1) You read about an entrepreneur:
What surprised you the most?
- I am most surprised by the way May Kay Ash encouraged her employees. Most CEOs wouldn’t lead meetings and speeches by encourage, but yet only to reflect on their last quarters findings and financials. Instead, she “imagined everyone wearing a sign that says “Make me feel important” when speaking to them. This empowers them to sell and spread her brand in the best way possible.
What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
- I admired May Kay’s ambition and willingness to never give up. She shaped her entire life on a single phrase, “You can do it.” Through repetition of this phrase, she was able to accomplish so much in her childhood to career. She was a very inspirational person empowering other women to take control of their life.
What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
- I least admire her mindset of women need makeup, an expensive purse, and a wig to be beautiful. I admire boosting their confidence, but it should not be based on how they look.
Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
- “When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.” This quote from the book shows exactly her mindset when she approaches a roadblock. Instead of facing it and deciding the best decision, she makes an alternative path and almost moves around it. Its best to avoid it and find a different path.
2) What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
- Mary Kay Ash quoted, “There are four kids of people in the world: Those who make things happen; Those who watch things happen; Those who wonder what happened; Those who don’t know anything happened. I knew from a very early age that I wanted to be first on that list.” Through this philosophy she has shown competencies of strong leadership and communication skills while maintaining very results oriented.
3) Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
- I never found anything confusing about this book. I thought it was very insight about her life and portrayed the storytelling of from her childhood to career very well.
4) If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
- I would ask, “what kept you so motivated in hard times?” Inspirational quotes can only take a mindset so far and entrepreneurs go through a lot of up and down times. I would also ask, “Do you regret anything from the start to end off your career?” She seems to always stay positive and look towards the future, without reflecting much on the past.
5) For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
- Through Mary Kay Ash’s perception, she views hard work as ensuring everyone else’s happiness and encouraging them to do the most they can do without overwhelming them. I definitely share this opinion of hard work because I am a strong believer in building others up. She stated, “the greatest pollution problem we face today is negativity.” This is completely true as more people in this world spread negativity rather than positivity.
It seems like Mary Kay was a great CEO that respected her employees. The phrase she used, "You can do it" are kind of words to live by. I think a lot of people believe that they control their destiny. Your question is spot on in what you would ask her! Entrepreneurs hit some hard times and I am also curious what kept her motivated to continue pushing forward?
ReplyDeleteHi, Jessica! This was one book from the list I wanted to read for this class, but was unable to find a copy of it. I wanted to read it because I admit I was obligated to attend a Mary Kay party before and had such an odd experience that I wanted to learn more about the woman who created the brand. I did not realize she believed women "needed" makeup, etc., to be beautiful. I thought she thought of it more to enhance one's features or improve their self-confidence. There was also something at the Mary Kay party that did not sound right to me, which was when all the women started explaining to me how they all put God first and their husbands second. It just sounded so old-fashioned and archaic, just not really how we think anymore these days! Still, Mary Kay sounded like a very strong woman who built a makeup empire by staying positive through roadblocks and empowering others by making them feel important.
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