Great Throughts Treasury

"If you're good to your staff when things are going well, they'll rally when times go bad."

"If today one more woman learns how great she really is, then for me it has been a great day."

"In business everything is subject to change ? people, products, buildings, machinery, everything ? except principles. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, in matters of principle, stand like a rock; in other matters, swim with the current. So, while I strongly advocate flexibility, when it comes to principles we must stand firm."

"It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure."

"It?s so simple, yet makes such a difference. Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ?Make me feel important.?"

"Leaders teach. They motivate. They care. Leaders make sure that the way to success is always broad enough and straight enough for others to follow."

"Leaders are enthusiastic, and enthusiasm is contagious."

"In fact, depending on how much you earn, you can afford to pay somebody to do almost anything you don't like to do."

"Left eyebrow raised, right eyebrow raised."

"Let people know that you appreciate their performance and they will respond by doing even better."

"Listening is an art."

"Listen long enough and the person will generally come up with an adequate solution. Criticize the act, not the person."

"Make people who work for you feel important. If you honor and serve them, they?ll honor and serve you."

"Many of the problems I hear don?t require me to offer solutions. I solve most of them by just listening and letting the grieving party do the talking. If I listen long enough, the person will generally come up with an adequate solution."

"Mediocre idea that generates enthusiasm will go further than a great idea that inspires no one."

"My company mascot is the bumblebee. Because of its tiny wings and heavy body, aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly. But the bumblebee doesn't know that, so it flies anyway."

"Many people today consider the Golden Rule a tiresome clich‚, but it still is the best key to people management."

"Much of what we accomplish in life we owe to our friends?"

"My motivation for going into business was to help women. I wanted to provide opportunities for them to create better lives. I saw Mary Kay Cosmetics as a vehicle for women to realize their dreams."

"My goal is to live my life in such a way that when I die, someone can say, ?she cared.?"

"My retirement was less than a week old, and I already knew why so many obituaries include the phrase ?He retired last year.? In fact, I lived across the street from a mortuary, and I began to wonder if I should just call them up and tell them to ?come on over.?"

"Never rest on your laurels. Nothing wilts faster than a laurel sat upon."

"Nobody wins ?em all. If you come down on them too hard for losing, they?ll stop sticking their necks out."

"Never, absolutely never, compromise your principles."

"No matter how busy you are, you must take time to make the other person feel important. Pretend that every person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, ?Make me feel important.? If you do this you will not only succeed in sales, you will succeed in life.?"

"Nothing happens until somebody sells something!"

"No matter what anyone thought, I just couldn?t give up my dream. [On her accountant and lawyer advising her to liquidate and cut her losses after her husband had a fatal heart attack]"

"Over the years, I?ve observed that nearly all high achievers know how to make good use of those 1,440 minutes in each day. In contrast, other people seem to do things in slow motion."

"People are happiest when they have goals, small and large, because they can look forward to attaining them."

"Nothing wilts faster than a laurel rested upon."

"People will support that which they help to create."

"People often resist change when they don?t participate in the decision-making process. Some of the best leaders ?plant the seed? that permits others to propose the idea and take credit for it!"

"Pomposity can? be a transparent cover-up for incompetence."

"Real leaders aren?t afraid to get their hands dirty."

"Recognition was as vital to me as money."

"Recognition is the most powerful of all motivating techniques."

"People won?t follow a person they don?t trust."

"So many women just don?t know how really great they are. They come to us all vogue on the outside"

"Return telephone calls promptly but be judicious about the time spent on the phone."

"Some of the most successful people managers are also the best listeners."

"Some people drift through their entire lives. They do it one day at a time, one week at a time, one month at a time. The months run into years and span a life. It happens so gradually that they are unaware of how their lives are slipping by them until it's too late."

"Some people? are so caught up in themselves that they fail to realize that the other person wants to feel important too."

"Stress stifles productivity."

"The best-run companies develop their own managers from within ? rarely do they seek outsiders. In fact, it?s a sign of weakness when a company goes outside too often?"

"The faintest ink is better than the most retentive memory."

"The Golden Rule teaches us to ?Do unto others as we would have others do unto us.?? Of course, it was meant for everyone, but what a perfect rule of conduct for people managers! Unfortunately many people today consider the Golden Rule a tiresome clich‚, but it still is the best key to people management. At Mary Kay Cosmetics we take it very seriously. Every people-management decision made is based on the Golden Rule. I truly believe that the Golden Rule was intended to be used seven days a week ? not just on Sunday. And that is should be employed in every relationship ? business or personal. When you use this rule ? every decision becomes a right decision."

"Success in many cases is failure turned inside out."

"The best way to kill a management system is to violate it. The second best way is to ignore it."

"The better the talent, the less external activating it needs."

"The more enjoyment people derive from their work, the better they will produce."