PLEASING PERSONALITY 637COMMENTARY
In Time magazine's 100 Most Important People of the Twentieth Century, an
article by Grace Mirabella, former Vogue editor-in-chief and the founder
of Mirabella magazine, quotes Leonard Lauder, chief executive of the Estee
Lauder cosmetics company, as saying his mother always thought she "was
growing a nice little business. "
Lauder, while living above her father's hardware store in a section of
Queens, NY, began selling creams created by her uncle who was a chemist.
Long before getting her products into major stores, she was selling them
in beauty shops, beach clubs, and resorts. In the beginning, the only person
available to answer the phones "changed her voice to become the shipping or
billing department as needed. " Later Estee Lauder is said to have "stalked" the
bosses at Saks Fifth Avenue until she got counter space, where her personal
selling approach-including promotions and samples-was instrumental in
her success.
In addition to being extremely focused, and a quality fanatic, Estee Lauder
"outworked everyone else in the cosmetics industry. " Leonard Lauder attributes
his mother's success to ambition. Former Neiman Marcus chief Stanley Marcus
was obviously referring to Lauder's pleasing personality when he said, "She was
determined and gracious and lovely through it all. It was easier to say yes to
Estee than to say no. "
At the end of the century, that "nice little business" controlled 45 percent of
the cosmetics market in U.S. department stores, had $3.6 billion in sales in 118
countries, and the Lauder family's shares were worth more than $6 billion.A Pleasing Personality is one that makes use of Imagination and
Cooperation. I have cited the foregoing illustrations, of how ideas may
be created, to show you how to coordinate the laws of Imagination,
Cooperation, and a Pleasing Personality.
Analyze any person who does not have a Pleasing Personality and
you will also find lacking in that person the faculties of Imagination
and Cooperation.