Is Mark Zuckerberg the most powerful person in the history of the world? Maybe

But Zuck's not who I want to talk about

Let's discuss two legendary American founders from the 20th century:

Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's

Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart

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So technically, Ray Kroc didn't found McDonald's

But he's the one that had the vision to turn it into an empire

Kroc's best quality? His eye for talent

Key hire Harry Sonneborn helped him realize they weren't really in the food biz..

They were in the real estate biz

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Fred Turner was a young kid trying to open a McD Franchise

Didn't work out...

But Kroc hired him because he was driven

Kroc was right: Turner ended up being a wiz at operations and efficiency

He eventually became CEO

Lesson: win by hiring ppl with different skill sets

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Let's talk about Sam Walton now

He got in the retail game early

First as a J. C. Penney management trainee

Then as a franchise owner for a general store

Even before he opened the first wal-mart, he was already competing on price

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When he did launch Wal-Mart,

Walton persuaded his store managers to become equity partners

This was rare at the time

And he's reported as having created dozens of millionaires

My fav quote of his (about merchandising)

"Stack 'em high and watch em' fly!"

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Another fun fact about Walton?

He got his pilot's license to fly himself around the country and check on his stores

Key Lessons: Give your team skin in the game + the low-price/high volume model can be (when it's done right)

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