sorted by: most recent | most viewed | most commented

  • Brand "You"

    by: Posted
    I've heard it said many times over the years that "people don't join companies, they join people" and likewise, "people don't leave companies, they leave people." I think this is true to a great extent. An example of this is when Mary Kay Ash founded our company on Friday, September 13th, 1963. There was no "company" that she could share. The story hadn't been written yet. There was no brand, no product success, no past sales history that would provide the confidence or the impetus to join her. There was only her, her 20 year old son, Richard, and a shelf full of pink jars in a small rented space in an office complex. Yet, join they did. Women signed up based on "brand Mary Kay Ash", the person. I don't believe much has changed since then in this aspect. Certainly our company's rich history and success over the past 46 years, our quality products that continue to be among women's favorites and our world famous founder provide...
    ... [read more]

  • Plan your work, and work your plan

    by: Posted
    It's planning and budgeting time around the Mary Kay office right now. That means we're all thinking about our most important initiatives for 2010, our revenue forecasts for all of our markets around the world, and what we think we'll be spending to accomplish our goals. It's a process that goes on for a few months each year. We each begin at the individual department level, but eventually all have to come together to make sure that our goals are in sync overall and that our company-wide budget is reasonable. No one particularly enjoys the process, but everyone understands how important it is to plan. As I was thinking about this, I was reminded about two things: (1) Mary Kay Ash always said that one should " plan your work, and work your plan ", and (2) that many young women these days don't have a plan for their life, but wish they did (as we learned from our 2009 What Women Want research study). It occurred to me that as individuals, we don't often take...
    ... [read more]

  • Pink Changing Lives - Part 2

    by: Posted
    A few years ago, there was a museum exhibit in Texas called “It Ain’t Braggin’ If It’s True.” Will you please indulge me while I take a moment to brag about the Mary Kay independent sales force and their customers? Last year, Mary Kay undertook its first cause marketing program called Beauty That Counts™. The funds raised were used to help women and children around the world. In Korea, the funds were used to build children’s libraries for orphans and disabled children. In Mexico, the funds were used to support programs dealing with domestic violence. In the U.S., a portion of the funds were used to underwrite a multi-media curriculum addressing the issue of teen dating violence. Some of the funds were also used to support a new and innovative program focused on children and the healing powers of nature. The program is building five outdoor “nature explore classrooms” at women’s shelters in Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, California...
    ... [read more]

  • Let me introduce you...

    by: Posted
    to Anne Crews. Anne is our first guest blogger here on Reflections, and I'm so delighted she agreed to share with our readers this month. October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and Anne is a Mary Kay warrior when it comes to her commitment to personally do all she can to put a stop to this dreadful thing that plagues so many of our families. All of us at Mary Kay are very proud of the work we doin this area. It takes a lot of money to make a difference all across our country and all around our world, and none of it would be possible without our wonderful independent sales force and their loyal customers. Through their purchases of our skin care and color cosmetics, as well as their generous donations to the Mary Kay Foundation, all this is possible. We owe them a great deal of gratitude, and hope that they are as proud as we are of the work that has been done to help enrich the lives of women in need. I invite you to click on the link below to hear directly from Mary Kay's...
    ... [read more]

  • Pink Changing Lives - Part One

    by: Posted
    Thank you Rhonda for giving me the opportunity to share information about the work that we are doing to end domestic violence. Many of you know that October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. But what you may not know is that ending violence against women is one of the primary initiatives supported by Mary Kay Inc. and The Mary Kay Foundation. Around here, we call our efforts at doing well by doing good Pink Changing Lives SM . From the moment Mary Kay Ash founded our company in 1963, she always felt our primary mission was to enrich the lives of women. This is one of the reasons Mary Kay felt strongly that as an organization, we needed to support women’s shelters and those dealing with domestic abuse. I worked with Mary Kay for years and can tell you when she felt strongly about an issue, she acted on it. And as a Company, so do we. We feel strongly that violence against women must be stopped. Mary Kay Inc. and The Mary Kay Foundation have made a long-term commitment...
    ... [read more]

  • When things don't go your way

    by: Posted
    I saw a great quote on Twitter yesterday. Unfortunately, an author wasn't cited, so I don't know who to attribute it to, but it really got me to thinking about what happens to us when things don't go our way. "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted" If that is true, which I believe it is, then I know without a doubt that Mary Kay Ash would have said that she had lots of "experience "! For example, when she was a salesperson herself (before founding our company), she had set her sights on winning a beautiful handbag that she had seen a previous sales leader earn. She set that as her goal, and worked hard all year long to earn one for herself. She achieved the level of sales required, but she didn't get what she wanted. Instead, she was rewarded with a flounder light (evidently it's something you use to attract fish when you're trying to catch them). From that experience , she decided that if she ever got the chance to...
    ... [read more]

  • Can you help?

    by: Posted
    I received this comment on the blog over the weekend from a woman who needs some help. If you are in her area and can help, that would be wonderful. Hoping that you can! I didn't know where else to put this/or even send this to someone but I need help. I'm working with a local school as their colorguard coach and we're in need of a make-up consultant. I've used MK when i was in high school and in college and i really love it. However, the school that i'm working with can't afford to purchase make up for the girls or even new uniforms. Therefore i'm wondering if you know of anyone that is willing to help us out by sponsoring us. I live in San Diego, California and I work in the Chula Vista area. If anyone sees/reads this please contact me at ashley_turnage2001@yahoo.com and thank you for taking the time to read this!! ~! Ashley !~ Written by Ashley (ashley_turnage2001@yahoo.com a visitor) on Sep 13, 2009
    ... [read more]

  • Another Lesson in "Thinking Like A Woman"

    by: Posted
    After 20 years of running the company she founded, Mary Kay Ash set down to compile the traits that she thought had made her company so successful. That "list" was published in 1984, as Mary Kay on People Management . An updated version was released in 2008, under the title The Mary Kay Way . One of the many traits that she relied on for her success in business was her woman's intuition, and a caring, nurturing spirit, and she was pleased that she had proved wrong the many who had criticized her for "thinking like a woman." In the introduction to that book, Mary Kay says, "Throughout this book I discuss the specific ways in which women do think differently from men. Such differences are in no way inferior to or incompatible with 'the way a man thinks.' And so one of my objectives in founding Mary Kay was to create a business atmosphere in which 'thinking like a woman' would not be a liability. In my Company those special sensitivities and talents...
    ... [read more]

  • Things to look forward to

    by: Posted
    I am totally jazzed about the great things I just saw and heard about that will be a part of Mary Kay's future. I just returned from a presentation of the products we'll see from 2010 to 2013; new skin care, color, fragrance and body care. WOW! I can't wait. I am one of those people that is pretty faithful to what I use, once I know that it works for me (which has been Mary Kay for more than 25 years now), but I also am eager to try the latest things that our teams develop, because I know that their goal is always to make it even better than it was before. One of the things that they previewed that I can't wait for everyone to see is a whole new concept for us that I think you are all going to love. Let's just say that when it was "unveiled", the reaction in the room full of women was a unanimous and audible "AWW". Around here, we refer to that lovingly as "the squeal factor", and history shows that those products that have it always turn...
    ... [read more]

  • Changing the world one woman at a time

    by: Posted
    On this day, August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified that guaranteed women the right to vote. It was a major step for one half of our nation's population and a step that undoubtedly has changed the course of our nation forever. But it was only the beginning of creating a society that valued the contributions of women, recognized their potential and gave them endless opportunities to change the world. I'm certain that are a great number of women in the U.S. who feel we still have a long way to go to truly gain the level of equality that is inherent in the very fact that we are one half of the nation's population. And in many ways, they are probably right. However, one only needs to look outside our borders to gain a broader perspective. This article from The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/23/magazine/23Women-t.html?_r=3&ref=magazine #, was shared with me today by a colleague here at Mary Kay. As...
    ... [read more]

  • The viral nature of a woman on a mission

    by: Posted
    Yesterday, as we were gathering to begin a regularly-scheduled staff meeting, four of us were just catching up with each other on what was going on in our personal lives. One woman shared that she had just been to the doctor for her annual physical, and not only was she excited about the significant weight she had already lost, but had set a new goal to lose 17 additional pounds. Another talked about completing her first workout with a personal trainer, and how she was looking forward to the next one. And the third woman, well, talk about being on a mission. She shared that she has set a goal to compete in a triathlon, and had begun daily training for the fall event. As each of them was sharing their personal vision, I could sense the excitement in their voices, I could see by their body language that they had a sense of pride about what they were doing, and I began to feel those same things somehow magically being transferred to me. My adrenaline began to rise (or at least it felt like...
    ... [read more]

  • Lessons from the garden

    by: Posted
    As I've continued on my life's journey, one of the many things that I have learned about myself is that I am a creator/producer. I like to "make things". In my early years, it was crafts and sewing. I'd often just get a piece of fabric and sit down with the scissors and begin cutting and sewing, without a pattern, because I saw in my head what I wanted to create. (Perhaps I was really meant to be a fashion designer.) My next phase of production was children and the things that I could create through my work at Mary Kay, like products and marketing tools. As I continued to move up in the organization and focus more on strategy and leading others, I became less involved in the actual day-to-day creation of things. It took me a few years to figure out that I was actually missing the creating/producing process and the sense of accomplishment that comes at the end when you actually have the "thing" that you envisioned in the beginning. Since that was no longer...
    ... [read more]

  • It was the best one ever, eh?

    by: Posted
    Another year of Mary Kay Seminar has come and gone. And, as always, it was the best one ever. We are so blessed as a company to have such inspirational women in our sales force. I love hearing their stories and seeing how much they've grown over the years. Amazing stories of tragedy and triumph and of setbacks and successes. Women who brought talents and skills from other professions and turned them into abundant success for themselves, and women who, in some cases, were least likely to succeed, and they did it anyway. (That reminds me of the bumblebee, and why Mary Kay Ash chose it as the symbol of success for our company. You see, the bumblebee should not be able to fly, because of the large size of its body relative to the size of its wings. But that doesn't matter to the bumblebee, who goes right along flying anyway. Mary Kay always loved this story of the bumblee. Her late husband, Mel Ash, who always gifted Mary Kay on Thursdays because that was the day they were married,...
    ... [read more]

  • No posts until the week of August 3rd

    by: Posted
    Mary Kay's annual Seminar has arrived, and we're all taking care of business and supporting our Independent Beauty Consultants at the Dallas Convention Center. I'll be back blogging the week of August 3rd. See you then!
    ... [read more]

  • That Special Time of Year

    by: Posted
    I always know when it's getting close to one of my favorite times of the year when the mercury tops 100 degrees in Dallas, Texas. No, it's not that I like the heat so much, but it means that it's time for the annual Mary Kay Seminar . It recharges my batteries like nothing else I've ever experienced. It always reminds me of why I love this company so much and gets me motivated for another year of challenging work. It's the time that I reconnect with women that I haven't seen for a year, get updates on their families, see the new hairdos, and find out who is breaking records and setting audacious goals for new ones. So what exactly IS this thing called Seminar? Well, what it IS NOT is another stuffy, boring workshop that someone sends you to where you're supposed to learn something, but you usually don't. What it IS can best be described as the Academy Awards, Broadway, and the Miss Universe pageant all rolled up into one, with a dose of business education...
    ... [read more]
1 2 3 Next >