COCO CHANEL Dare to be different
IN ORDER TO BE IRREPLACEABLE, ONE MUST ALWAYS BE DIFFERENT.
When Time published its list of the 100 Most Influential People of the 20th century, Coco Chanel was the only person in the fashion industry to be named. She created a fashion revolution,
freeing women from the suffocating corsets of the 19th century with her simple, chic styles that still influence designers 100 years after she opened her first Paris store. A century on, the Chanel brand
with the interlocking Cs is instantly recognisable and the company's
signature perfume Chanel No. 5 remains the world's best-selling fragrance. Business mentor and social commentator
Jen Dalitz says Coco Chanel forged a path for women in the world of business. "She broke the mould, and was one of the first women of her time who decided that she wasn't going to be treated differently because she was a woman," Dalitz says. "She was very strong in her opinion in
how she wanted to run her business ... and I think that strength at a time when that would have been a great challenge is something to be admired even today."
HENRY FORD Human resources is king
FAILURE IS SIMPLY AN OPPORTUNITY TO BEGIN AGAIN, THIS TIME MORE INTELLIGENTLY.
When you think of the birth of the American automobile industry Henry Ford always springs to mind. His name is synonymous with the country's first mainstream car brand and his innovations in assembly-line techniques produced the world's first mass-production vehicle manufacturing plant. The revolutionary businessman made the car affordable for the average American family, cementing himself a place in the history books.
"With Henry Ford it was about human
resources," Damien Morgan says. "In that day and age business was about managing people. His big innovation was the production line and his fundamentals were about getting greater productivity from human resources. "He was a master of managing
people, which is ironic due to the fact that he introduced the assembly line, which reduced the need for them."
george.heroes 22
