and observations about other retailers and about customers. The tradition continues today. The meeting always starts with the Wal-Mart cheer-yes, they have one. In pure high school, rah-rah fashion, the leader yells "Gimme a W!" and the room answers, all the way through the name, to the final question of "Whos number one?" You might consider this an obvious question, but the answer is "The customer!" That is the guiding philosophy of Wal-Mart-it is the companys anthem, as much as "Rock and Roll All Night" is for KISS. It succinctly states what the company is about and represents the interests and sentiments of its fans. Central to the Wal-Mart culture is an intimate understanding of the customer, which requires talking one-on-one to customers and employees in the stores. Walton was famous for listening to them talk about what they liked and disliked about their Wal-Mart experience and what his competitors were doing better than he was. On the quest for improvement, Walton frequently challenged his employees with two questions:     S Whatare our competitors doing better than we are? Walton knew that even the worst competitor probably did something better than he did. Think of the power of that principle in build- ing a brand. If you have examined all of your competitors strengths, adopted them, and improved on them, your brand can become best of the breed on nearly every attribute in the brand promise.   S Whatbookshaveyoureadlatelythatwouldhelpourfirmbebetter managed than our competitors? Walton knew the need to get the best ideas in the world from the best thinkers in the world. Those ideas are usually found in books, not magazines, and not | Br a nd s Th at Roc k     in the restricted environment that makes up the experience of even the best managers.     Wal-Mart World   Though some may not like to admit it, Wal-Mart is part of contem- porary American culture because it represents middle Americas desire for value in an environment that is nonthreatening and easy to navigate. Its strategies remain entrenched in the simple-its all about giving customers what they want to buy for the best prices possible and creating a shopping experience that keeps them coming back- but what it takes to execute that strategy continues to intensify. As