"Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other." - Galatians 5:26
Linda Wachner was a hard-driving corporate leader. Rising quickly from department store buyer to be CEO of clothing manufacturer Warnaco, she led a leveraged buyout of the company in 1986. Through acquisitions and strong marketing, Wachner quadrupled the company's size. Warnaco luxury brands such as Chaps by Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein jeans, Speedo swimwear, and Olga bras were sold worldwide in more than 50,000 outlets. The company had $1.95 billion in revenue by 1998.
But Wachner's intense hunger for money, combined with an abrasive and abusive style of management by ego, resulted in her undoing. Her blunt manner began driving away key management talent. Wachner was so confident that the key to success was boosting revenue that she ignored the advice of subordinates and unloaded her line of prestigious brands on discount retail outlets, often at very low prices.
Her conceit drove the company into bankruptcy.
In summing up her tenure at Warnaco, one of her former subordinates commented: "She was the main reason it (the company) fell apart. There is some genius there, but she could not run a $2 billion corporation by herself."
Conceit is a sin - be on your guard against it! Today in prayer, confess any sin of conceit in your life and seek to walk humbly with the Lord.
“Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, brags of his substance: they are but beggars who can count their worth.” – William Shakespeare
God's Word: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” – Philippians 2:3
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