John E. Pepper (retired CEO P&G): "Most Important Reason of All Is That You’re Providing More Space for Great Young People to Come and Grow and Be Leaders"
1. There are companies which want to create entrepreneurial spirit within the company. Do you think it's important?
Well, it's a vital factor. You have to have an entrepreneurial environment and innovation environment in a company. If you don't - you're going to be dead because things are changing all the time and somebody else will be innovating. If you're not, you are going to fall behind. So, how do you have such an environment? It gets to a number of things. One, it gets to a spirit where people can try things. And if it goes wrong, they are not going to have their head knocked off. It doesn't mean you tolerate risk that is too great but you have an environment where people are encouraged to try things. They know it's wanted, they know it's rewarded, and they know that they won't succeed every time. There has to be an organizational design, an organizational structure that allows people, some people to actually be on the cutting edge of change. They are not totally involved in the current business. Person who is totally involved in the current business may not have the time, probably won't have the time to think of what is the next great breakthrough. So, you have to have an organizational design that is providing a space for a person who is very innovative in their mindset and who is going to work fulltime on the next big innovation. You've got to provide funding. You've got to make the investment needed. It's easier to do it in some companies than in others but you've got to make an investment. You can't just say: "Be an entrepreneur", - or "Be innovative". You've got to have something that rewards it, encourages it, honors it, funds it and has a space for it. So, you can actually spend your time - most precious thing of all - time on that rather than the day-to-day business.
2. P&G is known for its culture of growing leaders, are there any risks of growing too much of them?
Well, it is an issue. I mean it is a reality that there is that. The way you resolve it is one keep growing. One of the biggest benefits of growth is that there are more leadership jobs to be filled. One of the CEOs of Procter & Gamble many years ago has said that: "Yes, it's important to grow in order to have more sales and more profit and have the stock price go up but the other reason and, maybe, the most important reason of all is that you're providing more space for great young people to come and grow and be leaders". Still, even doing that, even growing there is still the issue that you face. And there you have to be as sure as you can that you are providing the opportunity for the very best people to be able to grow and have them in the right jobs. And, finally, you have to recognize the reality that because that is happening and because you have so many great people who are coming in, there will be some people who do leave and will go and run other companies, and that has happened in P&G. We have people who worked for P&G, who are today managing Boeing Aircraft Engines, Intuit, E-bay, and I can go on. But our main objective here is to grow and have more businesses across this world where great leaders can work. When I joined Procter & Gamble we had 30.000 employees. Today we have a 130.000. Thirty thousand to a hundred and thirty thousand, that means that there is a lot more opportunities and need for great leaders.
3. Some people think that becoming a boss is their only possibility to grow.
I think you're right. I think there are some people who by inclination, their own desire if they are honest with themselves would rather be working independently than leading a large group of people. And they are doing great work and their work got to be respected. Take a scientist to the batch, the scientist who is creating a new molecule or a great new technology for cellulose. This is a person who may or may not really be interested in managing a group of people. They are much more interested in discovering something that can be a great value that nobody has discovered before. That's terrific. I think one of the things that the company has to be sure of is that we don't create an environment where that individual who is really dedicated to finding a new technology, a new piece of science that they don't feel that their career isn't one that is terribly important and can't continue to progress.
4. Do you have an example?
Many years ago in P&G we developed two career tracks for our scientists. One career track would have them moving up where they would have increasing responsibility for other people. The other would be having them moving up a career track where they would be increasing and will be recognized for their technical excellence, for their scientific excellence. And it was a wonderful thing that we did that. Because it resulted in us giving special recognition to the people who have really been the creators of our brands. We often said that they are the most important people of all. They are the people who created Pampers diapers, laundry detergents and fluoride toothpaste, and I could go on. It's all these people. And we need to be sure that their careers are honored and they are rewarded financially and with personal recognition. And the fact that they may or may not want to manage other people, that's their choice. You got to do what you love to do, what you're good at, what you're passionate about. Those usually are the same things.
5. Some people say that business is just about money.
The idea that the company is there just to make money is nonsense. Clearly, you have to make money or you're not going to be able to pay people, you're not going to invest for the future. If you aren't providing a service that is profitable you really can't exist. But the company that lasts, that becomes truly an institution is providing a service through the products it makes. It's providing a benefit in the community in which it works. It's providing a place for employment where people really feel "I'm glad I found this company, it has values that I believe in, it's very reason for being, its purpose is one I believe in". These are the companies that have lasted and then they have continued.
6. Continuation.
And I've always found it's a very simple idea that the company exists to serve multiple people, multiple constituencies. First and foremost of those to which it's giving its products. But the company really is a servant of the community. It exists. It has to do what's right for the environment around it, its impact from its products. It has to be a place where we all do well, university students on a campus say: "I want to work there". People today in the United States say: "I want to work for Apple", "I want to work for Procter & Gamble", "I want to work for The Walt Disney Company". They do - we do surveys. And to be able to attract the best students - that's your future. And people are not going to Apple because it makes a lot of money. You know that. People want to work for Apple or Disney and money is not the main reason. Of course they know it makes money. But they want to do it because it's an exciting environment. It's a place where you can innovate. It's got great people. It's making a difference in the world, products that people love, people like to actually making a difference in their life. That's what a good company is able to do. But it's a day-to-day thing. You don't just do it today and then think: "I've done it". You do it today and you have to get better at it tomorrow and the day after that. How do you do that? By having an environment that encourages innovation, entrepreneurship and by having lively young people who are coming in and saying: "I want to come up with the next best idea even as I'm working in a place that I'm glad I found".
Prepared by Good2Work editor 
