I had the pleasure of participating in the 2004 Mary Kay Seminar in Dallas, Texas. We went to sell my new line of motivational gifts but I received much more than monetary gain. My vocation is helping organizations build and sustain cultures of excellence through leadership development and through the years I have worked with hundreds of companies and thousands of leaders. But, after spending 18 days at the Mary Kay event, I must confess that I have never been exposed to a better business model than the one that was created by the legendary Mary Kay Ash.

We all know that Mary Kay is a tremendously successful enterprise with quality products that enhance the beauty of women. But, in my first-hand observation, the product is not the real power behind Mary Kay. Having spent hours with hundreds of Consultants and Directors, I am convinced that the heart of Mary Kay’s success is the culture that the founder so carefully nourished. Mary Kay was a single parent who worked hard in the corporate world only to be passed over in favor of her male counterparts. She had the vision to imagine a company where women could follow their dreams and achieve financial success by serving other women. I asked a very successful National Sales Director about the Mary Kay culture and in response she shared the following conversation. “I met Mary Kay and asked her what I could do to repay her for what she had done for me.” She answered, “Pass it forward.” This is the simple force behind the Mary Kay Spirit – women helping women succeed. At Mary Kay it’s not about ‘me’ it’s all about ‘the power of we.’ It was so refreshing to watch and feel the positive energy that occurs when people truly care about each other.

In my conversations with these Directors and Consultants, I found that many had left very successful corporate careers to join Mary Kay. The primary reason is that they felt unappreciated. Corporate America please take note, it’s not all about winning! To truly understand the force that drives this successful enterprise, one needs to look no further than what this Dream Company values – God first, family second, career third. Mary Kay understood that success at the expense of faith and family was truly failure and that a balanced life was the true measure of success. This philosophy is so foreign to the typical business culture that places so much emphasis on performance and productivity, that new Mary Kay Consultants have a hard time accepting the fact that this caring culture is truly genuine.

One Sales Director told me that her biggest challenge is helping new Consultants understand that caring is more than words at Mary Kay, it’s a way of life. She went on to explain that this is such a big challenge because many women come to Mary Kay from environments – both home and work – where they have been shown very little appreciation. It takes time to prove that the Mary Kay Culture – Passion for what you do and Compassion for those you serve – is real and believable. For those like me who study winning cultures, following is what I observed to be the four foundations of the successful Mary Kay Business Model:

1. Passion – love what you do.
2. Purpose – be a part of something greater than self. The Power of We.
3. Preparation – learn something new every day.
4. Perseverance – don’t quit before the blessing.
5. Personal Accountability – accept personal responsibility for your life.

In closing, I would like to share some of my quotes that celebrate the Mary Kay Spirit:

• Listen to the calling of your heart and the true riches of life will follow.

• Surround yourself with the precious few who believe in you.

• Doubt sees the obstacles, faith sees the way.

• Vision is the gift to see what others only dream.

• Follow the trail to your dreams, not the path of others’ expectations.

• We must have the freedom to dream, the courage to risk, the faith to believe and the will to succeed.

• It’s not our footprints on the sands of time that will be remembered, but our imprints on the hearts of those we love.

I would have loved to have personally met Mary Kay but I was blessed to feel her spirit through the warm hearts and beautiful smiles of those fortunate to be a part of her family. For that I am grateful. Keep smiling and serving, Byrd Baggett PS – For those who still feel that winning is everything, you might like to know that 80% of the female millionaires in the United States are Mary Kay sales professionals. Success is truly high touch!

Recently, as I was attempting to clean out my files, I happened upon an article that I had written in 1990. Upon reading the words, it struck me that the problem I had described over fifteen years ago was still stalking Corporate America. The following quotes out of my first book, The Book of Excellence, published in 1990, had proven to be prophetic: “Excellence is not optional” “The nineties will see the death of the order taker. Are you an order taker?” Following is the unedited article as it appeared ten years ago: The #1 Plague of American Business

There is a dreadful, deadly disease that is stalking the majority of American businesses – mediocrity. Today’s fad in the American business community is “Total Quality Management,” a solution that was embraced by the Japanese years ago. Businesses implement this “TQM” concept and find that it takes several years to see the benefits. This occurs because people need time to’buy in’ to the program of quality, or this is the excuse that we use. I argue that we don’t have the time for our employees to’buy in’ or to accept the philosophy of excellence. Our foreign competitors, namely the Japanese, are laughing all the way to the bank. We talk about quality, form committees to beat the who, what, when, why questions to death, while the Japanese “Just Do It!” An attitude of excellence is either good or bad, there is no middle ground. I hear, all too often, comments like: “Why change, we have always done it this way?”; “Why should I improve, no one appreciates it?”; “I will do just enough to get by!”; “I don’t know why they are trying so hard, probably to earn brownie points with the boss!” The reality is that the majority of workers in America, both blue and white collar, are mediocre. This results in a real problem – the minority, which is striving for excellence, is condemned by the mediocrity of the masses. This peer group, or “Turkey Power,” creates a true dilemma for management – attack the mediocrity and remedy the real problem or take the path of least resistance – ask the “Eagles” to leave. “Eagles,” or the few who aspire to be excellent in their chosen profession, tend to intimidate the mediocre majority by their performance.

Following are two powerful examples of how mediocrity rules in the American workplace…

#1 – An employee of a large aerospace manufacturer receives the highest possible rating during her annual merit performance review. This employee, despite receiving the highest rating in her department, did not receive a pay increase for her efforts! Instead, a probationary employee with the lowest ranking in the department received the pay increase. Upon asking her supervisor why she did not receive an increase in pay, the top performing employee was told, “It was not your turn!” Within a few months, this excellent employee left this large corporation to search for a position where “Merit Performance” was truly a part of the corporate culture.

#2 – A Vice President of sales for a large office equipment retailer was asked to resign due to the fact that the Board of Directors had “lost confidence” in his abilities, despite the fact that sales had grown in excess of 57% during his tenure! Why, you ask, was he asked to resign? He had made the politically incorrect mistake of reprimanding the Chairman’s son for matters of which any other employee would have been terminated. The “Eagle” had threatened the “Good Old Boy”culture of mediocrity and was forced out. A powerful postcript to this saga: Business decreased 30% within a year of this leader’s departure! Ask yourself the following questions to determine if your company is ruled by the “Mediocrity Mentality:”

• Do you hire people who have a track record of performance excellence? If their performance elsewhere has been mediocre, you will not change their work habits.

• Do you have a compensation plan that truly rewards excellence?

• Are you keeping employees strictly because of their tenure and not performance or productivity? Also, are employees promoted on tenure vs. productivity?

• Would the corporate culture or philosophy of your company be rated one of excellence or mediocrity?

• If an outsider walked into your company, would they view an exciting, enthusiastic and aggressive operation?

• Are you meeting, or exceeding, sales and profit goals?

• What three things are you doing differently this year to increase productivity and performance?

I am aware that this is a sobering article and I wish the problem of mediocrity was not so prevalent. But, the fact is that mediocrity is rampant and we must take corrective action or our leadership in the domestic and global marketplaces is in great jeopardy. I also recognize that many American firms, mainly small to medium sized companies, have endorsed and implemented the excellence concept and are to be commended. I challenge more organizations to adopt this philosophy of excellence so we can once again enjoy the true fruits of a strong American work ethic! As an update, the office equipment retailer referenced in this article is no longer in business. The plague of mediocrity had such a grip on the culture that the ‘Eagles’ left to work for more progressive companies, leaving the diseased company to rot from the inside out. This is a very sad ending to a company that was founded in 1923! Mediocrity truly is an epidemic that, left unchecked, will destroy the afflicted organization.

Following are a few thoughts for your consideration and reflection… “Promote performance, not politics.” “Hire excellence, promote excellence, demand excellence.” “The quality of one’s life is a direct reflection of their individual commitment to excellence.” “The worst employee to have on your team is the one who is not good enough to keep but not bad enough to fire!” “Most people would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.”

What you watch. It’s a fact that what goes into your mind comes out in your life. Are you watching too much television? How about the quality? Discipline yourself to watch only quality, wholesome programming. Also, what about reducing your television intake 30-60 minutes per day and allocating this gain on constructive projects such as quality reading, family time, daily devotional, journaling?

What you listen to. What are you allowing to enter your mind through your ears? How would you rate the quality of music, radio and people that are currently influencing your life? What changes do you need to make? Why did Thomas Edison – the world’s greatest inventor – who was legally deaf, refuse the first hearing aid device? His reason, “I don’t want others’ opinions to affect my thinking.”

What you read. If you want to beat 95% of your competition, read one book per month on self-improvement. Less than 5% of the population reads one book per month on personal (significance) and professional (success)You’re either green and growing or ripe and rotting.

What you think about. This is probably the most powerful (positive and negative) force that influences your future. When you get up in the morning and look in the mirror, you see one of the following two people – your best friend or your worst enemy. It’s true that God don’t make junk, but we sure do a great job of beating ourselves up. Remember, the past doesn’t have a future, but you do.

Watch your thoughts, for they become your words. Watch your words, for they become your actions. Watch your actions, for they become your habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.

A final thought on the waste of worry: Worry is crabgrass of the soul.

Who you associate with. This is the big one! The single greatest influence on your life is the people you allow to influence you – your life will never be better than the average of the people you associate with. Show me your friends and I will show you your future. It is a proven fact that the quality of your life is a direct reflection of the quality of your relationships. Answer the following questions to determine the health of your relationships (friends, family members, business associates). Also, how would those you associate with answer the questions about you? Would they consider their relationship with you one to maintain?

1. Do you enjoy being with __________?

2. Do you trust __________?

3. Do you feel comfortable sharing your feelings with __________ without fear of retribution (gossiping)?

4. Does __________ listen without judging or offering advice?

5. Does __________ tell you what you need to hear, not necessarily what you want to hear?

6. Has the relationship with __________ improved the quality of your life?

7. Does __________ drain or energize your spirit?

8. Do you feel better after spending time with __________?

A gentleman named John Henry Fabre conducted an experiment with Processionary Caterpillars.  They are so named because of their peculiar habit of blindly

following each other no matter how they are lined up or where they are going.  This man took a group of these tiny creatures and did something interesting with them.  He placed them in a circle.  For 24 hours the caterpillars dutifully

followed one another around and around. Then he did something else.  He placed the caterpillars on a round saucer full of pine needles (their favorite food).  For six days the mindless creatures moved around and around the saucer, literally dying of starvation and exhaustion even though an abundance of choice food was located less than two inches away.  You see, they had confused activity with accomplishment.