I work at a high-end department store where our new manager, Brad, was obsessed with enforcing policy. One day, he publicly accused an elderly woman of stealing a lipstick, dumped her purse on the floor, and called the police.
When officers checked her ID, everything changed. Her name was Eleanor Albright—the founder of Albright’s. She had bought the lipstick and had the receipt.
But it wasn’t a mistake. It was a test. She’d purposely slipped the lipstick into her pocket to see how staff would handle it. Instead of being treated with dignity, she was humiliated. She explained the store was built on values and kindness, not harsh protocols and profit margins.
Her grandson Daniel, now CEO, arrived and initially defended the company’s success. But after reading his grandfather’s original message—“Our business is people”—he realized what had been lost.
Brad was fired. Daniel apologized and worked with his grandmother to restore the store’s soul.
It took one tube of lipstick to remind everyone: a legacy isn’t built on numbers, but on how you treat people.