Happy new month and a BIG HELLO to the new followers of secretlilies...It gives me joy every time I check my follower's list and I spot a new follower. Thank you guys, I really appreciate.
Mothering Sunday is around the corner, if I am correct it will be celebrated this coming Sunday. I have decided to dedicate this month to dishing out inspiring stories and motivational messages from influential, strong interesting women, all over the world.
Today, I will start with Mary Kay Ash. From her book " the MARY KAY WAY", I will dish out some motivational extracts.
"Most books on leadership have been written by men-and for men. Although I believe women can learn a great deal from such books, I also believe it isn't possible for us to clone ourselves from our male counterparts, because we are different. Women can no more duplicate the male style of management than American businessmen can exactly reproduce the Japanese style. This is not to suggest that Americans and Japanese cannot learn from one another-they can and do. Similarly women gain considerable leadership know-how from men. By the same token, men can also learn much from women. To me, P and L doesn't only mean PROFIT and LOSS-it also means PEOPLE and LOVE.
People come first at Mary Kay-independent sales force employees, consumers and our suppliers. We pride ourselves as a company known for the people it keeps". Our belief in caring for people, however, does not conflict with our need as a corporation to generate a profit. Yes, we keep our eye on the bottom line, but it's not an overriding obsession.
Many view us as an enigma, but the MARY KAY success story is no mystery to me". This remarkable Company and independent sales force have succeeded not through " dog eat dog" competition so commonplace in "big business", but through sensitivity for the needs of others. We could never have grown to where we are today without the enthusiasm of thousands of women and a committed staff. Our secret is a unique leadership concept, based on the Golden rule, that allows fairness to flourish in business
My story begins with what others may regard as a conclusion. In 1963, before starting my own company, I retired after twenty five years in direct sales. I loved my work and as a national training director of a large corporation I had achieved many of my goals, but as I reflected upon my career I was still disheartened.
As a mother strives to protect her children, I wanted to help other women so they wouldn't have to suffer what I had endured.
Once I made my decision, I needed something to sell. I wanted a top-quality product-one that could benefit other women, and one that women would be comfortable selling. I also wanted to offer women an open-ended opportunity to do anything they were smart enough, and motivated enough to do.
After spending days and nights trying to think of such a product, it finally dawned on me one evening, while I was getting ready for bed-my skin care products. I had been introduced to them 10 years earlier by a local cosmetologist I had called on during my direct-selling days. Using formulas created by her dad, she developed creams and lotions for customers of her small, home operated beauty shop. So when the cosmetologist died, I bought the original formulas from her family. From my own use and the results I had personally received, I knew that these skin care products were tremendous; with some modifications and high quality packaging, I was sure they would be big sellers! And they did.
Every person is special! I sincerely believe this. Each of us wants to feel good about himself or herself, but to me it is just as important to make others feel the same way. Whenever I meet someone, I try to imagine him or her wearing an invisible sign that says: " MAKE ME FEEL IMPORTANT! I respond to this sign immediately, and it works wonders.
Hmmm I will stop here for now: will continue later...
Notez Bien: One thing that made me fall in love with this lady was her ability, her drive help, motivate, encourage and empower women.. Mary Kay Ash's slogan was : " God first, Family second, Career third"...
Ponder on these words and have a lovely weekend.
Ciao.
