Matthew Waller, dean emeritus for the Sam M. Walton College of Business, and Adam Stoverink, executive director of the Walton MBA programs, are co-teaching Leadership & Organizational Behavior this fall to Walton full-time MBA and Walton Executive MBA students. The class explores Walmart as a semester-long case study, bringing leadership theories and principles to life through compelling examples and executive guest speakers.
In our Leadership and Organizational Behavior course, we organize the material week by week around key themes of leadership, including vision, attributes, behaviors, decision-making, ethics, and influence. Each week, students learn frameworks, theories, and research that help explain how leaders can inspire and guide others. To make these concepts real, we regularly connect theory to practice through examples from Walmart and other organizations. We are currently on Week 6 of the 15 week course.
| Walmart CEO Issues Wake-Up Call: ‘AI Is Going to Change Literally Every Job’ The Wall Street Journal Sept. 26, 2025 |
The recent remarks by Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, reported in the Wall Street Journal, provide an ideal case study. McMillon declared that artificial intelligence will “change literally every job.” We examine his comments and Walmart’s response to AI through the lens of our course. The sections below align with the weekly topics we cover in class, demonstrating how McMillon’s leadership illustrates the very concepts students are learning.
Week 1: Leadership Framework (Leader, Followers, Situation)
Leadership involves creating a compelling vision, aligning people around it, and mobilizing them to act (Kotter, 1990). McMillon provided vision by acknowledging that AI will transform every role in the company. He also reassured employees that Walmart’s goal is “to create the opportunity for everybody to make it to the other side” (Nassauer & Cutter, 2025). The leader, followers, and situation are clearly visible. The situation is technological disruption. The leader is McMillon. The followers are Walmart’s two million associates.
Week 2: Leadership Attributes (Big Five, IQ, EQ, Theory X and Theory Y)
McMillon shows openness to experience by embracing AI. He shows conscientiousness by framing its impact carefully and responsibly. He demonstrates emotional intelligence by empathizing with associates whose roles will shift (Goleman, 1995). His message reflects a Theory Y belief that people want to grow and contribute when given opportunities (McGregor, 1960). Walmart’s investment in retraining and new roles such as “agent builders” illustrates confidence in human potential and adaptability.
Week 3: Leadership Behaviors (Consideration, Initiating Structure, Authentic Leadership)
McMillon demonstrates consideration by showing care for employees’ futures. He demonstrates initiating structure by piloting AI tools and creating new job categories (Blake & Mouton, 1964). He admits that the company does not yet know the exact job mix. This transparency reflects authentic leadership, which emphasizes self-awareness, consistency, and values-based action (Avolio & Gardner, 2005).
Week 4: Decision-Making (WRAP Framework)
Walmart is widening its options by experimenting with automation, chatbots, and new categories of work. It is reality-testing assumptions through pilot programs. It is attaining distance by keeping a long-term perspective. It is preparing to be wrong by acknowledging uncertainty and building flexibility into its plans. These steps mirror the WRAP framework (Heath & Heath, 2013). They also reflect research on cognitive biases such as sunk cost and availability, which often cloud decision-making (Arkes & Blumer, 1985; Tversky & Kahneman, 1974).
Week 5: Leader Values, Ethics, and Character
McMillon openly acknowledges disruption while committing to guide associates responsibly. His reasoning reflects both efficiency and compassion. Ends-based reasoning focuses on competitiveness. Care-based reasoning emphasizes the dignity of employees (Kidder, 1995). By balancing both, McMillon demonstrates ethical leadership. His integrity echoes the lessons of Sam Walton, who argued that leadership requires respect for the individual and listening to employees (Walton & Huey, 1992).
Week 6: Power, Influence, and Persuasion
McMillon uses legitimate and expert power as Walmart’s CEO. He also builds referent power by showing care for associates (French & Raven, 1959). His message applies persuasion principles. Authority is present in his role. Social proof comes from pointing to other companies making similar predictions. Unity is emphasized when he stresses that “everybody” must make it to the other side (Cialdini, 2007). These elements allow him to influence both Walmart’s workforce and the broader business community.
Doug McMillon’s message demonstrates nearly every leadership principle we cover in our course. He provides vision. He models key attributes. He shows authentic behaviors. He applies disciplined decision-making. He grounds choices in ethics. He uses persuasion to mobilize others. His remarks provide a real-world case study of leadership in action and show that the concepts we study are practical tools for meeting today’s most pressing challenges.
References
Arkes, H. R., & Blumer, C. (1985). The psychology of sunk cost. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 35(1), 124–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(85)90049-4
Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315–338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.03.001
Blake, R. R., & Mouton, J. S. (1964). The managerial grid: The key to leadership excellence. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.
Cialdini, R. B. (2007). Influence: The psychology of persuasion (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: Harper Business.
French, J. R. P., Jr., & Raven, B. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in social power (pp. 150–167). Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York, NY: Bantam Books.
Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2013). Decisive: How to make better choices in life and work. New York, NY: Crown Business.
Kidder, R. M. (1995). How good people make tough choices: Resolving the dilemmas of ethical living. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Kotter, J. P. (1990). What leaders really do. Harvard Business Review, 68(3), 103–111.
McGregor, D. (1960). The human side of enterprise. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Nassauer, S., & Cutter, C. (2025, September 26). Walmart CEO issues wake-up call: ‘AI is going to change literally every job.’ The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/walmart-ceo-doug-mcmillon-ai-job-losses-dbaca3aa
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124–1131. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4157.1124
Walton, S., & Huey, J. (1992). Sam Walton: Made in America. New York, NY: Doubleday.
