretty good eating come Sunday dinner. (For those readers who are not from the south, dinner is the noon meal, while supper is served in the evening.)
As I stewed on those days, being known as a sort of company clown and comic, a thought came to mind. In fact, this was the birth of the Loveless Economic Indicator Report (LEIR), although I didn’t realize at the time the full-scale dynamics of my off-the-cuff idea.
“Mr. Glass,” I said, “those so-called economic experts in New York use the wrong indicators. For our company and our customers, a different set of measurements makes more sense. You don’t know this, but I have a group of ‘Chicken Patrollers’ from our General Office count the number of chickens and other road kill they see on the highways as they come to work in the mornings. We adjust our buyer’s open-to-buy and inventory planning accordingly.”
David looked confused. Then a wry smile crossed his face. “Now there’s an original idea,” he said. “How’s it work?”
“Well,” I said, “as the economy gets worse and people are struggling, they pick up these chickens shortly after they hit the road … so long as they’re not smashed too flat. As the economy improves, they buy their chickens at the grocery store, like everyone else. It makes perfect sense to me.”
David laughed and said, “It certainly makes more sense than those indicators back east, which don’t have an impact on our customers here in Walmart territory. Thanks for sharing your indicators with me.”
Several weeks passed, and then one day “Mr. Sam” (Sam Walton, that is) dropped by my office. Although we all loved and respected Mr. Sam, his unexpected visits had a way of making us feel uneasy. A compliment from him was inspiring, but when he was unhappy about something, he had a subtle way of making you want to crawl under a rug.
After a bit of small talk, Mr. Sam said, “Ronnie, David shared with me your chicken economic indicator program. I think it makes a lot of sense. I’d like you to present your report at the analyst forum during this year’s shareholders’ meeting.”
Thinking he must be joking, I was taken aback. The annual Walmart shareholders’ meeting is unique; a combination of business, circus, pep rally, and motivational show. There’s nothing quite like it in the business world. Thousands attend. After taking Walmart stock public in 1970, in addition to the shareholders’ meeting, the executive team conducted a very private “analyst forum” in the General Office during the weekend of the shareholders’ event. Many of the large investment banks holding Walmart stock assigned their retail analysts to this meeting. Local and state dignitaries, members of the media, and other VIPs were the norm. This particular year, we expected Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton as well.
Apparently unaware of my astonishment, Mr. Sam plowed ahead. “These guys are always looking to find some secret to our success. You and I know it’s as simple as low prices, great people, and taking care of our customers. But let’s have some fun with them. I’ll introduce you as our ‘in-house’ economic guru, then give up some of my time for you to deliver your chicken report.”
“Mr. Sam, are you serious?” I wondered if I looked as uncertain as I felt.
“Sure,” he said. “They’ll get a kick out of it.”
So that was that.