Reading the Chicago Tribune business section I learned that Barbie, the world’s most popular doll, had lost her “Wow” and the president of her division at Mattel, Neil Friedman, had sent his team on retreat to go and find it.

They returned with a new slogan, “Dream Big In Pink Heels” and as soon as I read that I had an unquenchable urge to join their team.

The Green Shoe

I raced upstairs to my closet and pulled out my own pair of green heels, quickly drafting a note to the effect “If you can dream big in pink heels you can dream big in green. Please don’t pierce Barbie’s belly button until I get there. I can help you find her “Wow.”

Then I did the unspeakable, I put my green-patent, vintage stiletto shoe into a Stuart Weitzman box lined with hot pink tissue paper,  tucked my business card and a pitch letter into it and sent it to Mr. Friedman.

At the moment the trap door of the mailbox swallowed my package whole I thought, What a great idea and went home to put the follow-up on my calendar.

A week later I called Mr. Friedman’s office and got his secretary.

“Hi, I’m Lennie Rose and I sent Mr. Friedman a package that must get onto his desk.”

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s a shoe.” I said

“A Barbie shoe?”

“No, it’s my own shoe with a card and letter.”

“So it’s a resume? We’ll need to send that to HR.”

“No it’s not a resume, it’s a personal letter that Mr. Friedman needs to see.”

“He’s traveling for the next 10 days.” She said.

I asked her name. We hung up cordially and I followed up two weeks later.

“Cindy” answered, “This is Mr. Friedman’s office.”

“Hi, it’s Lennie Rose, is he available?”

“We got the shoe,” She said “and don’t worry, we’re putting it on his desk.”

For two weeks I waited and called again.  I got “Cindy’s” replacement who recognized my name and told me the shoe had gone down to PR.

My shoe has gone down to PR! Fabulous! I thought.

In retrospect this was a Cinderella Story– small time PR person gets shoe in door of major corporation and joins team for world’s biggest selling doll.

I had nothing to lose but my shoe.

The story captured the hearts of people I met for the next several months as we waited for the happy ending.

It came in the form of my shoe being returned with a letter from PR.  It rejected me from a job I didn’t apply for but complimented me on my taste in shoes.

I learned something valuable from that…

How to risk in green heels.