Shane Parrish

People are more important than the plan.

She'd seen brilliant strategies fail because companies didn't invest in their people.

She'd build the opposite.

A company where developing people was the entire strategy.

She also understood another principle.

People will support that which they help to create.

She didn't want to impose a training program top-down.

She wanted consultants to participate in refining the system, to share what worked, to feel ownership.

So she developed what she called the Mary Kay Way, which was a step-by-step system for conducting skincare demonstrations and building a customer base.

This wasn't about teaching people to be pushy or manipulative.

It was about teaching them to be helpful and genuine.

The core was the beauty show.

A consultant would book an appointment at someone's home with five or six women present.

The demonstration took about 90 minutes and followed a precise sequence.

First, there was education.

The consultant explained skin types and how products work.

The science behind the formulations.

This positioned the consultant as an expert and not a salesperson.

And second, there was customization.

Each woman tried the products while the consultant explained which items were right for her specific skin type, not one size fits all, your specific combination for your specific needs.