Assignment 13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

Assignment 13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

I  read Mary Kay Ash’s Miracles Happen.

• What surprised you the most? I think what surprised me the most was the fact that Mary had
• to take care of her ill dad and basically all of the household duties too when she was only seven
• years old. Despite being a kid she knew exactly how to manage the situation and was always
• willing to help her mother. Her childhood was not a normal one but she enjoyed taking care of
• her dad and the house because of the confidence her mom installed on her. I was surprised that
• she managed it well and did not complain about it.

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire? 
  I could say that I really admire how she created a company whose goal was not to earn profit,
  but to instruct and empower women. Mary Kay created a company where women had a chance
• to succeed by helping others and not competing with others. She had an incredible philosophy
• that helped women reach their full potential during decades and even now. I should mention that
• I also admire how she instead of retiring she decided to follow her dreams. There are not many
• people who would take that risk; however, she did it with the right reasons and succeeded.

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire? 
  I guess that what I least admired from the entrepreneur was that most of time during the book,
• she praised herself by saying how she was never envious and wanted to help everybody. I cannot
• tell if she is actually telling the truth or she is just trying to make her company look righteous. However, even if she is actually praising herself , I cannot ignore that she indeed helped a lot of women reach their potential and be independent.

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• 
  
• Mary Kay encountered adversity and failure during her whole life, but that did not stop her from
• trying harder the next time. Actually, facing adversity as a sales woman took her to initiate her
• whole business idea. She knew how hard it was for women to be accepted in the business field,
• so at first she wanted to help women by writing a book but later on she realized that it wasn't late
• for her to create a company dedicated to empower women. She demonstrated through her ideas
• that despite the adversities you can always succeed when working hard.

• What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?
• Mary Kay demonstrated through her sales career that she had communication and leadership
• skills. Always trying to compete with herself, she was one of the best sales person in the company
• she was working on. Moreover, she had the skill to convince people and make them feel valuable.
• She also used this skill when she decided to create personalized sessions for her costumers. I
• believe that the skill that helped her the most was that she did not easily gave up, she was optimistic
• and hard working with any of her ideas despite of what others said. I believe that’s an invaluable
• skill for a business person since failures and adversities are part of learning.

• Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you. 
  I was a little confused about Mary Kay’s adoptee program. Mary Kay explains how her
• employees recruit people from different places, but the commissioners are the ones who get the
• money from the recruiter. I am not really sure I understood it well, but that is the part that
• confused me the most because I do not see how a program like that could succeed.
• If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why? I think I would ask what would she change from her starting business plan, if there is anything she now realizes was a big mistake. I believe that with her experience, she maybe now would realize that one thing that almost took her dream away. I would also ask if it was hard to work with her family involved? I do not have anything against family business, but I have read some stories of companies going bankrupt or split because of some family dispute.

• For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share
• that opinion?
• Mary’s opinion of hard work was that it is always possible to improve your work
• even when you think the opposite at that moment. She believed that you should not be
• disappointed when you make a mistake but encouraged to work harder next time. Moreover,
• she also thought that you cannot be the best in everything; therefore, losing is an important
• part of learning. Improving yourself as a parent, as an employee, as a student, was always
• possible and could help conquer failures. I strongly believe that improving is always possible
• and it is up to us to conquer our own failures.