Honored Leader: Eileen Fisher, Founder and CEO
Company Name: Eileen Fisher, Inc.
Location: New York
Nature of Business: Designer, wholesaler and retailer
of women's clothing.
Founded: 1984
Revenue: Over $100 million
Growth Rate (2002): 11 percent
Number of Employees: 445
Average Tenure: 3.5 years
Key Workplace Traits and Programs:
- New employee orientation
- Open-book management
- Employee opinion surveys
- Accessible leader
- Employee forum
- Internal newsletter
- Company-wide meetings
- Diverse workplace
- Profit sharing
- Employee recognition programs
- Entertainment rewards
- In-house training programs
- Tuition assistance
- Volunteer program
- Matching gift program
- Wellness/fitness program
Fisher on leadership: "Number one, always look at the possibilities.
Some of the company’s best decisions have come from living with and
understanding mistakes. I believe that recognizing mistakes and their effects
offers us a wealth of learning possibilities. As a company, some of our
most costly mistakes have led us to more creative solutions and improved
management.
"Second, listen and team. I believe that being a good listener is
one of the most important roles of a leader. We have so much to learn from
each other’s ideas and perspectives. We need to listen to others and
encourage people to listen to each other. We believe in a team approach
to so many things we do at [Eileen Fisher]. We believe that, whatever it
is, we can figure it out together."
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