A Shipboard Lesson

The New York Times:

Durning high school, I worked part time in a men’s clothing store in Wheaton, Ill., where we lived. When I was 17, I read an ad in the newspaper that said, “Make $400 a month selling Grolier Encyclopedias.” I tried doing that for two months. I never sold a set. I went door to door from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

I would say, “I’m with the Grolier Society and we want to place an encyclopedia in your home.” Not “sell,” but “place” with you. The set sold for $400, and I was going to earn a 50 percent commission on all sales. I felt it was expensive, and the customers must have sensed that. I decided to make ends meet by joining the Navy.

I recall standing on the wing of the bridge on the ship. It was 2 a.m., and I was talking about life with the navigator of the watch, a young officer named Reese. I looked at a few of the enlisted guys on the bridge who were drinking their paychecks at every foreign port. I saw the contrast between them and Reese, who was a role model in his dignified professional demeanor. It was like seeing two paths in life, and it resonated with me.

I started college on the G.I. Bill but dropped out after the third year. It was too slow for me, and I was older than most of the other students. I moved to Charlottesville, Va., and started a fire-alarm company in 1970 with a friend. I had the same shyness as when I sold encyclopedias, but I took out ads in papers and went to campuses to recruit for the sales staff. We sold tens of thousands of alarms.

About 14 years later I was recruited by Avon to be director of direct sales development. I moved to New York. After my first week, I was in a meeting with 10 people. I thought, “these people are just like me.” Until then I had the impression that people from New York were from some other planet and had gifts I didn’t have. As I listened, I felt I could keep up with anyone in that room.

Warren Batts recruited me to Tupperware in 1992 as president of Tupperware Worldwide. I loved the brand. My mother still had the salad crisper she bought when I was 10. She was still using it for lettuce. I recruited designers from the beauty industry and brought in colors. I knew I had to change the image of the company from June Cleaver who stayed at home to women who had careers. I realized that women wanted to get together and didn’t want to sit and talk about burping bowls for an hour.

Logo from Tupperware.