3 Years on in Consumer Goods
I can't believe how quickly time has gone… 3 Years ago I wrote my first article reflecting on my 4 years at PepsiCo. Once again, in what feels like no time at all, I find myself caught in the brief limbo between jobs having decided to embark on a new opportunity. I enjoy writing and I wanted to take this brief spare time to once again sit back and reflect on my Consumer Goods journey.
The purpose of me documenting this is threefold; firstly for me to reflect and think back on my journey, secondly to provide others in the industry a different perspective and lastly to impart any wisdom nuggets I can scrape together. It can often feel lonely on any career path and Consumer Goods is no exception. There's no YouTube tutorial on how to navigate this long, winding and dimly lit road. I can only hope that these articles may shed some light for those forging a similar path, or beginning their own, as to what the next few years could look like.
Jumping Ship
Taking the plunge to move companies is tough. There is limited guidance out there to help you make this huge decision. You're taking one big step into the unknown that doesn't just impact your business life, but also your personal world. What if I don't like it? What if I can't do it? What if they don't like me? These doubts circle through your head. The best advice I can give is that if you are truly happy, only you can interpret what constitutes this, if the company continues to provide you with the right level of learning and development, then stick with it. If not, then get your ear to the ground and see what alternative opportunities present themselves.
In my opinion, there are some useful critical experiences to be gained from moving companies. You will have to adapt to a different environment, culture, business processes, daily routines, business aspirations… the list goes on. Moving from one business to another can be frowned upon. There are those out there who move for all the wrong reasons, hopping from one company to another to progress their career, which I'm certainly no advocate of. On the other hand, if you move for the right reasons, these critical experiences can be highly valuable and can benefit your development. It's a sad truth, but I think it's important to always have in the back of your mind the extent to which a company will remain loyal to you.
Rewinding 3 years, it was a hard decision to leave PepsiCo as I massively valued all that the business had invested in me. I still say "we" when talking about their products - a surprisingly hard habit to drop! - and I'm proud to have them on my C.V. for the early stages of my career. In hindsight, it was the right time to leave, both from a personal and professional perspective. I don't look back with any regrets regarding that decision.
Life as a Drug Dealer
When I joined Perrigo three years ago I didn't know what to expect. I knew this was a business that was growing rapidly and going through a big transformation. It felt like it was at the formative stage of pulling up its big boy pants within the healthcare sector. Beyond that, I didn't know a huge amount so it felt like a bit of a gamble being totally honest. I didn't know much about the brands, even less about pharmaceuticals - I was terrible at chemistry in school - and to top it off I'd spent a few years away from account management. In hindsight, I'm surprised they offered me a job...
What I did get from the application process was a strong feeling that the business was very people-orientated. On this point I was right. What sets Perrigo apart is the culture. I know how cliché this sounds, but it's true. I genuinely looked forward to coming to work each day to deliver results with people whom I regarded as friends rather than colleagues. I didn't expect multiple holidays, many many nights out and some truly great friends when joining the business. It's a credit to the culture that the senior leaders cultivate and is something I will do my best to emulate wherever I go.
So finally I was back in Account Management. Back where I felt I belonged and I couldn't wait to get stuck in. During my three years as an Account Manager and eventually Senior Account Manager I learned a few key lessons that I will take with me.
1) First of all, it's often easy to develop a fear of failure and as such take things too seriously. It's so important to remember that everyone will make mistakes or hit a few speed bumps at one time or another. At this point, you need to stay calm, understand what went wrong, retain a positive attitude and learn your lessons for next time. Nobody died!... hopefully. I feel like over three years I went on a real journey to get to grips with this. Doing so has helped me develop a working style with those around me that I'm finally quite happy with, although of course will continue to develop.
2) Secondly, something I have gradually learned in Sales is that you can't rest on your previous performance or accomplishments, good or bad. You could have a record month but a good sales leader will celebrate the success and then help to keep your focus on what's next. Some will hate this but that's just part and parcel of being in sales. Personally, I love this, as it keeps you continually putting one metaphorical step in front of the other and never dwelling too long on the past.
3) Lastly, and most importantly, you are only as good as the people around you, whether that's your team, supporting functions, your manager or your external contacts. I'm now a firm believer that you need to prioritize relationships first and foremost. That means making the effort to meet in person, take the time for development catch-ups, grab a coffee off-site, swing by their desk instead of an email... generally make people feel valued when you can. You will eventually fail or burn out if you try to do it all on your own and likely end up not enjoying work, something I've had to learn the hard way. The number of self-help books now preaching the importance of personal relationships is no coincidence and it's no different in the workplace. I've found myself happier as a result of putting more focus on how I interact with those around me.
This brings me nicely onto the longest relationships of my life, to date. Over the past 3 years, I have consistently worked with Boots or WBA in varying capacities. It's been a privilege to be involved with such a renowned business within the retail and healthcare. I was honestly over the moon to be awarded Account Manager of the year by Boots at their Supplier Awards a few months ago, which was undoubtedly my career highlight to date. I won't miss the hundreds of hours traipsing to and from D90, but I will definitely miss working with a great group of buyers and a business that is intrinsic to the UK retail landscape.
The Extras Bits
One of the best things about working in Consumer Goods is that there are always opportunities to build variety into your working life. Something I've tried to do as much as possible is to be a 'Yes' person, as this often leads to new and exciting avenues. To be clear on this I don't mean saying yes to extra unnecessary workload and allowing yourself to be walked all over - nobody wants to be a busy fool! - I mean saying yes to the daunting presentation, to taking on charity events, to new work-streams, etc. Over the past three years, I was involved in a charity team that ran a half marathon for MacMillan, a team that won a global 'Lions Den' project in Belgium, and a Trade Marketing workstream in Rotterdam. All because I said 'Yes' at the right moments.
Lastly, to wrap up this article, I was fortunate to once again be given line management and eventually team management opportunities over the past 3 years. While my previous experience in this area was more about surviving a leadership role, this time I wanted to test out some different approaches and find a style I was comfortable with. It's so important to regularly take time to reflect on what type of leader you want to be, what kind of environment you want to create and how you want your team to operate. It takes a long time to develop a leadership style and mine is definitely a work in progress. Watch those whom you perceive to be good leaders and then emulate in your own style. Don't try and be someone that you aren't, or act in a way that isn't comfortable, as you won't be able to sustain it and cracks will eventually appear.
It's been a brilliant 3 years and I'm excited to take all that I have learned into my next opportunity. I'm hugely grateful to Perrigo for all the opportunities they have given me and, similarly to PepsiCo, I will look back on this time with very fond memories. It was a sad departure from Perrigo but I'm also very excited about the next chapter in my Consumer Goods journey. I'm looking forward to starting the next decade with a fresh challenge.
#Consumergoods #Perrigo #FMCG #Healthcare #PepsiCo