Billionaire from the Bronx: How Ralph Lauren Achieved Success
Billionaire from the Bronx: How Ralph Lauren Achieved Success
Much as he appreciates those who have come before him, Lauren hopes that his Polo collection will be remembered for some time to come. He might not have become a rabbi like his mother wanted, but he has managed to become one of the best-selling American designers of all time. How did this boy from the Bronx do it?
Excitement: Lauren did not just take chances with his clothes, although his pleated trousers and tweed jackets for women did that too. Lauren wanted to make everything about his brand exciting. From the way the clothes fell on the body to the way they were presented in stores and on runways, Lauren knew that if his brand was going to be remembered, he had to give customers an experience they would not soon forget.
Grit: His mother was disappointed in him for not becoming a rabbi. Bloomingdales rejected him for being too daring in his designs. In his early years, it seems as if no one was on side with Lauren. But he did not care. He stood his ground, followed his passion, and designed how he wanted to design. That was how he made a name for himself.
Consistency: “What matters the most to me are clothes that are consistent and accessible,” says Lauren. “I believe in clothes that last, that are not dated in a season. The people who wear my clothes don't think of them as fashion.” In the hopes of building a lasting brand, Lauren focused on creating clothes that were exciting, stylish, and consistent all in one.
Sensibility: Whether it was his children, the interns working at his company, or the customers in his stores, Lauren made sure to listen to what the young people were saying about fashion tastes and trends. He was his best customer, but he did not want to lose the others.
Discipline: With no previous experience and no degree, Lauren knew he had to work twice as hard as others to achieve success. By going to business school at night and working retail during the day, Lauren acquired a unique skill set that helped propel him to the top.
“Back then when I mentioned Polo most people would look at me funny and say ‘You mean like Marco Polo?’” recalls Lauren. “I’m forever grateful that the company then through now has always had a substance of great dimensions and the potential to grow on a vast number of levels with attitudes and ideals shaped by my initial dream to express myself.”
Now, nearing 70 years old, Lauren insists he is still just getting started and that his fashion empire still has leaps and bounds to go. “I’ve always believed one could live many lives through the way we dress and the places we travel to, even if just in our imagination,” he says. “The world is open to us, and each day is an occasion to reinvent ourselves.”
Billionaire from the Bronx How Ralph Lauren Achieved Success
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“There is a way of living that has a certain grace and beauty,” says Lauren. “It is not a constant race for what is next, rather, an appreciation of that which has come before.”
Much as he appreciates those who have come before him, Lauren hopes that his Polo collection will be remembered for some time to come. He might not have become a rabbi like his mother wanted, but he has managed to become one of the best-selling American designers of all time. How did this boy from the Bronx do it?
Excitement: Lauren did not just take chances with his clothes, although his pleated trousers and tweed jackets for women did that too. Lauren wanted to make everything about his brand exciting. From the way the clothes fell on the body to the way they were presented in stores and on runways, Lauren knew that if his brand was going to be remembered, he had to give customers an experience they would not soon forget.
Grit: His mother was disappointed in him for not becoming a rabbi. Bloomingdales rejected him for being too daring in his designs. In his early years, it seems as if no one was on side with Lauren. But he did not care. He stood his ground, followed his passion, and designed how he wanted to design. That was how he made a name for himself.
Consistency: “What matters the most to me are clothes that are consistent and accessible,” says Lauren. “I believe in clothes that last, that are not dated in a season. The people who wear my clothes don't think of them as fashion.” In the hopes of building a lasting brand, Lauren focused on creating clothes that were exciting, stylish, and consistent all in one.
Sensibility: Whether it was his children, the interns working at his company, or the customers in his stores, Lauren made sure to listen to what the young people were saying about fashion tastes and trends. He was his best customer, but he did not want to lose the others.
Discipline: With no previous experience and no degree, Lauren knew he had to work twice as hard as others to achieve success. By going to business school at night and working retail during the day, Lauren acquired a unique skill set that helped propel him to the top.
“Back then when I mentioned Polo most people would look at me funny and say ‘You mean like Marco Polo?’” recalls Lauren. “I’m forever grateful that the company then through now has always had a substance of great dimensions and the potential to grow on a vast number of levels with attitudes and ideals shaped by my initial dream to express myself.”
Now, nearing 70 years old, Lauren insists he is still just getting started and that his fashion empire still has leaps and bounds to go. “I’ve always believed one could live many lives through the way we dress and the places we travel to, even if just in our imagination,” he says. “The world is open to us, and each day is an occasion to reinvent ourselves.”
Billionaire from the Bronx How Ralph Lauren Achieved Success
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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