(Post) MBA Blog

It's been all interviews and talks lately, my oh my. Well there was a brief spiritual interlude (see below), but clearly that didn't last long.

Today we were addressed by A. G. Lafley, the CEO of Proctor & Gamble, the best consumer goods firm on the planet, pretty much. This was achieved by the wonders of modern technology, a la videoconferencing from New York. The talk was, I think arranged by Kevin Roberts, the CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi and CEO in Residence of the Judge Institute, Cambridge's business school. He spoke for a while and seems a rather irreverent kind of guy.

On to the take-home lessons of the day (which was on what principles had allowed Lafley to weather the storm P&G has been through over the last couple of years):

1. Know Yourself. This comes from meeting with Steven Covey [who I ready many years ago; highly recommended] and consequently developing a Personal Mission Statement. [This kinda reminded me of something Jack Lang said - know yourself because you will have to convince others about your ideas]

2. Values. These are non-negotiable. You have to walk the walk after you talk the talk, achieved in Lafley's case by a deep desire to be in-touch with all going on around him.

3. Respect Your Customers as the Boss. Complaints are gifts from customers and should influence your behaviour and action plans.

4. Change is the Only Constant. Embrace change, don't react to it or avoid it. Create the conditions for leadership in your firm and people will step up to the plate.

5. See things as they are, not how you want them to be. Don't kid yourself and don't surround yourself with 'Yes men'.

6. Balance Leadership, Management and Mastery. Credibility only comes from mastering the craft. Seek out the masters and learn from them.

7. The Power of Strategy. Read Clausewitz, John Keegan, Sun Tzu, Porter and Drucker. Very few other strategy writers count.

8. The Power of Execution. Ideas are great; now get it done, right.

9. Make a Difference. Leadership will be judged by what comes after the leader. What will your legacy be?

10. Have Passion. Have fun everyday. P&G was the right choice for Lafley, but that was only by chance and he admitted how fortunate he was. This sense of passion has been extremely motivating. [This reminds me of Herman Hauser talking about the role chance played in his success].

Finally, what really matters for leadership are points 4, 5, 7 & 9.

All in all, a very good talk, with interesting Q&A afterwards, althought the v-conferencing system (top-of-the-range Tandberg) let us down a couple of times. My ECP team cared a little too much about this, but that's because we're currently analysing the company, not because we're geeks.

I would have asked him, given the chance, what leaders he now finds personally inspiring and how does he seek them out and learn from them? Also, I would have asked how he would have resolved clashing, non-negotiable values held by different members of the same team. But I didn't get a chance, so it's all rather moot isn't it!


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