Michael Bergdahl

 "Bird Dawg"
Wal-Mart Competition Authority, 
International Speaker & Author 

About Michael "Bird Dawg" Bergdahl
Michael Bergdahl is a professional international business speaker with substance, who is one part business, one part inspiration and one part storyteller. His customized speeches are designed to teach others Wal-Mart’s Best Practices & how they can improve their ability to serve their customers, control their expenses and increase their sales. He has spoken at association and business conferences domestically and internationally to Retailers, Non-Retailers, Manufacturers and Suppliers who are interested in improving their ability to compete successfully in a Wal-Mart World!

When Michael Bergdahl speaks, people don't just listen. They learn.

Experience, insight, and a powerful, personable presence combine to make Michael Bergdahl the must-have speaker for any business that's serious about competing in today's market. With an upbeat, high-energy style that entertains as it teaches, Bergdahl makes complex business strategies and tactics easy to understand and apply. 

Michael Bergdahl is considered an authority on Wal-Mart. He has appeared on CNN, CNBC, CNN FN, MSNBC, CNN International, CBS National Radio and Bloomberg TV. He has participated in debates on “Power Lunch”, “On the Money”, “Morning Call” and “Closing Bell”. His articles have appeared in leading business newspapers and magazines.

His international speaking experience include:: Brisbane, Australia  Melbourne, Australia,  Vancouver, British Columbia  Toronto, Quebec,  Caracas, Venezuela, Bogotá, Colombia,  Panama City, Panama,  Cologne, Germany, Istanbul, Turkey,  Malaga, Spain,  Moscow, Russia,  & across the USA.  He will be speaking at events later in 2007 in Port Douglas, Australia, Santiago, Chile, and Beijing, China. 

Michael wrote his first book about his experiences working for the World’s Largest Company entitled: What I Learned from Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World. His second book is entitled, The 10 Rules of Sam Walton: Success Secrets for Remarkable Results. John Wiley & Sons published both of these books and they have been translated into other languages

The late Sam Walton began his march to retailing supremacy by building stores in rural areas across the southern United States. After establishing himself and gaining momentum, he began his expansion campaign in the west, north, and northeast - using his innovative business techniques to catch his competition flatfooted. Walton was innovative, visionary, and hardworking, but these weren't the only traits that enabled him to take Wal-Mart to the top of the retailing world.

If you want to compete in today's Wal-Mart world, what better way to improve your business than to learn from the strongest and fastest competitor? In "What I Learned From Sam Walton", author Michael Bergdahl uncovers and unravels the principles, culture, and secrets of Wal-Mart's unprecedented success in a way that no one else can. As a former director under Sam Walton, Bergdahl draws upon his firsthand observations of Walton, his company, and its executive team to help you adapt Wal-Mart's best practices and principles to your own organization.

With an insider's perspective, Bergdahl peels back the cultural layers of Wal-Mart and gives you a glimpse into the mind of the founder of the world's largest retailer. He also shares seven effective strategies you can take from Wal-Mart to build your business. These seven strategies are illustrated by the acronym P.O.C.K.E.T.S. - because to compete effectively you have to carve out a niche or business "pocket" for your company.

Each aspect of the P.O.C.K.E.T.S. strategy is fully examined, with the author devoting an entire chapter to each tactic - Price, Operations, Culture, Key Item Promotion/Product, Expenses, Talent, and Service

In each chapter, you'll be introduced to some of the inside strategies and tactics utilized by Sam Walton and Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart's success strategies and tactics are easy to understand, yet hard to duplicate. What I Learned From Sam Walton offers a portrayal of Wal-Mart's strengths and provides strategies, tactics, and ideas you can implement today that will enable you to compete.

Michael's Keynote Speech Topics

Mike at the Great Wall of China

Sam Walton's Strategies for Business Success in Tough Economic Times©
"Wouldn’t it be great to learn Sam Walton’s success strategies?
 Now you can!"
Click here for speech details and description

 Picking Wal-Mart’s “POCKETS”©
“Strategies of the World’s Largest Company”
Click here for speech details and description

The 10 Rules of Sam Walton©
“Tactics of the World’s Richest Man”
Click here for speech details and description

Growing Your Business “The Sam Walton & Wal-Mart Way”©
“Wal-Mart is a Logistics, Distribution and IT driven company that also has Retail Stores.”
Click here for speech details and description

AntidisestablishmentWalMartarianism©
“The battle for the hearts and minds of Wal-Mart’s two million employees.”
Click here for speech details and description

Change/Challenge/Choice©
“Because yesterday’s success is no guarantee of success tomorrow,
 your team has to adapt & change now or risk failure in the future!”
Click here for speech details and description

Vendorville Speeches,
Workshops & Seminars

Operational Excellence Keynote Speeches (1 Hour to 90 Minutes)

• What I Learned From Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World©
  This speech, about Bergdahl’s book, is designed to help Retailers, Non-Retailers, Manufacturers and Suppliers compete, survive and thrive in this highly competitive Wal-Mart World. Using the acronym P.O.C.K.E.T.S., Bergdahl discusses the strategies and tactics behind Sam Walton and Wal-Mart’s success and how the giant retailer creates competitive advantage. He explains specific strategies and tactics you can use to improve your team’s ability to compete effectively.

• The 10 Rules of Sam Walton©
  Mr. Sam listed his 10 Rules for Business Success in his autobiography. Unfortunately, he never wrote the story behind each of his rules. In this speech about Bergdahl’s book, The 10 Rules of Sam Walton: Success Secrets for Remarkable Results, you’ll learn the story behind the ten self-professed rules Mr. Sam followed which made Wal-Mart such a global success.

• Change / Challenge / Choice©
  Competition with manufacturers from countries like China is brutal. The manufacturing world as you’ve known it has changed and you and your team must be willing to Change also if you intend to survive. The Challenge for manufacturers of products is what to do to re-level the playing field. In order to succeed you and your team must make the Choice do what is necessary to reinvent your business, and the way people think, to remain successful. In this speech Bergdahl will challenge your team’s existing paradigms about business while focusing on operational excellence, your core competencies and cultural standards.

• F.I.R.S.T. – Secrets to Outperforming the Pack©
  From his experiences working for World Class “Best Practice” Companies like Pepsico’s Frito-Lay
  Division and Wal-Mart, Michael Bergdahl shares with you some of the secrets of their success. He
  shares the secrets of outperforming the pack in this speech using the acronym F.I.R.S.T. which stands for, Focus on the Customer, Inspirational Leadership, Results through People, Succession Planning/Bench- Building & Tactics for Driving the Business.

Best Practice Workshops (Half Day)

• “The Sam Walton Way” – Leadership Secrets of the World’s Largest Company©
  Take a look at Wal-Mart’s web sites around the world and you’ll see the influence Sam Walton’s teachings still have on his company. His quotes about customer service, the treatment of people and maintaining high standards are still promoted by the company’s current leaders. In this best practice workshop, Bergdahl will give your team a better understanding of Wal-Mart’s Culture by unveiling the teachings of Wal-Mart’s founding father, Sam Walton.

• Operational Excellence – High Expectations Are The Key To Everything©
  Execute, execute, execute is the rallying cry at Wal-Mart. In fact, the name “Wal-Mart” is synonymous with “superior execution.” With world class technology the company manages its supply chain with lock step execution. The competitive standards it sets in every area are World Class and often challenge conventional wisdom. What is it about “The Wal-Mart Way” that is so different and why is the company so successful? In this workshop Bergdahl talks about strategies and tactics manufacturers and suppliers can use to improve their vendor partnership with Wal-Mart. Bergdahl discusses Wal-Mart’s aggressive standards and expectations while providing your team with an insider’s perspective on why it is important to improve your service standards.

• Average People Above Average Results©
  When Sam Walton founded Wal-Mart he hired many of his early associates from off the farms around Northwest Arkansas. Since Bentonville wasn't a hub for retail talent this hiring strategy was his only option. He hired for attitude and taught his associates the skills they needed to be successful. Mr. Sam had the ability to take teams of ordinary people and get extraordinary results. What was his secret? How did he lead his army of mostly average people to above average results? In this workshop Bergdahl discloses the secrets behind Sam Walton’s legendary leadership and people practices.

Competitive Advantage Seminars (Full Day)

• P.O.C.K.E.T.S. – The 7 Key Strategies and Tactics of Wal-Mart©
  In this seminar, using the acronym, “ P.O.C.K.E.T.S.”, which stands for Price, Operations, Culture, Key Item Promotion, Expenses, Talent and Service, Michael Bergdahl describes the 7 key success strategies of Sam Walton and Wal-Mart. Finding your unique niche in the market is the key to finding your sustainable competitive advantage and Bergdahl will discuss how to find “POCKETS”! In this seminar, you will learn Wal-Mart’s strategies and tactics for creating competitive advantage.

• Building Bench: Attract Retain & Upgrade©
  What is your standard for staffing talent in your organization? How do your people compare to those of your competitors? Are you selective in choosing very bright, high potential people for your business or do you settle for whoever walks through the door and applies? Are you getting your share of “A” Players? The selection and retention of quality employees is the foundation upon which every one of your other strategies is based. Staffing should be one of your most important competitive advantages. In this seminar Bergdahl will challenge your staffing paradigms. He will share with you “World Class” Staffing strategies and tactics from his experiences working for PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay Division. He will review the methods of creating a “human inventory” or “bench strength” analysis for your organization to help you improve your ability to compete. In the competitive world we live and work in the companies with the best talent…WIN!

• 52 Best Practices of Mr. Sam©
  Why was Sam Walton so successful? Did he simply have the right idea at the right time? Could anyone else, with the same idea, at the same time, have achieved the same level of success that he did? So what did he do that was so unique and unusual that made his company catapult to the top of the business world? Why is it that his competitors, suppliers, non-competitors, professors and college students across the globe study Wal-Mart’s best practices trying to gain insight into Mr. Sam’s incredible success story? Why does his company dominate markets around the world where others have failed? What is it about Mr. Sam’s company that makes competitors fear and respect it around the world? In this seminar, Bergdahl will answer these questions as he reviews 52 of the leadership best practices of Sam Walton.

          Michael's Books

A Few of Michael's Clients' Comments "Your Message is Powerful!" Edward Ray, Head of National Sales - Coca-Cola Russia "Michael Bergdahl provides a glimpse into the "Wal-Mart Big Box" that only an insider could provide.” Paul Slevin, Director of Food & Impulse, TESCO Ireland “Many thanks for a sensational session, you brought the conference home in a way that only someone of your caliber and experience could.” John J Koot, Executive Director, Chemmart Pharmacies®, Australia “Bergdahl was a spectacular start to a very memorable Spring Conference." Daniel C. Borschke, CAE, President/CEO, NARMS International "Your presentation was great and you are a talented speaker." Bob Ballantyne, Global Beverage Group

KEYNOTE FEE :
$15,000 - East coast
$17,500 - West coast
$30,000 - International

* Honorarium can vary depending on presentation length, distance to venue and many other factors. 
All fees are plus travel expenses and subject to change, so please call for an exact quote.

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