Leonard A. Lauder, who passed away at the age of 92 on Saturday, was celebrated not just for being a pioneer in prestige beauty, but a lifelong teacher to those who worked alongside him. During his storied career, which spanned 60-plus years, Lauder built both the Estée Lauder Cos. into a global powerhouse — with more than 20 brands and products selling in 150 countries and territories — but equally as important was his talent in cultivating leaders.
Lauder often said his favorite role was as chief teaching officer, and he loved to share information. Those who know him best often remark on the wit and wisdom he imparted daily — including in the pages of WWD and Beauty Inc, where he was frequently interviewed. Here, some of his most memorable quotes from our pages.
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December 1967
“We are female oriented…we have developed a marvelous team of fashion conscious and capable women. But we maintain a careful balance. Even our men learn to apply makeup — and everyone is customer subjected. Everyone must sell behind the counter to understand the customer’s needs.”
“Our designs, our shades, even our color names appear in copies almost as soon as we launch the new products. We used to count on a three- to five-year run on a product before it was copied. Now they have it in less than three months. But if we have a good product, all of the knockoffs in the world can’t harm its long-range success.”
April 1982
“The ’60s was the decade of makeup, the ‘70s saw tremendous increases in fragrance and now is the time for women’s skin care.”
“The stores have too many lines, too many products and too many units. You always want what the other guy has.”
June 1995 — WWD
“It’s always easier to make money when there are people who have money to buy your products.”
“I made it a point to hire the best people available either inside the industry or outside. I knew that great people build great companies.”
“I’m the guy who winds the clock. The clock ticks on, whether I’m here or not. But once in a while you have to wind that clock.”
April 2003 — Beauty Biz Think Piece
“There’s a wonderful line in ‘The Great Gatsby’ about large parties: ‘They’re so intimate.’ Perhaps the upside of the enlarged scale of our business is that we do have room to maneuver. We can afford to experiment by finding an intimate corner to test new ideas. What goes on in those intimate corners can have little consequence for a swell party or add just the touch of passion and magic it needs.”
2010 — Beauty Biz
“Great ballplayers know where the ball is going to be. That’s how they catch it. I know where the ball is going to be.”
“My passion for this business is not to make more money, because I have more than enough money for the next five lifetimes. The passion is to build something great that can be conserved also. There is a parallel as to what I do with my art and what happens with our company.”
“To be a great leader, you firstly have to like people. If you don’t like people, at the end of the day they will figure this out and you can’t lead them too well.”
“In another life, I would be a gardener. Gardeners love to watch things grow and help them grow. I’m really a gardener in drag.”
November 2018 — WWD Apparel & Retail CEO Summit
“Lesson number one — people don’t work for money, they work for recognition.”
“Always get there first — if you get there first, you’ll win.”
“I believe life is like a mosaic — red tile, green tile, gold tile, silver tile — and it all adds up to the image of the world.”
2021 — Special Edition of WWD Beauty Inc Magazine: Estée Lauder 75th Anniversary Milestone
“Anyone who says they can have their finger on the pulse of tomorrow for life is wrong. The challenge is to keep up every day. You have to read and you have to travel. You have to see what is going on in the world.”
“Never forget quality. Don’t try to chisel, don’t try to do it on the cheap. If you can’t do a great product, don’t do it. If you launch a product and think maybe you shouldn’t have done it — pull it off the market.…You can make a mistake when you are learning to dance — which I always do — but you can’t make a mistake when making a product for people to use. Not allowed.”