Michael Bergdahl worked in the headquarters office of Wal-Mart, side by side with Sam Walton. Throughout his career he has shown intuitiveness in marketing and business management.
When Sam Walton passed away, Bergdahl left Wal-Mart and went to work as a member of an executive turnaround team at American Eagle Outfitters (AE). The AE leadership team turned the company around and took it public. The stock subsequently split 4 times while he was there! He then joined the turnaround team at Waste Management.
Bergdahl has appeared on CNN, CNBC, CNN FN, CBS National Radio and Bloomberg TV. He is considered an authority on Wal-Mart. The giant retailer's own Public Relations Department has referred Bergdahl to interviewers interested in gaining insights into the company. He is a columnist for VNU Publications and his articles have appeared in Retail Merchandiser, Investor's Business Daily, Convenience Store News, Progressive Grocer, Convenience Store Decisions Magazine, the Grocery Manufacturer Association's FORUM Magazine, the National Community Pharmacists Association's America's Pharmacist Magazine, American Management Association's MWorld Magazine and the National Association of Convenience Stores Magazine.
Michael wrote a book about his experiences working for the World's largest retailer entitled: What I Learned from Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World, which was published in the USA and Internationally by John Wiley in August 2004. His book is being translated into versions in Chinese, Thai, Korean, Russian, Japanese and Spanish. He wrote his book to help Wal-Mart's domestic and international competitors develop proactive success strategies. Interestingly, his book is sold on both the Wal-Mart and Sam's Club web sites.
His second book entitled, Sam Walton's Golden Rules for Success: 10 Ways to Prosper Personally and Professionally in Today's Wal-Mart World became a best seller.
Michael Bergdahl is a motivational speaker who is one part business, one part inspirational, one part storyteller and one part entertainment. He has spoken at association and business conferences domestically and internationally to groups who are interested in improving their ability to compete successfully.
Testimonials
Your "P.O.C.K.E.T.S." speech at our annual meeting exceeded our expectations. I heard nothing but positives from everyone who attended. One of our petroleum marketers expressed it best, saying he was "spellbound". Thanks for being so easy to work with and for your contribution to making our convention a great success!"
- Mississippi Petroleum Marketers ' Convenience Store Association
Your speaking ability coupled with your exceptional experience with great leaders gives you something that everyone who wants to succeed should hear."
- Lou Holtz , Head Football Coach, Notre Dame 1986-1996
"He's a sales and service guy who know how to motivate people to reach their full potential. Speaking from his hands on experience, he inspires people to give that extra effort that yields big results. If you haven't heard him, you've got to hear him speak!"
- Marriott International
Dynamic, exciting, no nonsense, no pie in the sky, no wishful thinking but nuts and bolts, guts and glory as to how to become successful delivering your product to the world...speaking directly to people, communicating directly to people, with a timely and important message."
- Bell Atlantic Yellow Pages
By understanding exactly what I was looking for, you provided us with an extremely informative and entertaining presentation. Thank you for your expertise"
- BASF Corporation
"Your keynote presentation met and exceeded every expectation! You were dynamic and motivational. Your expertise made a difference in the lives of many people."
- Media Credit Association
"You are eminently professional. The ideas you express and materials are cutting edge."
- County Seat Stores
Michael, what a great pleasure to hear your stories! Storytelling is a lost art, and you've brought it back to life!
- Hewlett-Packard
Michael's analysis of Wal-Mart's case is lucid and inspirational at the same time. It gave me and my top leadership a great example of how amazing and consistent results can be achieved also through focus and simplicity.
- Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care
Your insight on the Wal Mart business case is inspirational, a good story in discipline, minimizing waste and setting a gold standard on supply chain excellence. However, sharing your story on how you converted your personal family situation into an opportunity and wrote your first book is even more inspiring
- IMS Health Canada
