When Culture Powers Business

Peter Drucker once said “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” and I couldn’t agree more.

In my previous posts, I’ve stressed the importance of developing People, and how P&G attracts and retains the best talent. At P&G, our People are our competitive advantage! Talent development is a key strategy, and growing our P&G people’s careers and building their capabilities is an important part of the long-term business building equation that has allowed us to accelerate business growth exponentially over the last 180 years.

An important part of the business building equation that I believe is not talked enough – is the power of CULTURE. Our most important business asset – our people – are immersed in the organization culture every single day. A winning culture has the ability to pull in the best talent, retain the best people, and importantly, empower them to succeed.

I have been with P&G for over 20 years – and I’ve seen first-hand the power of a strong culture. Like many others who have made their careers in P&G, what has kept me in P&G is the opportunity to grow our Leadership Brands and more importantly, the chance to work with talented People every day.

In P&G Asia Pacific, I am especially proud of the culture we have honed and driven over the years… a culture that has powered our strong results within and outside of the company. This is our 3D Culture of Depth, Deliberate and Daring.

The first “D” is Depth of Understanding, which is about a high-level of personal accountability that leads all of us to thoroughly understand our consumers’ and customers’ needs. This is about “diving as deep as possible” into how our brands and products can best deliver on the needs and wants of our stakeholders. Every colleague across any function or brand is expected to know his or her area of business better than anyone else in the company. For instance, P&G Brand Managers are the CEOs of their respective brands – and as entrepreneurial CEOs, each of our brand managers are expected to know with sufficient Depth – every pertinent facet of the Brand Growth Model, including Product, Pricing, Packaging, Promotion, Brand Equity, and Competitive Activity. Similarly – our Product Supply managers have unparalleled depth and mastery on manufacturing and supply chain. This culture of mastery and depth is present across functions and brands – from our brands like SK-II to our Pampers disposable diapers, Tide laundry detergent, Downy fabric enhancer, H&S shampoo, and all the other categories where we play.

The second “D” is being Deliberate – and this has two distinct facets.

First, Deliberate is about being decisive, action-oriented, and truly having a bias for responsiveness. In P&G Asia Pacific, we have 30-60-90 day Action Plans across the key initiatives in every brand and country. This bias for action enables excellent execution – and ultimately, growth. Second, being Deliberate is also about declaring a few choices where excellence is THE standard, followed by building activity systems around the selected choices. This is about defining “Gold Standard” practices and enabling the organization to repeat it – a proven source of motivation!

Last but certainly not least – the final “D” is about being Daring. I find that oftentimes, one reason for under performance can be attributed to the establishment of a minimal standard of performance. APAC P&Gers will be the first to tell you how I constantly challenge them to #RaiseTheBar! This allows us to drive a constant – but exciting – challenge for performance. Every quarter, we make it a point to celebrate the top-performing teams, markets, and business units. I see how P&Gers take up the challenge and it is great to see them motivated and driven to be the very best! Additionally – being daring involves courage and a strong will to win. It is when we ask ourselves – “What would you do if you were not afraid?” – that we come up with ideas that allow us to WIN BIG.

As our former P&G CEO Richard Deupree famously said, “You take away all the buildings, you take away all the brands and P&G People will rebuild the company in a decade.” P&G People are our best asset, and I believe every employee has the responsibility to create, shape and strengthen the organization culture. Without a doubt - a winning culture powers a winning organization.

I’d love to hear how you are creating a positive culture within your own organizations to achieve success!