Working sales and marketing
How did Dove rate as a business? Those of us who worked there at the time knew it was unusual, from the way manuscripts were selected to the structure of the organizational chart.
Michael T. was a young kid there, fresh out of college, working in marketing and sales. "This was my first foray into the corporate world. It was quite an experience, from start to finish."
Michael T. took his insights with him. When he entered business school to later become a business analyst he wrote a detailed report on Dove and what made it unique.
"I didn't know what was going on half the time, but a lot of the things I witnessed, I didn't know what was going on until later. When I did that report, the org chart was a typical rigid chart. The power flowed through Michael Viner, he was the leader. However, socially, a lot of the communication came through Clive (in sales). A lot of them would cry on his shoulder. He had stories to tell. Someone would get chewed out by Michael. They wouldn't know how to respond. So they'd come to Clive."
Young Michael would end up floating through the Dove offices, a fly on the wall peeking at each department as employees worked through the power struggles and creative chaos that would bring in huge sales — and huge returns of product that ultimately contributed to the company's downfall.
