The key to competing and surviving against Wal-Mart is to focus your business into a niche or pocket where you can leverage your strengths in the local marketplace.

Sam Walton was a master storyteller who used illustrative stories to reinforce his cultural standards.

Empowering people turns Wal-Mart's culture into a competitive advantage.

Wal-Mart hires average people but squeezes above average performance and results out of them.

At Wal-Mart, if you couldn't explain an idea or a concept in simple terms on one page of paper Sam Walton considered the new idea too complicated to implement.

When you compete with Wal-Mart, even if you think you've found a niche don't ever become complacent.

The key to Operations at Wal-Mart is their ability to maintain the highest standards while at the same time getting things done with lockstep execution.