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The following is an internal e-mail made known to those in my class from a very large local (Cincinnati) company who recently got a new CEO and wishes to remain anonymous. The initials, however, are P&G... Don't ask me anything more about the identity of the company, I have been sworn to secrecy and bribed with a can of Pringles... who puts chips in a can?... Anyway, these are the new CEOs top 10 "beliefs".
I think the post limit was reached there at the end, but the picture is clear. This is supposed to be the next great leader of this company, to me it sounds like a turnaround artist. What do you think? The company isn't floundering, even in these times. Why hire someone like this? Am I misinterpreting this? I read, streamline, leave people behind, attrition, hard decisions... layoffs. Also, what dictionary has "put the company before yourself" as a definition of character?
I'm glad I don't work for that guy.
1. Everyone wants to succeed. I have never in all my life, in any career, in any country, at any time, met a person who tries to fail. So the job of the leader is to help people succeed.
2. Success is contagious. A leader's job is to catch people succeeding, even if the success is a small one, and to use that small success to build a virtuous cycle of ever larger successes. Since success is contagious, one success will always lead to another, and one successful person will always influence another to be successful. Our job as leaders is to start the fire that fuels the cycle of success.
3. Putting people in the right jobs is one of the most important jobs of the leader. People like to do work that they are good at. Human beings always gravitate to things they do well. So our job as leaders is to identify what our people do well, and then to put them into jobs that take advantage of that strength.
4. Character is the most important trait of a leader. At West Point I learned that the character of a leader is their most important attribute. Character is defined as always putting the needs of the organization above your own. At P&G the leader should always take personal responsibility for results of their organization. You must live by your word and actions, and know that is the most powerful demonstration of leadership.
5. Choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. This powerful line came from the Cadet Prayer at West Point. A leader who lives by their word can be counted on to "choose the harder right," to put the needs of the organization above their own, to do the unpopular thing when it is right.
6. Ineffective systems and cultures are bigger barriers to achievement than the talents of people. The role of the leader is to improve the systems and the culture in which their organization operates to improve the consistency and level of success of the results. Any High Performance Organization must have four components: passionate leadership, sound strategies, robust systems, and a high performance culture. A leader needs to work on all four pillars.
7. There will be some people in the organization who will not make it on the journey. Even after taking all of the steps above, there still will be some people in the leader's organization who will be either unwilling or unable to go on the journey of growth with the leader and the organization. It is the leader's job to identify those who cannot go on the journey, help them recognize the tension, and help them identify other careers which offer greater promise.
8. Organizations must renew themselves. Any organization, as with any organism, which is growing must renew itself. As such, the leader must provide training and development opportunities for the individuals in the organization to grow. Renewal is particularly important in a "promote from within" Company like P&G. We need a healthy level of attrition within P&G to provide future opportunities for growth for our more junior employees.
9. Recruiting is top priority. There is nothing more important than recruiting. When we recruit we are hiring the future leaders of the Company and also our future friends. The leader needs to be active in recruiting to ensure we are constantly raising standards and to gauge the level of renewal of the organization.
10. The true test of the leader is the performance of the organization when they are absent or after they depart. The leader’s job is to build sufficient organization capability, including the leadership and individual initiative of the members of the organization as well as the strategies/systems/culture of the organization, so that the leader’s presence or absence would not significant...
2. Success is contagious. A leader's job is to catch people succeeding, even if the success is a small one, and to use that small success to build a virtuous cycle of ever larger successes. Since success is contagious, one success will always lead to another, and one successful person will always influence another to be successful. Our job as leaders is to start the fire that fuels the cycle of success.
3. Putting people in the right jobs is one of the most important jobs of the leader. People like to do work that they are good at. Human beings always gravitate to things they do well. So our job as leaders is to identify what our people do well, and then to put them into jobs that take advantage of that strength.
4. Character is the most important trait of a leader. At West Point I learned that the character of a leader is their most important attribute. Character is defined as always putting the needs of the organization above your own. At P&G the leader should always take personal responsibility for results of their organization. You must live by your word and actions, and know that is the most powerful demonstration of leadership.
5. Choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. This powerful line came from the Cadet Prayer at West Point. A leader who lives by their word can be counted on to "choose the harder right," to put the needs of the organization above their own, to do the unpopular thing when it is right.
6. Ineffective systems and cultures are bigger barriers to achievement than the talents of people. The role of the leader is to improve the systems and the culture in which their organization operates to improve the consistency and level of success of the results. Any High Performance Organization must have four components: passionate leadership, sound strategies, robust systems, and a high performance culture. A leader needs to work on all four pillars.
7. There will be some people in the organization who will not make it on the journey. Even after taking all of the steps above, there still will be some people in the leader's organization who will be either unwilling or unable to go on the journey of growth with the leader and the organization. It is the leader's job to identify those who cannot go on the journey, help them recognize the tension, and help them identify other careers which offer greater promise.
8. Organizations must renew themselves. Any organization, as with any organism, which is growing must renew itself. As such, the leader must provide training and development opportunities for the individuals in the organization to grow. Renewal is particularly important in a "promote from within" Company like P&G. We need a healthy level of attrition within P&G to provide future opportunities for growth for our more junior employees.
9. Recruiting is top priority. There is nothing more important than recruiting. When we recruit we are hiring the future leaders of the Company and also our future friends. The leader needs to be active in recruiting to ensure we are constantly raising standards and to gauge the level of renewal of the organization.
10. The true test of the leader is the performance of the organization when they are absent or after they depart. The leader’s job is to build sufficient organization capability, including the leadership and individual initiative of the members of the organization as well as the strategies/systems/culture of the organization, so that the leader’s presence or absence would not significant...
I'm glad I don't work for that guy.
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