Why Walmart’s retiring CEO swears by collecting shopping carts
At CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Walmart’s President and CEO Doug McMillon delivered a compelling keynote address that highlighted his leadership philosophy as he prepares for retirement in January 2024. With a career spanning four decades at Walmart, McMillon has consistently championed the concept of servant leadership, emphasizing the importance of humility and service in executive roles. He illustrated this philosophy by sharing anecdotes of himself and other executives actively engaging in store operations—such as collecting stray shopping carts and promptly responding to emails—as a means of modeling the behavior they expect from their teams. This hands-on approach not only reinforces the company’s core values—respect for the individual, integrity, customer service, and excellence—but also fosters a culture of trust and accountability.
As McMillon transitions leadership to John Furner, the current CEO of Walmart U.S., he leaves behind a legacy centered on adaptability and service. During his tenure, he has repeatedly stressed the necessity of embracing change, arguing that growth is intrinsically linked to risk-taking and innovation. In a letter to shareholders in 2019, McMillon remarked, “There is no growth without change, and there is no meaningful change without risk.” He drew inspiration from Walmart’s founder, Sam Walton, suggesting that a proactive and adaptive mindset is essential for navigating the complexities of modern retail. Furthermore, McMillon has articulated that building trust—both internally among employees and externally with customers—is crucial for the company’s success. He noted that during the pandemic, enhanced communication and collaboration among leadership accelerated decision-making processes, ultimately strengthening the organization.
In his reflections, McMillon offered three key leadership lessons that resonate beyond Walmart: embrace change, demonstrate service, and build trust. He encourages leaders to be present in their roles and to perform their duties with excellence, as this commitment not only drives results but also opens doors for future opportunities. As he prepares to step down, McMillon’s insights serve as a valuable guide for aspiring leaders, reminding them that effective leadership is rooted in service to others and a willingness to adapt in an ever-evolving landscape. His legacy will undoubtedly influence Walmart’s culture and operational ethos for years to come, ensuring that the principles of servant leadership remain at the forefront of the company’s mission.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 09: Walmart Inc. President and CEO Doug McMillon delivers a keynote address during CES 2024 at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas on January 9, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world’s largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 12 and features about 4,000 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 130,000 attendees. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon
has emphasized servant leadership as a key part of execs’ roles.
McMillon, who plans to retire in January, says to embrace change and build trust.
Acts like collecting shopping carts and replying to emails quickly demonstrate service, he said.
When CEO Doug McMillon and other Walmart execs visit stores, they’ll collect stray shopping carts from the parking lot or pick up trash.
The idea is to model
servant leadership
and being “willing to do what we want anybody else to do,” McMillon told a business school audience at Stanford in May.
McMillon, 59, announced on Friday that he
plans to retire in January
. He will be succeeded by John Furner, president and current CEO of Walmart US.
During his decade on the job, McMillon has talked regularly about the company’s four core values: respect the individual, act with integrity, serve our customers and members, and strive for excellence.
“You have to actually believe them and live them,” McMillon, who began his career at Walmart four decades ago working on the loading dock, told the Stanford crowd.
Here are three
leadership lessons
that McMillon has offered:
Embrace change
McMillon
wrote to shareholders
in 2019 that the only thing that’s a constant for the world’s largest retailer — other than its purpose and values — is change. The pace at which it occurs is increasing, he wrote.
“There is no growth without change, and there is no meaningful change without risk. So, get comfortable with an intelligent level of risk,” McMillon said.
Without looking for new ways of doing things, he wrote, “the law of diminishing returns sets in as always doing the same things the same way takes over.”
McMillon went on to reference Walmart founder Sam Walton: “We don’t know what Sam would have done in these moments, but we know he would have been adapting — and he would have been aggressive.”
Demonstrate service
McMillon has said that grabbing errant shopping carts or replying to emails on the day they arrive are small ways that leaders can demonstrate what it means to serve — and be servant leaders.
The company is looking for “altruistic people” who can “put other people first,” he said during his Stanford talk.
Service is a concept that he said is embedded in the company’s culture.
“If I had, in my experience, to boil Walmart down to one word, it’d be ‘serve,'” he said in 2023 on the Simon Sinek podcast. McMillon added: “If you gave me two words, it’d be ‘servant leadership’ because that’s what I see and that’s who I think we are.”
Build trust
McMillon wrote in 2019 that “it’s a challenge to have the broader world know the Walmart we know.” He said that the company was working to build trust by improving the company’s “compliance talent, processes and systems” as well as
reducing waste
in its supply chain.
“Of course we aren’t perfect. We make mistakes,” he wrote.
During the pandemic, when company leadership began starting each day by talking to each other on video, the company started making decisions faster, McMillon said when speaking at Stanford.
“I learned that I could trust people to make high-quality decisions even more than I had been,” he said.
Speaking in 2024 to the graduating class at the University of Arkansas, his alma mater, McMillon also said that being present helps build trust with others.
He encouraged graduates to “do today’s job well.” That includes driving change and delivering results, McMillon said.
“Being present in today’s role and earning trust leads to the next job opportunity,” he said.
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