What I Learned from Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World.

What I Learned from Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World. By Michael Bergdahl. John Wiley & Sons, 237 pages. $24.95.

Sam Walton isn't around anymore to expound on the secrets of his success, but Michael Bergdahl, who worked directly with the Wal-Mart founder years ago, has distilled some of "Mr. Sam's" lessons and developed theories about how to compete with the retailing behemoth.

Bergdahl, whose Wal-Mart experience fits among a resume that lists industries as varied as petrochemicals, publishing, restaurants, consumer packaged goods and waste industries, has honed his message into an easily remembered mnemonic device: "pockets." He devotes individual chapters to each of the core concepts, which are: price, operations, culture, key item/product, expenses, talent and service.

Essentially, the author explains how Wal-Mart has leveraged each of these concepts, and offers advice on how competitors or others can try to do the same. Bergdahl writes in a very conservational tone--sometimes too much so, with missing punctuation and amateurish turns of phrase. Sentences are very short, making it the antithesis of a consultant-crafted book. For instance, in the chapter on culture, he writes: "I can't overemphasize the importance of culture to the expansion of Wal-Mart. Culture is who you are and what you stand for."

Brevity doesn't always equal clarity, especially since the author has a fondness for cliches. Bergdahl has good ideas and a keen perspective on retailing, but his presentation strips some of the veneer off what is generally a thoughtful and useful book.