Great story. Thanks for posting that.

Folks who've never managed people or large enterprises never really get just how much mental intensity it takes to juggle all the balls and keep all the plates spinning without any of them hitting the ground.

It also sounds like a story that would make Sam Walton smile.

I recall hearing that in the early days of running his Ben Franklin stores he would travel together with his purchasing managers and stop in every podunk town around and cruise through the dime stores and variety stores. He was constantly searching for new merchandising methods and one of the guys who traveled with him marveled about how after they'd been in some store with a women's hosiery display Sam asked him 'Did you see that display? That's what we need to do."

I also had a truck driver tell me that he was delivering to a Wal-Mart store years ago and Sam Walton was out on the loading dock just talking up a storm with all the truckers, and would even remember details from the trucker's personal lives from the prior times he had spoken with them. Pretty remarkable, really.

Obviously, Sam made more money in his life than most men ever dream of making, but his personal vehicle of choice was a Ford F-150 pickup truck. When I heard that I was reminded how Ross Perot drove a Chevy Impala.

I guess they weren't too concerned about appearances.

Whitetrash, did you ever know Kennard Hill?

Jakedasnake said:

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Cool they chose this one to do a deep dive into https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-walmart-manager-who-makes-240-000-a-year-3248037f?st=o20yyvbrrmczhqj&reflink=article_copyURL_share

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Great write up, really enjoyed that. I am sure are some real war-stories amongst those who keep the Franklin and Bellmead Wal-Marts chugging along.

This is a great American success story, I appreciate that you posted it.

whitetrash said:

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Eleven-League Grant said:

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I worked for Perot from 1987 to 1989. His wife drove a Jag, but he had a 1986 Buick Park Avenue. Of course, he also had a helicopter, Learjet and Gulfstream III, BID.

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This veers off topic, I know, but speaking of Perot, Jerry Reynolds, who is now known as 'The Car Pro', was a Dallas Ford dealer in 1986.

He shared this story about the time he had hoped to convert Perot from driving his GM sedans to the Ford Crown Vic after posting a special message on the electronic billboard in front of his dealership:

Quote:

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Perhaps the most memorable message, and the one that got the most publicity, was in late 1986.

Ross Perot Sr. had a company called Electronic Data Systems that was based in Dallas. Perot had agreed to sell his company to General Motors in exchange for stock in the car company and a seat on the Board of Directors.

Almost from the start, Ross Perot and GM Chairman Roger Smith butted heads on how things were handled at General Motors. Finally, in late 1986, Perot was ousted from the board at GM and was paid 750 million dollars for his company. The ouster and the ongoing feud was big news in the media, so since we were a Ford dealership, I once again took everything off the sign, and simply put:

ROSS PEROT IS WELCOME HERE

That picture appeared on the front page of the business section of the Dallas Morning News the following day, in color.

Also on that day, my assistant called me and said "Ross Perot would like to speak to you." I thought for sure it was a prank call, but wasn't sure enough to not accept it. Sure enough, it was the real H. Ross Perot Sr. who was known for driving a 10-year old Impala, and for the private rescue of two of his executives in Iran. Some six years later, he made a run at the Presidency.

He said to me: "Thanks for the welcome on your sign! I may just come down there and get myself a new Crown Victoria." He never did, but his secretary called the following year and wanted me to sign a copy of the Dallas Morning News article to hang on his wall, which I happily agreed to do.

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True Stories from a Former Car Dealer #17: The Sign

A guy I know was a financial adviser to one of Perot's early partners. The partner drove an old truck, lived on a farm in a small farmhouse, and was worth over $700 million.