Kamprad's interest in front-line operations also extended to IKEA's staff. Whenever he
visited a store he tried to meet and shake hands with every employee, offering a few words of praise,
encouragement or advice as he did so. The simple—some said spartan—values of his native
Småland had stayed with Kamprad, and he still rose early, worked hard, lived simply, and took a
common-sense approach to management. One executive's account of Kamprad's recent visit to a
newly opened store in Hamburg captured much of the founder's management style: