And the greeter is what sets the tone for this company and I've

“And the greeter is what sets the tone for this company and I’ve been on TV a little bit this morning.” Thus spoke Lee Scott, former chief of Wal-Mart, a man who rose from modest beginnings to lead one of the world’s largest companies. At first, the words appear ordinary, even lighthearted, but beneath them lies a truth profound and enduring: that greatness in any organization is not established by the lofty speeches of its leaders, nor by the glare of television lights, but by the humble hand that first welcomes the stranger. The greeter, standing at the threshold, is the herald of the company’s spirit, the guardian of its first impression, the voice that either warms the heart or chills it.

The origin of this saying rests in Wal-Mart’s tradition of store greeters, men and women often older or retired, stationed at the door not to sell, but to welcome. Sam Walton, the founder, knew the power of human connection. He understood that when a customer crosses the threshold, they do not first meet a product, or a policy, or a profit—they meet a face. And in that face lies the entire reputation of the company. Lee Scott, reflecting on this, declared that though he himself might speak on television, it is the greeter who truly sets the tone. For no broadcast can compare to the living warmth of a genuine welcome.

This principle is not confined to commerce. The ancients, too, exalted hospitality as sacred. Among the Greeks, the stranger at the door was to be honored, for he might be a god in disguise. Among the Hebrews, Abraham’s greatness was shown not by his wealth or power, but by how he rushed to welcome three unknown visitors with food and water. The greeter was not a servant’s role but a noble calling: to embody kindness at the threshold of encounter. In every age, the first welcome has carried the weight of the whole house.

Consider also the story of the American civil rights movement. Rosa Parks, by a simple act of refusal, became not only a passenger but a greeter to a movement—her quiet dignity at the front of the bus set the tone for countless marches and speeches that would follow. Though leaders spoke on television and at podiums, it was the everyday welcome, the humble faces at church doors and lunch counters, that gave the movement its moral force. Here too, the smallest act of greeting became the foundation of something vast.

From this, we learn a mighty lesson: the tone of any enterprise is set not by the mightiest, but by the nearest. The leader may appear on screens, but the spirit is conveyed by those who stand face-to-face with the people. If the greeter is warm, the company is warm. If the greeter is cold, the company is cold. And so it is with every human endeavor: the beginning of the encounter determines its course. In the classroom, it is the teacher’s first smile; in the home, it is the welcome at the door; in nations, it is the way they greet the stranger at their borders.

Practical wisdom flows from this truth. If you lead, do not neglect the greeters—the ones who seem small, yet carry your spirit outward. Train them not with rigid scripts but with genuine kindness. If you are yourself a greeter, remember that your role is not small but great: you bear the honor of setting the tone, of making strangers feel like friends. And in your own life, whenever you meet someone new, consider yourself a greeter of the human family—your welcome may shape their entire impression, not only of you, but of the world.

Thus, remember Lee Scott’s words: “The greeter is what sets the tone for this company.” Let them echo beyond the walls of business into the chambers of daily life. For in every threshold we cross, in every first encounter we make, we have the chance to set the tone—for kindness or for coldness, for trust or for fear. Choose, then, to greet with warmth. For though leaders may speak on television, it is in the humble welcome of the greeter that the true soul of any people is revealed.