What Ralph Lauren and a Barbell Taught Me About Business
Back in the day, the co-founder of Well + Good, the incredible clean beauty industry icon Melisse Gelula and I were sharing a cab (not an Uber because this was WAY before Uber was a thing) and right before it dropped me off, she asked me if I would help her with something new she was working on. “It’s a blog.” Melisse told me. “It would be so great if you could follow it.”
Blogs were also not really a big thing at this point. I wanted to support her so of course I became a follower. Soon after, more blogs in the beauty space started popping up - not tons, and I followed those too. And look! You are reading my blog at this very moment many years later!
I had a public relations agency with offices in Midtown Manhattan then, and many bloggers told us that we were among the first to pay attention to them. A lot of people in PR really turned their noses up at blogs but I embraced them. Well+Good of course, grew up and became big time, as did several of the other early blogs. It was fantastic to have developed those relationships!
The influencer community was the same way. An industry friend said one day “I don’t know why I’m supposed to care about this Instagram thing!” I tried to tell her but she would have nothing of it. She practically threw my phone at me when I tried to show her some of the influencers I liked to follow. A LOT of my contemporaries sounded like this!
Here’s why I thought about bloggers and influencers differently:
I worked at Ralph Lauren in the 90s, my second job out of college. It absolutely wasn’t the place for me for a bunch of reasons - I should have known this because everyone there was blond and tan and then there was me…I had a short red crew cut at the time and I was (and am still) super pale.
I am so grateful to have had that job though for one reason - in the first week, all new employees had to watch a film about the company. I remember nothing about that film except for one of the most important messages I have ever received in my life - about the importance of paradigm shifts.
A paradigm shift is defined by Websters as “an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way.” Some examples of paradigm shifts in the beauty industry are:
The rise of “clean” beauty
The creation and growth of social media
The ability for people to start web based businesses and sell products direct to consumer
I won’t even get started on the paradigm shifts that the pandemic has caused!
That pivotal Ralph Lauren training film emphasized that one of the most important things one can do in your work life is to pay careful attention to shifting paradigms. I have spent more than half of my life watching the beauty and wellness industry change and change again. Once upon a time, we didn’t even use the word “wellness''.
I try to implement this important lesson outside of work too. The biggest paradigm shift in my personal life was being diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago. The cancer was found early. I didn’t have to go through as much hell during treatment as many other people do which I am grateful for.
I was obsessed with the gym before I was diagnosed. After my surgeries, when I mentioned exercise, my surgeon handed me a pamphlet with a list of what not to do - no push ups, no downward dog, and many other “nos”. I asked her if I could try lifting 10 pound dumbbells and she looked horrified - “Why so heavy? You can do so many great exercises with 2 pounds!”
Her concern was due to the risk of lymphedema, a condition which can result from the type of surgery many of us have. It can cause swelling and pain in your arm, trunk, or breast - it’s really not something you want. They used to tell breast cancer survivors that they could never again lift anything that weighed more than 5 pounds - but this has been disproven by the exercise oncology field in recent years.
Nevertheless, this is a paradigm shift that has not completely taken hold, and too many survivors are still given these kinds of warnings.
I did not think I could lift very much after cancer treatment, but 10 pounds was definitely doable. And since I have worked hard to make myself the type of person that stays ahead of shifting paradigms, I did not accept my doctor’s recommendation at face value. Instead, I did what all cancer patients do - obsessively googled and stalked IG into the wee hours of the morning. Soon I found a woman on IG who was lifting big weights - @thefightingfox - who led me to the Barbells for Boobs feed. There I saw more women lifting weights, and they were all lifting way more than 5 pounds! Some of these women were even competitive weightlifters and CrossFitters!
I learned that Barbells for Boobs is a non profit that supports athletic women after a breast cancer diagnosis. I knew right away that this group represented an important paradigm shift in the breast cancer community. It was so exciting to me - I had to join them! I have been a member of the Barbells for Boobs RAD program since August of 2020.
In case you were wondering, I now lift A LOT more than 5 pounds every day of my life and especially during workouts. I have had zero issues.
I have gained so much by just deciding to learn all that I can about shifts when they happen, and to stay a few steps ahead.
The Editor-In-Chief of Organic Spa Magazine, Rona Berg, is arguably one of the most knowledgeable people around when it comes to clean beauty.- like Melisse, another ICON! This morning, we had a chat about the industry and I pointed out how important it was for brands getting into the clean space to know what ingredients are not accepted by your target audience - for example, the preservative phenoxyethanol. Rona’s response was that this type of knowledge is so important - but it is also important to stay aware of so that you can learn what the NEXT phenoxyethanol is going to be.
When I hold a barbell, it makes me feel like a badass - but it also represents the important business lesson I learned all of those years ago. We all know that badassery in business does require a little heavy lifting. You must make an effort to embrace those paradigm shifts and adapt accordingly. It gets easier as you get stronger and more confident.
