8 Lessons from 8 Years as a Procteroid

Today marks my last day working for Procter & Gamble after 8 years and 4 months (excluding the 11 months in between which I had left to teach and attempted quite miserably at starting a small eatery in our home town). I figure it’s the right time to sit down and reflect on what I have learned, what I have gained and what I can share to others after almost a decade working for one of the world’s biggest consumer goods giants, and known as one of the best Marketing Universities in the world. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Nor is it me trying to appear like a great management guru. It is what I can recall as the lessons that many experiences have time and again shown me and what many great leaders have passed on to me in this chapter of my life which I would like to share with you. 1. You are a brand. Build it. If someone were to say 1 word or phrase to describe you, what would it be? People who rise in their career have a consistent and strong equity in the minds of everyone they meet. Whether it’s accelerator of growth, effective communicator, talented marketer, coach, sharp entrepreneur, you need to know where your strength lies, what makes you unique and consistently show it through every single interaction and every single business decision you make. And like any brand, you need sufficient Share of Voice to stand out among other brands. Speak up, reach out and be visible. A great brand can only be bought if people are aware. You are a brand. 2. Focus on the fundamentals. As marketers we sometimes get caught up in our own idealism and creative heads. I have made many mistakes where I have gone after something because of the sexiness of the idea before asking myself is this really the one thing that is worth the bang for the buck. Whether you are selling cars, clothing, restaurants or food, there are certain fundamental things that have the biggest influence on the business. Being clear on where the core of your business is and what fundamental things impact that core is where you should focus your energy and resources. And this is true not only for marketing or sales but also for HR or logistics or IT or any other function for that matter. 3. Relationships matter at work. The importance of being friends with your key people. This rule applies to all functions and all levels. Whether your multifunctional team that you need help from to get your recommendation through or a director or a GM whose influence impacts your career progression, being friends with someone always makes a difference. If you are swamped with work and someone you are not so close to asks for urgent help, you might not do it. But if you are good friends with them, you know their family, what they are doing on the weekend, how they are feeling nowadays, they might go out of their way to help you as much as they can. It’s human nature. 4. Data beats stripes. Know your stuff more than your boss and your boss’ boss. The worst debates to be in is one where you are fighting your boss (or your boss’ boss) on something you know is clearly wrong but you have no data to prove otherwise. In absence of data, the one with the greater paycheck wins. So it becomes important to know your stuff, know your numbers or keep your numbers close to you during these discussions. It helps you to push for the right things and it makes you look capable. 5. Be your own kind of leader. There are as many great leaders as there are human beings. Everyone is different and nobody’s perfect. Some are calm and composed. Some are explosive and intense. Some are topline and some are micro. Each style with its own effect on their teams, both good and bad. But the best leaders empower and enable. They build trust among the team and not suspicion. They build confidence within each person that they are capable by providing clear direction while leaving room for each person, each team to use their brain power to come up with their own ideas. Your style really doesn’t matter as long it builds a solid confident team ready to take on the world. 6. Be intentional in your (re)action. The key is not to always maintain your composure and never lose your cool. But to know when you need to play a poker face and when you need to explode emotionally to get things moving. Always be intentional and aware of what you will say, how you will say, when you say it. Same goes for email. It also means that you need to pick your fights. You don’t need to win every fight to win the war. Intentionality means being choiceful. 7. Tough Love is sometimes necessary. By nature, I always try to be a “nice boss”. I don’t think any of my ex direct reports would classify me as a tough or cruel or pushy boss. And I don’t like to be one. One thing I have discovered though is that it’s not always helpful. When somebody is messing up or needs and CAN do better, sometimes they do need a slap in the face to wake them up and start doing better or they will never grow, they will never realize their full potential while we might be sitting here thinking they are not trying to be better. I have been on both ends and though it is certainly not pleasant either way, it is sometimes necessary. It is because we care for them that we are giving them tough love. 8. Clarity in writing reflects clarity in thinking. P&G is well known for our 1-pagers. Though I hear it is not as strict as it was “in the olden days” but more often than not most of the leaders prefer 1-pagers or even 2 pagers over power point presentation. Despite the pain and agony this has caused me over the years to learn the art of writing a 1 pager (which I don’t think I have quite mastered yet), I do have to agree why it is important. In a 1 pager you need to be very clear on what your key message is and what data points you need to bring up to make the point. You can’t hide behind fancy tables and charts or animation and videos. It is your 15s TVC to make your product sell. And to do this you need to be extremely clear in your understanding of an issue and of your audience. The clearer you are on this, the easier it will be to write and convince your audience.