The Mary Kay Way

Book excerpt: A revised and updated edition of the cosmetics icon’s timeless guide to entrepreneurial success, featuring her people-centered business philosophy. Mary Kay Ash built a global independent sales force that today numbers 1.8 million women, and is respected by business and academic leaders. How? The secret is in this book. For forty-five years, the principles in The Mary Kay Way have helped the company succeed through changing economic times and explosive global growth. It has been said that no company wholeheartedly embodies the values and reflects the beliefs of its founder more than Mary Kay Inc. Now you can put the same inspiring principles to work for you. Recognized today as America’s greatest woman entrepreneur, Mary Kay Ash stepped out in 1963 in a man’s world to blaze a new path for women. She grew her business based not on the rules of competition, but on The Golden Rule. By “praising people to success” and “sandwiching every bit of criticism between two heavy layers of praise,” this energetic Texas titan opened new opportunities for women around the world and built a multibillion-dollar corporation. Mary Kay’s unconventional business philosophy was first published in 1984. Now revised and updated for the first time, with examples from her company’s top independent salespeople, The Mary Kay Way is perhaps her most important legacy. Praise for The Mary Kay Way “One of the most inspiring entrepreneurial leaders, Mary Kay always understood the importance of people and the value they can bring to an organization.” —J. W. Marriott, Jr., Chairman and CEO, Marriott International, Inc. “Mary Kay knew that when you put people first and then surround them with processes and disciplines that recognize their efforts, performance will soar.” —David C. Novak, Chairman and CEO, Yum! Brands, Inc. (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver’s, A&W)