The Body Shop did not Sell Only Lipstick

The Body Shop sold you lipstick, you bought something much bigger -- you bought an ideal. That is the subject of this week's FC Expert Blog post.

Do you want to know why I liked Anita Roddick so much? In her I saw a kindred spirit. She was a true entrepreneur at heart. She took advantage of her business instincts and savvy to invite people to the right kind of conversation. It took her a lifetime of dedication and work, and she did it so totally that we can now look back and say -- thank you, with sincerity. She worked from her strengths.

I have long used conversation as a space to invite learning and the advancement of thought to the benefit of projects, business, and life. More than an entrepreneur I am probably enterprising -- a sort of Dame MacGyver, someone who can use the tools she has at her disposal to make things happen. For me, for you, for everyone willing to pay the price of entry -- engagement.

Kaospilots is one of the organizations that will miss her thinking. She was long part of the elite of business people who made their hall of respect. When talking about the grassroots entrepreneur, Dame Roddick explained that you are born one, and the qualities you need are (in her words):

1. The vision of something new and belief in it that's so strong that it becomes a reality.
2. A touch of craziness.
3. The ability to stand out of the crowd because entrepreneurs act instinctively on what they see, think and feel. And remember there is always truth in reactions.
4. The ability to have ideas constantly bubbling and pushing up inside until they are forced out, like genies from the bottle, by the pressure of creative tension.
5. Pathological optimism.
6. A covert understanding that you don't have to know how to do something. Skill or money is not the answer for the entrepreneur, it is knowledge: from books, observing or asking.
7. Streetwise skills. Most entrepreneurs she met have had an innate desire for social change. They understand that business is not just financial science.
8. Creativity.
9. The ability to mix all these together effectively.
10. And finally, every entrepreneur is a great storyteller. It is storytelling that defines your differences.

And what a great story she shared with us. Value-based customer service is not lip service.

Comments

[Karen Hegmann]

Valeria

I was shocked and saddened to hear about the death of Anita Roddick. As a young sales rep in the late 1980's, I used to call on her when she was just starting out and operating out of a small unit in a suburban commercial/industrial park in the Toronto area.
She was an inspiring, dynamic woman whose ideas were well ahead of their time. I remember that she was a hard worker, and never failed to miss an appointment.
Her ethics and belief in her product will never be forgotten. The Body Shop grew to represent the best in body care, and with its focus on environmental issues is still a leader in the industry today.
She will be missed.

[Valeria Maltoni]

Karen:

She was a true entrepreneur at heart. I remember being impressed by her poise and candor in the cover story she contributed for the Kaospilots A-Z Book. One of a kind.

[Ed]

It sadden me when i had to blog about her demise. Apart from Princess Diana & Mother Teresa, she's probably third in line whom I respect and worship.

Entrepreneur she is, what is so inspiring about her is her commitment and drive towards social responsibility behind her business. That's critically missing from our business society greatly, and she does it well. For some others, it's nothing more than the marketing hype they are after.

[Valeria Maltoni]

Ed:
It's interesting that what we come to admire about people like Anita Roddick is their ability to believe that being themselves beats being a copy of someone else. May this be a lesson to companies struggling to find a personality. Go with values.