Motivational Leadership: The Way of Mary Kay
(Motivational Leadership article is an excerpt from The Progress Challenge by Dean Lindsay)
“Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from their neck saying, ‘Make me feel important.’ Never forget this message when working with people.” — Mary Kay Ash Quote
A Video on a couple of Mary Kay’s favorite topics…MOTIVATION and Building Great Relationships: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNeIb_F8YdY[/youtube]
Over the centuries, there have been countless successful business leaders, but perhaps none as skilled at recognizing and rewarding team members as Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Inc. Having enjoyed the privilege of working with this dazzling organization a few times over the years, I couldn’t help but notice that it is an organization built on prestige.
Mary Kay Ash was a strong believer in rewarding top sales professionals with what she called “Cinderella gifts.” These awards, or “gifts,” not only included vacations and diamonds but also one of the most recognizable – and certainly most mobile – symbols of a Mary Kay sales pro’s accomplishments – the pink Cadillac! Mary Kay’s pink Cadillac is the sales trophy that you drive around! It is prestige on wheels.
And the prestige just keeps on rolling. In the parking lot of Mary Kay’s corporate headquarters north of Dallas, Texas, the parking spaces nearest to the front entrance to the building are not reserved for VP of Finance, VP of Marketing, or VP of Pink Dye. They are each Reserved for Pink Cadillac. If an independent Mary Kay consultant up in Oregon earns a pink Cadillac, she can drive that sucker down and that’s her spot. Talk about prestige.
Since the Mary Kay Career Car program started in 1969, over 1,900 independent sales-force members in the United States have earned the privilege of driving a Mary Kay pink Caddy. In the company’s international markets, sales professionals earn access to other model cars, including Mercedes and BMW. In all, more than 12,000 women worldwide have earned the use of a Mary Kay Career Car.
“No matter how busy you are, you must take time to make the other person feel important.” — Mary Kay Ash Quote
Here is some background: 
In 1963, after “retiring” from a successful 25-year career in direct sales, Mary Kay Ash, a single mother of three, took her life savings of $5,000 and founded Mary Kay Cosmetics. From Day One, she passionately encouraged the independent business owners who sold her products to recognize others’ accomplishments, no matter how small. It was in this recognition-focused environment that the company went from its lean, but not mean, beginnings in a 500-square-foot Dallas storefront, to an international cosmetic dynamo.
The Mary Kay business model is simple: it is direct sales. Independent sales representatives purchase products from Mary Kay Inc. at wholesale prices and sell them directly to consumers at retail prices. Prestige-generating recognition works. Mary Kay Inc. has averaged double-digit growth each year since it was founded. (That’s sure worth a pat on the back.)
“Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don’t keep it a secret.”
— Mary Kay Ash Quote
Mary Kay products are sold in over 35 markets worldwide, including Australia (their first international market), Brazil, India, Kazakhstan, Sweden, and Uruguay, with the company’s top international markets being China, Russia, and Mexico. The company’s global independent sales force is over 1.8 million strong.
Give prestige, get prestige. Mary Kay Ash was awarded many highly prestigious honors herself. Highlights include Baylor University hailing her as the “Greatest Female Entrepreneur in American History,” and being listed as one of “America’s 25 Most Influential Women” by the World Almanac and Book of Facts. Mary Kay Ash died on November 22, 2001. In 2004, PBS and the Wharton School of Business named Mary Kay Ash one of the “25 Most Influential Business Leaders of the Past 25 Years.”
“We treat our people like royalty. If you honor and serve the people who work for you, they will honor and serve you.”
— Mary Kay Ash Quote
This is a company based on praise and recognition, a company, as Mary Kay Ash often said, “with heart.” Mary Kay Ash knew what she was doing. When I see a woman (rarely a man) driving a Mary Kay Pink Caddy, I know that person is rocking. They have game. They are being progress to a bunch of people. The pink caddy is proof of progress.
Offer the Promise of Prestige.
Be Progress.
— Mary Kay Ash Quote
— Mary Kay Ash Quote
(Motivational Leadership article is an excerpt from The Progress Challenge by Dean Lindsay)