Take A Stand Or Stand Still

He's gone from clerk to CEO twice. Mark his classic proof that the American dream is alive and well, here's your host of Always in Fashion, Mark Weber.

Bruth's striking out getting your way. You gotta get up to bet Okay, Babe, bruth said, never let the fear of striking out get in your way. You gotta get up to bet. We live in the future. What I've said already is in the past. Yesterday's home runs don't win today's games. We have to move forward now. I could end the show right now. I made my points point, made's point taken. I do remember my wake up calls

in Osaka, Japan. A young girl would get on the phone and go, mushy, mushy, mushy, time full wake up. It's time for wake up. Whether you think you can or you think you can, either one is right. You have to take a stay or stand still. What are you going to do? Not try?

in Fashion. It's a strong positioning statement, but I was concerned because people would think the radio was just a story about fashion, or it could mean, as I saw it for the air, looking good is always in fashion. Smart business decisions are always in fashion. Reflecting on life

is always in fashion. Common sense is always in fashion, in spite of realizing common sense is not so common anyway, I was concerned with the limitation of the show that it could have been discounted because it was dedicated to fashion. Last week we played an encore presentation. It was called Everybody Knows Nobody Knows from May of twenty eighteen. I thought it was a great show, and by the way, it's worth listening to it. If you missed it, you

find it an Apple Spotify podcast. Look, Everybody Knows Nobody Knows. The point is, at the beginning of the show, I spoke to the fact, as I have for the first two years of every opening, which began with this is Mark Weber, this is always in fashion, This is business now this has always been a business show. The course of those two years, I realized the title work well. And as much as I've been encouraged to come up with a different title, I took a stand. I decided

to go with the brand I was building. Now. My favorite sorry on the subject I've told it before, had to do with a truck driver who's riding in his truck doing his deliveries, whatever it is, and he got to the point where the station said coming up next, always in fashion. He listened to the opening, he listened to woor and he was tempted. When he heards a

fashion show, he was tempted to change the station. He was tempted to walk away, turn the doll, but when he heard it was dedicated to helping people find their success, he decided to stay with him because he's an independent entrepreneur. And he stayed with the show, and he loved and

he wrote to the station how much he loved it. Now, I've given great thought to changing the title, but every person I've spoken with, every program director, they start to listen and they can't stop the show until it's over. I've heard stories. My wife is calling on the phone, where are you. I'm in the driveway. I'll be in in fifteen minutes after the show ends for another call. I'm putting my children to bed. Where are you? Why aren't you here? Keep them up? For twenty minutes. I'm

listening to a radio show. A lot of people love the shows, learn so much and I love listening, but it puts me to sleep at night. Oh well, thanks changing the title. Note, I took a stand like the captain. I'll go down with the ship in the end. I've been building a brand always in fashion. Now let's be clear. I no longer open the show with caveats. It is what it is. Spotify, Apple and every other vehicle you find the show on will rate us as business, cultural,

and lifestyle. I can talk about anything that I want to. I like the opportunity to have a platform to talk about whatever I think is important. Now hold that for I've I've mentioned mistakes. My first attempt at radio. Oh man, I made a mistake, and there's a lesson. I undervalued how tough it is to be on the air. Anyone who thinks they can sing listen to American Idol. You'll learn to appreciate how good they are. If you think it's hard to sing or hard to be great, you

should do that. I used to be a great baseball pitcher when I was in high school. I threw the ball eighty miles an hour, putting in perspective. College girls playing softball, pitching underhand, pitch faster than I did. And I thought it was going to be easy. And I got to tell you, being on radio is not easy. I wrote a book called Dressed Casually for Success. The people who published the book were my agent, so to speak. I told them I had a dream of being on radio.

They had a relationship with Rush Limburg's producer. They brought me into the studio to record a radio show. Let me tell you what I did, totally unprepared and what happens getting ready to record demo tapes. Did I think it would be easy? Yeah, I'm clever, I'm interesting, I have a point of view on everything. I'll just talk. I'll go in the studio, I'll be there at lunchtime. I wrote nothing, prepared, nothing, and I can tell you

I was nothing. I was terrible. I embarrassed myself. After the recording session was done, I looked at the program director and I asked him. How was it? He said, well, I have to edit. It'll be okay. Two weeks later, my agent showed up with an edited show, three parts. They were all okay, not great, not bad. But I walked away because I know good isn't good enough, and it was probably the right decision. But there were lessons learned.

Nothing worthwhile is easy. Good isn't good enough. I would tell you the next time you try something, you have to think it through, be prepared. Lessons learned, you would think, But not me, because I got my next shot at radio fifteen years later. Now, whatever it is, I'm driven to be on the radio. I never thought about podcast because, frankly, eight years ago podcasts were just starting for me. I always dreamed of being on the radio. I drove to

work every day of my career listen to music. Of course, at night I started listening to talk radio. I was tired. I wanted to be educated, I wanted to be entertained. I didn't want to listen to music. I eventually became one hundred percent on the radio listening to talk radio, and I became enamored with it. And I said to myself, these people, man, women, they're interesting they've lived lives, they have stories to tell, they have a point of view.

I said, you know, don't tell anyone, Mark, But you're not unlike them. You've lived an interesting career, You're able to tell stories, you're able to speak. Maybe, just maybe you could do a radio show. And I decided that I wanted to do it because I'm driven. And subsequently the podcast as well. I love podcasts because you have people listening whenever they want. Anytime, I ask a person that I meet along the way, do you listen to positive? Yeah?

I do where in my free time, Sometimes in the car blah blah blah blah, And I tell them about the podcast. They promised to listen. I don't know what my success rate is meeting strangers and telling him to listen is, but I know we have a lot of listeners, and I think we're doing well. So I've been driven to radio. Always in fashion, I hire new agents. This time, new agents get me into the studios, a big broadcasting group. They set up a week of recording to do demo tapes.

Now before I come in that Monday, they send me a knowe mark a tip. Make sure you're prepared? Am I right of course, don't worry. I make speeches all the time. If I tell you I show up figuring, I'll wing it. I'll just talk. You want to talk about lessons learned, You would think I would learn part of tonight. I want to talk about mistakes, because we learned through mistakes as well. But here I am my second choice of radio. I show up at my lunchtime

totally unprepared. I bomb mean, I was terrible. I was all over the place. I was boring, no continuity, nothing that made sense from one minute to the night. At the end of the day, my agents try to console me. I know they were looking to they make a mistake hiring me. But they said, Mark, it wasn't bad. But I'm saying to myself, wasn't bad. That's my rating. It wasn't bad. Give it a thought. What wasn't bad means seven? Oh my god. I told them, as they did the past.

Time I didn't learn my lesson, I said, lose the tapes. I promise you I'll be different tomorrow. Whether they believe me or not, that remains to be seen. But I was different tomorrow because I wanted this. I wanted to be on air. I wanted to stand up or stand still. I wanted to stand up. I went home that night and wrote and wrote and wrote. I organized my thoughts. I layered out sequences. I layered it out an order of presentation. I constructed a beginning, minus, and an end

to each performance. I prepared for the next day, and for the day after that and the day after that. Trust me, I thought I couldn't, and then I realized I can. I decided to take a stand and not stand still. I knew I could do this. Whether you can or you think you can, it's another lesson. If you don't think it, it's not gonna happen. You've got to believe in yourself and you'll be right. Either way. You don't believe that, you won't be well. I decided

they're no more cans for me. This is Mark Weber, this is always from fashion, and here we are, eight years later, getting better, always trying, taking a stand, not standing still. With that in mind, stay tuned tonight is take a stand or stand still? Back in a.

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jcpenny are online at jcpenny dot com. Guys, they're great, you should go look at them. Donna Karen began her career as one of the finest, most successful, powerful women in the fashion industry. She developed a collection aimed at the luxury market for women on the go, women who were powerful in their workplace, women who had lives that extended beyond the workplace, and her clothes went from day

and to night. An extraordinary collection. But the interesting thing Donna Karen had a young daughter, and she had friends and they couldn't afford to buy the Donna Karen collection. And Donna invented DKNY Donna Aaron, New York. It's an offshoot of the Donna Karen collection. The same concept a lifestyle brand. Then we talk about lifestyle brands, What does that really mean? Simply what they say, there are brands that follow you throughout your lifestyle. You get up in

the morning, you start to get dressed. Donna Karen decan why as intimate apparel as hosiery as all those products. You're getting dressed for work. You get accessorized shoes, handbags, and it takes you through the day. The remarkable thing about dk and Why clothes for work, they work into the evening. The dresses, the suits, the pants, the sweaters, the blouses, extraordinary clothes at affordable prices that go from day in tonight. Part of your lifestyle is active. You

have weekends, you have events, you participate in sports. Donna Karen's Casual Clothes did that under the DKNY label. A vast array of casual sportshere that make women look great as they navigate their busy lives. Whether you're going to soccer games for your children or whether you're going out to the movies, whatever you want to do, DCNY jeans, dk Y Sportswear is there for you. That's what a lifestyle brand is. I need to mention DKY Activewear, which

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and tonight, from the week into the weekend. DCN. Why you can find DCNY and Macy's DKY dot com.

about whatever I want. I'm on the microphone. It's mine. I could talk and I try to avoid most times the hardcore facts about the world. I don't want to talk about the multiple wars going on around us right now anyway. I don't want to talk about world events. I leave it for the others in spite of the fact that I have a point of view, and yes I do, but it's not my job to teach the government and my view of the situation. I haven't heard anyone repeat anywhere. I have my own view, but I

don't want to do it. I'd rather just talk about celebrating wins. I wonder do the Democrats want I want Donald Trump to be successful? By Trump? Who is our president? I do have to ask do they want a country to be successful? Does the liberal media want Donald Trump to be successful? I subscribe to a theory I want to win. I never want to lose. I don't like the other guy, And over the course of time, I adopted the principle that I hate losing more than I

like winning. I don't want to be wrong. I don't want to be on the wrong side of logic and common sense, but I don't want I can't let my competitor win, and a business I would rather be wrong than win. I don't want to let my competitors succeed. But we're talking about a country. We're talking about a president that if he's successful, if he's doing good things, getting results, winning isn't that good for the country? Illegal immigration through this conversation a billion times. We're a country

of immigrants. We want immigrants, we allow them in, but they're supposed to be vetted. As a system. Taxes do we want more? Taxes? Really eliminate waste and corruption, end all wars, put America first. Not a single Democrat wants to step up and celebrate the successes that we've had under the Trump presidency so far. Don't like his personality, got it, don't like the things and the chaos he creates.

I get it. We do about it differently, maybe, but I don't think the Democrats, like me and business want Donald Trump to be successful. They talk, they behave, they cry out against everything. Nothing is good. It seems that rather a country turned to crap fail than have a successful Republican presidency, particularly a popular Donald Trump. They so disliked this guy that they make it tough. Tough choices are never good. He's making tough, tough choices to fix

and solve problems. He's trying for miracles no matter how many people dislike him. He goes for can, he doesn't go for cant. He stands. He doesn't want to stand still. Now, there's a whole lot of people in our country and around the world who see a chance for changing greatness. Yet I'll admit it, the media, the Democrats seem to prefer a failure rather than the country win. I told you, In business, I really give some thoughts. I'd rather fail

than see someone else win. But in government it's embarrassing you all want to be on the wrong side of history. I leave it at that, Like Forrest Gump. That's all I have to say about that. Back to the show. What I do want to say is I've been working hard to make this show more about life. It's always business, and I'm not running away from fashion when it suits me. But tonight it's whether you take a stand or stand still.

I want to take a moment to encourage all of us to tackle the tough issues and get them done. No one's coming to save you, no one's coming to save us. We have to do it ourselves. A few thoughts on business. You have to make money. Hey, New York, you just voted to raise the minimum wage to thirty dollars your losers, Who do you think is going to pay for those other people's salaries? I'll let you think about that. There's a commercial, an old commercial that was

done by Smith Barney. I'm going to play it for you now.

self be true. And this week something happened they got me thinking and I want to talk about It has to do with fashion. Maybe you'll get a kick out of maybe you own It's a reoccurring thing for me this week I walked five miles in one hundred degree heat. I was physically exhausted, soaked through and through. I don't know if I was having heat stroke or dehydration, but I didn't feel just right. And I walked into the

club that I belonged to near where I live. I sat down to have a nice tea who I knew from the club. I never spoke to who saw me sitting there, and I know I look like a disaster. But when I got in there, because it was cold, I put on a light sweater. So I'm wearing long pants and a sweater and I was soaked through and through. And next to me it was a table with this woman who started to talk to me. Two men, two women, and they started to engage me. First of all, they

were right, I was drained, wet, physically exhausted. And then they said, you know, you don't look like your dress properly long pants, white sweater, and I barely managed to get it out and I said to him, do you know what I do for a living? And they said, yeah, we know. And while I didn't want to get into it, I did bring it up. You know, I'm very, very tired and there's no question it was hot out there.

But I have to tell you that when you mentioned fashion to me, did I ever tell you or have you ever heard that I wanted to run for president of the United States? And it looked at me like I was crazy. I said, yeah, I'm looking at everyone here, including the two gentlemen you with and with all the respect I'm aiming at them, but I wanted to run on a platform of being president that the moment I

become president, all men of banned from wearing shorts. And I looked at the two husbands or guys, and I said, listen, present company excluded, of course, But I don't want to look at men in shorts. I have seen in my entire time here one guy, young guy, really built athlete, look good in shorts. Other than him, there is no exception. There is no one who looks good in shorts. And then my second platform that I would stand on is anyone wearing sandals. Any man wearing sandals, I put him

in jail. They have to go before me in a hearing to get out of jail and promise they'll never wear them again. So these guys and this women are looking at me like I'm crazy. Before I finished, the guy starts laughing and he says, i'd vote for you. But anyway, I started to be gracious. I was feeling better, and I said, listen, you know we've never spoken. I apologize. I'm a recluse. I don't particularly like humans, and I don't talk to anybody. And now they're thinking I'm really

a nut. And I was getting a kick out of it. I'm in my Larry David mode. But I did say, you know, the subject of shorts, and you're looking at me and saying, how could I possibly go out with long pants? The sweater I put on when I got here. I said, you know, if you look at all the people that live in the desert, they're all covered up by cloth from head to toe. You look at all the Arabs living in the middle of the heat, they're

fully clothed. And I said, there's something to be said for that, because you're not taking the heat directly on your skin. So maybe I'm not wrong, But for whatever it's worth, I would also say I'm hesitant. I can only imagine what your tan lines look like, the whiteness on your knees and your hips and your arms, not for me, and it also got me thinking, and here I am. I know I don't look my best. I know I'm a mess. I know I didn't serve myself. Well.

I've always said I'm an acquired taste. And I made four new enemies, I'm sure, although I did think I was charming, and I did smile a lot while I was making a fool of myself and perhaps them. But I watch people and I see the way they dress, and it drives me crazy, which leads me. The other night, I went to a restaurant, cool place in Dumbo. Been hanging out a little bit in Brooklyn, across from the bridge, underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Down under the Brooklyn Bridge is

not what Dumbo stands for. I forget, and I went into a very cool restaurant. Everyone is young, The women looked amazing. The men. You know, what do I have to tell you? You know, it's scary. The women come in, they're all dressed well, I mean, they're are women that gave up. And I don't understand that. By the way, there are guys who gave up and women gave up. I'm looking at these couples and I'm saying, is this what they look like on their wedding night? Is this

what they've allowed themselves to become? What happened here? When did people give up? I went. I used to celebrity golf tournaments. I used to sponsor celebrity golf tournaments Palm Springs. I did the celebrity golf tournament for Frank Sinatra. His wife was sponsor. They invited me to all the events. I ended up one night in Bob Hope's house, a usual house in the middle of nowhere in Palm Spring,

and they had a whole lot of performances. I actually sat with Robert Wagner and Jill Saint John and they had entertainment coming up. And they had a guy forget his name, don Or Dan, who opened for Frank Sinatra all those years. And Jack Jones came up. Jack Jones back in the day was a famous singer. And who was he married to? All people Jill Saint John, who I'm sitting next to in the audience round the tables like the Golden Gloves, sitting having dinner, and all these

people are coming into reform. Jack Jones sang the song. Jackson sang the song he' his famous one, Hey Little girl, comb your hair, fix your makeup. Soon he will walk through the door. Don't think because there's a ring on your finger. You needn't try any more. Because wives should always be lovers to run to his arms the moment he comes home to you. I'm warning you. So here I am in this restaurant and looking at the couples

walking in, and I'm watching how they gave up. But the thing that intrigued me more than anything was the way the guys look, the young guys next to the women. The young women were wearing fashion. They look amazing. I think some of the shoe choices were tragic, but by and large, the young girls look great. And the guys either they look like their little brothers or they looked ridiculous next to them, beautiful dresses, dressed heels, not heels, whatever the shoes wear, the mids, some of them at

traffic tragic. But the guys look terrible with the turned around hats, the T shirts to beggie short, the sneakers or the sandal I mean ridiculous. And I have to worry about the future of the American and the world procreating. So this is a public service announcement. I'm looking at these attractive women who know what to wear, and I'm looking at the guys who don't. I'm looking at the women looking attractive, and I'm looking at the guys and saying, when did you decide to be a little brother to

this girl ear you're going out with. It's fascinating. If I would line up ten women and ten guys, you'd never put the ten guys with the right matches. There are some guys who are trying wearing nice shirts. They thought about the pants, their shoes. Very often the tragic, but they're there. Guys, if you don't look attractive, what's the future of the human race. We need you to get married, we need you to have children, we need

a future here. I'm going to do this for the last time, hopefully, but it's spring and summer and it's a mess. Now here's the deal. I could just talk like this and tell you that I'm well dressed all the time. I get it. I know everything, and hard to argue with me. I often have these arguments with someone and they try to discuss fashion with me. It's hard to argue with me, after all. CEO of two big companies wrote two books on the radio podcasting Always

in Fashion, I do have some good credentials. If you will work for the largest paralle company the United States, the largest global luxury company. Well, it's hard to argue with me, but I admit I don't always look good. I make my mistakes. I you know, get up. Sometimes I don't feel I can take it a shower, I'm tired. I don't want to, you know, mess with my hair good enough. Maybe I don't shape, but I know when I look good, and I know what I know, and

I know when I'm trying. Guys, you have to think about what you're doing. And that's tonight's show. I hope I gave you a good example. Those of you who don't greet me with shorts, those of you don't greet me with sandals, those of you who think I'm a puffoon, arrogant, an acquired taste. I agree with you. No argument here, but I do think it's important to take a stand, not stand still. I'll be back in a minute.

Carlagofhelparis dot com. But it's more than that. I have, for one, love to shop. I love going around and seeing what's happening and what catches my attention, what would make me feel good to wear now. I don't wear the women's wear obviously, but I can appreciate it and they look amazing. If you want to look right, you want to have clothes that fits you well. You want to look like you're wearing something that's very expensive, that's exclusive for you and yours. You can find at very

affordable prices at Macy'socarlagofel dot com Paris. The women's ready to wear fashion is extraordinary, as well as the handbags and the shoes. I for one wear men's clothes, unlike my appreciation of women's clothes. I'm a modern guy. I'm gonna look current. I want to look the way I want to feel. I go out at night, I'm in black and Carl Lagafeld is my buddy. Carlos are great, They fit great, and they have little tweaks and touches, whether it's a stripe on the sleeve or button at

the neck or on the shoulder. There's a lot of details that go into Carlagathel because he's always been he always had been where of the world's great designers, and this legacy and goes on and on. I can't speak enough about it except to say to you, you want to feel good about yourself. You want to know that you're dressing properly. You want to clothes that fits you well. Carl Lagafeld Paris, Carl Lagofeldparis dot com. My favorite brand has always been ISOD. My company at one time bought

that brand. The CEO of the company handed it to me and said, you better make it work. And I put everything in my career to make ISOD work. And I fell in love with that brand, and to this day it is one of the most exciting endeavors I've ever got involved with. Isod is an incredibly strong golf brand. If you play golf if you play tennis for that matter. They make a great polo shirts. I mean great. They're

fit perfect. The material is unique because it's a piquet fabric that waffle leave, you see, and it's made of a blend of cotton and microfiber that allows you to stretch. And very often they are treated with solar protection as well, so they stretch, they're comfortable, and they breathe well. And one thing about isa they always fit. They'll never tug on you. You put it in your waist that they'll

fit you great. The colors, patterns are sensational. Now I will also tell Isaac makes great shorts and great golf pants. You're a golf friend. You want to look good. You don't have to think about how do I look. You want to think about how you play, not how you feel. ISOD is the brand for you. I know I was there when it was created. The strategy behind that brand is brilliant. It's one of my favorite brands. While I talk about it, I should tell you about the men's sportswear.

ISOD wasn't enough being a golf brand. It wasn't enough being just great polo shirts with logos without logos, incredible brand and story and history. ISAOD makes salt weather programs.

They have great printed woven shirts, short sleeves that look excellent with colors, excellent with shorts, excellent with cotton pants, of which they also make this whole salt order relaxed line from ISOC, whether it be fleece, cotton sweaters, knit polos, woven shirts and pants of a range of colors and fabrics that are perfect for a guy wants to go casually in the spring and summer of this year. And

here's the thing, ISOD is affordable. Everyone listening to me talk about this brand can afford to buy it and know that there are a lot of other brands that also have a look like ISID. Although I don't believe it's fun as Eyaona is. The brand has a lot of energy in it, but at the price points no one can compete. You can find eyes That at You're leading retailers and online at ion dot com. Talk to

you later, guys. I wish you are very happy springing summer, and I help you by telling you if you were eyes On, you're going to look great.

you'd have to take a stand. And that's what life is about moving forward. You think of some of the greatest people in the world. They've taken stands. They've done what needs to be done to do the right thing. In every facet of light and politics, sports, life, people are taking stands. You got to be smart about it. You got to be well chosen. You got to think about all the ramifications. You have to think about unattended consequences.

In business, you're making decisions every moment, every second, to make a decision on whether or not to go forward. I get it, I respect it. But on a personal note, don't ask me why. Maybe it's the summer, maybe spring, the fact that i'm outdoor, sitting in the beach or sitting out back looking at the water or the grass or whatever. I have time to think, and I started

to think about mistakes I've made. And I've also thought about one story in particular where I've corrected something that needed to be corrected and I was a part of that. But first, I want to tell you a story about the summer. Story that I'm about to tell you is older than most of you listening. It's something that I didn't do, but I should have done something about, and it haunts me to this day. If you're on the radio, you just heard Garden Party by Ricky Nelson, and that's

what I want to talk about. If you're not on the radio, you're on podcasts listening. Picture the song garden Party. It's a cute song. Anyway. I was the president of the Venues and Shirt Company and we were having a sales meeting in Biscayne Bay, Florida. We rented out the entire resort. It was an incredible event. We had a couple of hundred people and I was a senior most guy at the event. My executive VP was the number

two guy. I had my nine regional sales managers and all the people from Bridgewood, New Jersey, and New York who came and descended upon this event in Florida and Biscay Boulevard. I forget the name of the resort, I apologized, but it was great. I had my own bungalow and we had the greatest food and everybody was happy. Was during the spring, so everybody was dressed. The women wearing flower dresses. All the men came to the parties dressed

in appropriate pants, sport coats. You know. We were shirt companies who with shirts and ties pretty much that time. All dressed up wearing our nice jewelry, nice watches. It was evenings were elegant events, and they were appreciated it by all. Tables were set up beautifully for buffet dinners, and we made speeches even at the event. And we're outdoors for this evening. And I was a young president. I was thirty four years old at the time, and I was so proud to be there. And when I

looked back, I tell you what happened. You'll judge for yourself. Maybe I was too young, maybe I had the wrong mindset on. But I can only tell you all these years later, I'm telling you, I still feel guilty. So what happened. I made a speech, and I talked about how proud I was being the head of the company, how excited I was to be with everyone, how the fact that we were doing so well as a company allowed us to have an event like we were going to have over the next few days where we bring

the entire company together. We also had people from our warehouses and school Belhaven, Chattanooga, Tennessee. We had people from our factories. At that time, headquarters was in Potsville, Pennsylvania, So we had all these guests and people there and it was a great event. And made the speeches and I did well, and I was very proud of myself, and I was very corporate, and I had learned how to speak. And after dinner, everyone was standing around the

pool having cocktails, talking, having a great time. And we were in a circle of people at the time, and I was holding court. Next to me on my left was a regional sales manager and a reginal salesman, a couple of and my executive p And as I tell you, the event was really elegant, and one guy in particular always well dressed. His name was Joe. I tell your entire name, but I don't know where Joe is. I don't know if he wants me to retell the story. And of course to my right was the executive vice

president of our sales division, who I enjoyed. I really liked him. We were friends, and we're all around the pool. I got a little boisterous. So one time my executive VP decided to be funny and he hipped banged Joe, who was wearing beautiful brown swede shoes, brown pants, a linen a crew blazer, a linen dress shirt and matching tie. He looked amazing. He was well groomed guy, very good taste, and I remember he was wearing a beautiful Cartier watch I think it was Cardia with the tank watch with

the brown leather strap. He hip bumped him and he went into the pool. Threw him in the pool. In the midst of this event, in front of everyone. Joe was shocked, and I pushed him into the deep end. He came up, he was sputtering water. He was shell shocked, shell shocked, couldn't believe in a company event that this would happen to him, and it visually affected him. He got out of the water. He was more upset than angry. He looked at his watch and he said, you ruin

my watch. And the guy Phil was laughing, and I was laughing. And it was one of those awkward moments life that people laughing and people weren't laughing. And as I said, I was a young president. And when I look back, now, what should I have done?

was totally unacceptable. You should go over and apologize. And I have to tell you, I don't know what this does for your career. I don't know that you could stay with the company behaving that way. I didn't do any of that. I thought it was funny. And as I tell you all these years later, that error in judgment on my part has never been forgotten. Now, maybe the lesson I learned is in life you have to be Dudley, do right. You always have to take the

high ground. You can't allow people to behave that way. If people behave that way, there has to be repercussions. That guy who pushed him in the pool didn't belong with the company anymore, and I didn't know enough to deal with it. I don't care how important he was. I don't care whether I liked him or didn't like him. I didn't take the appropriate action. All these years later, now, maybe thirty four I wasn't smart enough. Maybe thirty four I wasn't young enough. Maybe maybe maybe it can only

tell you a summer. Maybe one of you out there is going to be at a pool party and think it's funny to push someone in. I don't know, maybe this is helpful. You have to take a stand or stand still. I stood still that day, and I'll never forgive myself and I'll never forget it. Now. Having said that, take a moment to you absorb it. I'm really serious about it. I'm upset about the way I behaved, but I learned, and maybe maybe over time good comes from

these things. Maybe I can tell you another story that I did good. I was part of a team that good good, And I'll tell you a story. It's a different one. As I said, I have time to think, and I think about all these things. And there's never been a swimming pool I've stood around where I haven't thought about that event. And there's never been an event I've gone to where it's outside by a pool where I haven't thought about it. And I'm embarrassed and I'm

disappointed in myself. But I have to believe and learned. There's a different part of it. Here's the other side of the world. I work with a guy in marketing and advertising who's elder states than me. Once again, his name should be left out to protect the innocence. He was a great guy, and he and I became extraordinarily close friends, working together very close. I admired him because he was twenty years my senior, fifteen years my senior.

I had another area of respect, and frankly, you knew a lot more about the business than I would ever know. And we worked very closely together and developed this long term, lifelong friendship until he passed away a bunch of years ago, and we're working and it was my first involvement, hands on, direct involvement with advertising. And don't ask me why. I can't explain it. There's certain things in life that I'm good at, and there were certain things in life that

I was great at. When it came to the creative and visual I'm great at it. I could look at something and know it's great. It doesn't mean I have to create it. I can help create great. I'm a good editor. But when it came to the visuals and

fashion advertising, I knew what was great. And he and I started to work together and there was a catalog around the same time and fan Using were talking that was being put together every year showing the dress shirts in the best light that they could be shown in. And it was terrible. It had no energy. That's the word I'd give it. It had no energy. Taste levels mediocre, it had no energy. It turns out that the company that was doing the Cauntagogue was a friend of then

Larry Phillips, the CEO of the company Phillips. Fan Using say it was a friend to Larry and he was grandfather this deal, and he'd be doing this calagogue for multiple years and it really was garbage. I was embarrassed by it. I always was. I didn't know who to talk, how to keep my mouth on. Now I'm in charge, so I talked to my associate and I said to him, listen, we got to change this. This is terrible. I can't work this. Bring the guy in, let's talk about what

needs to be done. Brings the guy in, the owner of the company, Larry Phillips friend and I start to talk to him, and right away I could see his back is up. Who's this young guy telling him how to do a catalog? And I said to them, listen, you know, it's not a question of whether or not you guys are capable, but this is not the image I want for the company. I want it youthful, I want it more energetic. I want the photos to be shocking.

I want to see them. After all, I learned from one of your counterparts that the number one rule in advertising was break through the clutter. There's a million things being advertised. If you think about it, that that way hit what advertisements all over the place. Everything we do, billboards, taxis, television, online. You have to be seen. You have to break through the clutter. David Altman Altman, Stoller, and Weiss learned that lesson from him all those years ago. I can't believe

I remember the name of the company. I said this to the guy, and he's looking at me with the dull face, and he's looking at me with that face that you know what. Larry phil is my friend. I'm going to do what I gotta do. He does the first catalog for us. We take it. It's worse than any of the others. So I go to my friend and said, we've got to get rid of him. We gave him a chance. You got to get rid of him. And I noticed, you know right away, he said, Mark,

we got to do what's right. I don't care if he's Larry's friend. So we get rid of the guy. A couple of days later, I get called into a room by Larry Phillips. I'm there with my boss and a counterpart of mine. Three of us bruce me allan. Larry Phillips walks in. He said, I have some disturbing news to tell you. He said, my friend, this is the guy who makes the catalogs, told me that my friend, the guy I work with, canceled the catalog business with him.

Which is okay and in of itself, except that my friend borrowed a thousand dollars from him and hadn't paid him back. So I'm looking and listened to I said, so, what what's the point here? He said, we're firing him, my friend. And I remember I was shell shocked, and I said, but he's been with us for thirty three years. What am I missing? He borrowed money, he'll pay it back. And he looked at me, Larry, and he said, you don't borrow money from suppliers, let alone not pay them

back right away. He's fired. I remember the three of us after he walked out, crying. We loved this guy in our company. He was a great guy. He's an elder statesman, and what possessed him to borrow money? And how bad was that? And I'll never forget. I got a call from the industrial psychologist in our company at the time, doctor Joel Goldberg, another guy, a older statesman. What did you tell Larry today? I said, what are you talking about? This is one of the many times

that Larry Phillips wanted to fire me. You told him that it was okay? What the other guy did? I said, I did nothing of the sort. I'm very close to this guy. He's with the company thirty three years. I was taken aback. You didn't believe he just to be fire And now I remember again compromising because of fear, and I said, look, it's not for me to decide whether it's right or wrong. I was just taken aback. If Larry Phillips doesn't understand that, I'm sorry, but it's

his decision. I respect it. So now I got a black mark against me, and it was really ugly. I want to fast forward two years later. The guy we fired suffered, suffered, couldn't get a job, couldn't get a job where he was. I don't want to go into the personal details. He was really having a tough time. We were worried for his safety. And as life would intercede or luck would have it, Larry Phillips had left the company in a proxy fight with my friend who

became the CEO, Bruce. He was angry at something going on in the company. He didn't want to support an acquisition that we were making of Gant and Isaart, and he said, I'm not supporting it, and the board said, we want to support the younger team. In the company. At the time, Larry Phillips was sixty six years old and Bruce and I were in our early fifties, late forties, early fifties. Said Larry, you're sixty six, you're thinking about retirement.

We know your energy levels that day. You're a wealthy guy. If you put it to this this way and you make us fight it out, we're going to choose the other team. And as it worked out, Larry chose to leave the company if in fact we could get someone to buy his shares, and my friend Bruce went to Hong Kong and found one of the most prestigious companies in Hong Kong, great family suppliers, friend stores who invested in the company, became board members and made a lot

of money. Eventually, with the stock they bought out Larry's shares. Larry left. So it's two years later industrial collegist calls the three of us together against we have to hire our friend back. He's in bad shape. I'm fearful where it'll become of him if we don't hire him back. And we did, and I'll never forget how happy I

was that we brought him back. He explained to us the problem he was having financially had every intention of paying him back, and he said to me, Mark, do you think I ever made a decision in business based on whether or not I borrowed money. You know me, my reputation is the toughest guy to do business. And I was tough with this guy. He loved me all along,

as I thought he was a friend. But the minute I didn't give him his catalog anymore, which frankly, was your decision, not mine, which I agree with wholeheartedly, the guy goes to behind my back and tells Larry, I'm a bad guy. So that dirt bag destroyed my friend. Well, we brought him back. We gave him a new life. I work with him, hand in glove. I'm patting myself

on the back right now. As I said before, I had a vision for what our advertising should look like, and he had a vision on how to execute it brilliantly. Him and I worked together for ten years. We were words in music, the closest of friends. I loved him. I believe he loved me and my family. We brought him back in the company. We gave him a life. My friend Bruce made the decision to do it. I was the one who worked with him to give him

his dignity and give him his life back. And the point of tonight is sometimes you take a stand and sometimes you stand still. Either way could work. I believe in taking a stand. And when I did it with this guy whose name shall continue to be left out, to protect the innocent, we saved the life, we saved the family, and we did great things. And for that

I'm internally proud. I immediately as proud of the role I played in bringing him back as I was in embarrassed by not taking the right stand at the garden party. So when you listen to this, we all have choices to make. I tell you, nothing worthwhile in life is easy. We all don't have the answers. We all make right decisions, we all make mistakes. We all applaud our successes, we applaud our winds. We try and win whenever we can. Nothing is easy, Nothing worth while in life is easy.

But here we are where individuals, we are families. We have to make decisions and business it's every minute, every day. You have to be proud of yourself. You have to have integrity. In my case, I've had my wins, I've had my losses. I've done a lot right and I've made mistakes. But one thing I can tell you, you have a choice, take a stand or stand still. I vote for taking a stand. Good Night,