As I mentioned in an earlier post, I attended and spoke at a Global Business Summit recently in Dallas, sponsored by the local chapter of the American Marketing Association. I was the last speaker, which is sometimes good and sometimes bad; this time it was good. The theme of the conference was focused on doing business in a tough economy, and all day long I listened to folks who were sharing their concerns about the current state of business and sharing stories of challenging times for their companies. As the day went on, my head became filled with thoughts of how well prepared Mary Kay was, unlike many other companies, for any sort of challenge that came our way. I wondered, why are we are in such a different place? What is it that Mary Kay has done differently that has us in such a strong place? I continued to think about that most of the afternoon, so much so that I was often distracted from the program. When it came my turn to speak, I shared the story of Mary Kay's global growth...