Real Time Reaction in Real Life

What does Real Time Reaction mean outside of data-mining and logistics (the areas in which Wal-Mart does very well)?

It means behaving like an entrepreneur all the time.

It means not having a "big company" mentality that things are "someone else's responsibility."

Here's a recent example of real-time reaction. A friend of mine is a practice manager in a small consulting firm. His colleague, manager of one of the other practices, is desperately understaffed (and, consequently, personally overworked). My friend came across a job applicant that wasn't right for his practice, but was a possible fit for his colleague's. His colleague agreed that the candidate was strong, but instead of calling the candidate directly to see in a five minute call if there was a potential fit, he referred the candidate to the HR person. The HR person, not having a sense of urgency about it, let it sit for a few days, and the colleague is no closer to being fully staffed.

Decide what's important, and do it in real time.