Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop was born in 1942 and raised in he southeast of England, near Brighton. Her Italian immigrant mother and American father ran a cafe where, early on she was instilled with an intense work ethic.
Although I went to a catholic school, my mother hated the local priest. When my father died, I remember sitting on the stairs in our house while my mother was furiously scrubbing the linoleum in the hallway. There was a knock on the front door and the priest was there to tell her that she was very lucky that my father was going to be given a Catholic funeral. Mother just picked up the bucket of dirty water and threw it over him. I’ll never forget that. Acts like that push you onto the edge of bravery. It is no wonder, having a mother and an upbringing like that, that I learned to challenge everything I was told-school, at church and in every other institution.
Roddick turned a strong work ethic, an interest in social justice and respect for the environment, and a willingness to speak out into a thriving global business. Through telling a story apparently about her mother, she also communicates what sort of person she is. Rather than a direct discussion of her deeper feelings, she alludes to these regions by implication. If the listeners follow and understand the story, they get a good sense of Roddick herself.
Source: The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline of Business Narrative | Stephen Denning
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