Retail Leadership Expert & Former Director of People at Walmart; Author of "What I Learned from Sam Walton"; Vice President of Human Resources at American Eagle Outfitters
Michael Bergdahl Biography
Michael Bergdahl is a former corporate executive, author, and business speaker with a career spanning more than two decades in retail, human resources, and leadership. Bergdahl served as director of people at Walmart's headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, where he worked directly with Walmart founder Sam Walton. Walton gave Bergdahl the nickname Bird Dawg during their time working together. Before joining Walmart, Bergdahl worked in the fast-moving consumer goods sector for PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division in sales and headquarters roles.
Bergdahl's experience working with Sam Walton provided him with insight into the leadership principles and operational practices that contributed to Walmart's growth as a global retail leader. His perspective on Walmart's corporate culture, customer focus, and operational efficiency has positioned him as a speaker on retail management and leadership strategies. In addition to his work at Walmart, Bergdahl has served as vice president of human resources at American Eagle Outfitters and Waste Management, where he contributed to successful business turnarounds. He holds more than 25 years of human resources experience and has earned the Senior Professional in Human Resources lifetime certification from SHRM.
Bergdahl is the author of several books, including "What I Learned from Sam Walton," which explores Walmart's business strategies, and "The 10 Rules of Sam Walton," which examines the tactics of Sam Walton. Rob Walton, chairman of the board at Walmart and son of Sam Walton, wrote the foreword for "The 10 Rules of Sam Walton." Bergdahl also authored "The Sam Walton Way," a commemorative edition marking Walmart's 50th anniversary, and "High Expectations Are The Key To Everything." His books have been published by Wiley and translated into multiple languages, including Russian, Thai, Indonesian, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, and Spanish.
Bergdahl is recognized for his expertise in Walmart's business practices and Sam Walton's leadership approach. He has appeared on CNN, CNBC, CNN FN, MSNBC, CNN International, Univision, CBS National Radio, and Bloomberg TV, and has participated in news segments on "Power Lunch," "On the Money," "Morning Call," and "Closing Bell." Bergdahl has contributed articles to Hardware Retailer Magazine, Progressive Grocer Magazine, Butikstrender Magazine, and STORAI Magazine. He has delivered keynote presentations on six continents, sharing insights on retail excellence, corporate culture, and leadership development.
Michael Bergdahl Speaking Topics
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The 10 Rules of Sam Walton
In Michael Bergdahl's book called, The 10 Rules of Sam Walton: Success Secrets for Remarkable Results, he unveils the tactics of the world's most successful entrepreneur.
In this speech, he discusses Sam Walton's 10 self-professed rules for success, which Walton embraced as he grew Wal-Mart from a single store to a 7000+ store global enterprise. Did you know that when he died Sam Walton was the world’s richest man? He was worth US$100 billion which at the time was almost double the wealth of Bill Gates! Conference participants really want to learn the success secrets followed by the world’s wealthiest man and now they can!
Based on his second book, The 10 Rules of Sam Walton, Michael Bergdahl will discuss “The Sam Walton Way” through a discussion of the tactics behind Sam Walton’s self-professed rules for entrepreneurial success. Sam Walton credited these 10 rules as the reason he became the World’s Richest Man.
Your conference participants will gain actionable ideas, from the tactics followed by Sam Walton, which they can adapt, and utilize in their businesses and personal lives. In this speech, Bergdahl uses great stories only an insider can tell about Sam Walton’s unique brand of leadership!
Growing Your Business “The Sam Walton & Wal-Mart Way"
When he died, Sam Walton was the wealthiest man in the world with an estate worth over US $100 billion dollars! How did he achieve such phenomenal success in just over 30 years? How does Wal-Mart focus its 2 million employees, 7100 stores and 120 massive distribution centers? What were Sam Walton’s secrets for growing Wal-Mart to become the world’s largest company?
Wal-Mart’s successful growth is a result of specific strategies and tactics put in place long ago by the company founder, Sam Walton. Sam Walton had a vision, a specific game plan, and rules upon which he focused his team to grow his business. In this speech Bergdahl discusses the success strategies and tactics of “The Sam Walton and Wal-Mart Way.”
Audience members will learn the success secrets of the world’s most successful merchant, Sam Walton, and the best practices of the world’s largest company, Wal-Mart. The focus of this program is to help audience members transfer the knowledge gained into action to grow their own businesses, through innovation, risk taking, and thinking outside the box “The Sam Walton & Wal-Mart Way.”
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Picking Wal-Mart’s “POCKETS
Based on his first book, What I learned from Sam Walton: How to Compete & Thrive in a Wal-Mart World, this speech reveals “The Wal-Mart Way” through a discussion of the 7 key strategies of Wal-Mart.
Using storytelling, humor, inspiration and his real world experience working with Sam Walton as examples, Bergdahl unveils those seven strategies. He uses the acronym, “P.O.C.K.E.T.S.”, which stands for Price, Operations, Culture, Key Item Promotion, Expenses, Talent and Service. Bergdahl believes, “Finding your unique niche in the marketplace or “POCKETS” is the key to success no matter what market or business you are competing in!”
In this speech he explains the key to each of Wal-Mart’s seven strategies, and the Best Practices, that have made Wal-Mart the World’s Largest Company. More importantly, Bergdahl will discuss specific strategies that audience members can take away from “The Wal-Mart Way” to make their businesses even more successful.
Conference participants will learn techniques other companies have used successfully to compete, survive and thrive in a Wal-Mart World! Bergdahl also reviews a checklist of success strategies and tactics audience members can implement in their businesses immediately upon return.
Whether your conference participants love Wal-Mart, or hate Wal-Mart, if they are in business anywhere around the globe, they will benefit by “Picking Wal-Marts POCKETS!” Note: Bergdahl will tailor his remarks to support your brand and conference theme!
Michael Bergdahl Videos
HEATKTE - High Expectations Are The Key To Everything
H.E.A.T.K.T.E. is about how to bring out the best in you! This speech is based on the book Bergdahl and his wife Sheryl co-wrote after she suffered...
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What are the speaker fees for Michael Bergdahl
Speaking fees for Michael Bergdahl, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Michael Bergdahl are $10,000 - $20,000 for live events and $10,000 - $20,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Michael Bergdahl, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent. -
What topics does Michael Bergdahl speak about?
Michael Bergdahl is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Author, Business, Business Authors, Business Leadership, Change Management, College, Corporate Culture, Corporate Strategy, Creativity, Culture, Customer Experience, Disruptive Thinking, Economy, Entrepreneurship, Executive Leadership, Family & Parenting, Finance, Human Resources, Innovation, Inspirational, Leadership, Marketing, Motivational, Non-Fiction Authors, Overcoming Adversity, Peak Performance, Personal Growth, Retail, Sales, Strategic Leadership, Success, Thought Leadership -
Where does Michael Bergdahl travel from?
Michael Bergdahl generally travels from Montgomery, TX, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent. -
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Michael Bergdahl is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as The 10 Rules of Sam Walton, Picking Wal-Mart’s “POCKETS, The Sam Walton Way: What Would Sam Do? and High Expectations Are the Key To Everything. The estimated speaking fee range to book Michael Bergdahl for your event is $10,000 - $20,000. Michael Bergdahl generally travels from Montgomery, TX, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Libby Gill, Jason Young, Dr. Jackie Freiberg, Robert Spector and Dennis Snow. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Michael Bergdahl for an upcoming live or virtual event.
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