Seizing the Opportunity Revealed Anew by Covid-19

Even with—perhaps in part because of—the physical separation which this epidemic demands, we are ever more conscious of how much we mean to each other, how much we depend on one another. We are more aware than ever that because Covid-19 is so contagious, we literally are connected,  what we do effects others and vice versa. 

I see us rallying together as a community (for example in the distribution of food; in companies coming together to chart a course back for the economy), I see States increasingly, even if too slowly imposing standard restrictions recognizing that their citizens may travel to another state spreading the virus which has been less constrained in their own. 

This coming together as a community is going on all over the world. In Italy, the UK, China Russia, everywhere. And it is going on between countries too, as companies work collectively to manufacture equipment which heroic heath care workers need; as scientists and doctors work around the clock to identify and produce an insulin and treatment to eradicate this disease; and as we  monitor and learn from the course of the epidemic in different places. 

It shows what is possible and necessary, when we recognize we really are in this together and that only by acting together can we achieve our goals. 

Jill Meyer, President of the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, wrote something this morning which captures succinctly and beautifully that which we must work to sustain and extend from this experience. Our opportunity rests in "making happen what we can and should to tee up a better version of our collective 'us'".

In the past, we have marshaled the power of collective empathy and action at times of existential crises. But as we know, memories have been short. Today, may we marshal the wisdom and the will to carry this collective spirit and action forward, with imagination in identifying the opportunities and dedication to fulfilling  them.

Our world demands it. In no area more important than the threat to our planet from relentless climate change. Like Corvid-19, it calls for united effort by governments, scientists, corporations, and every single person. 

Corporate America and P&G Respond to the Coronavirus Epidemic

 As those of you who read my blogs might recall, I have published several pieces asserting Corporations" responsibility and opportunity to add value and bring support to society and  their communities. At no time is this as important than at a time of crisis like the world is experiencing  right now with the tragic Covid-19 epidemic. 

And corporations are responding. My company—Procter & Gamble is one of them, building on its tradition of over 175 years. How it is doing this is spelled out in this letter to employees from P&G's CEO, David Taylor.  

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We (P&G) have a long history of supporting communities in times of need—and we are answering the call to do even more. We’re stepping up to provide much needed product donations and financial support. Our contributions of product and in-kind support now exceed $15MM and will continue to increase as we work with communities around the world to understand how we can best serve them.

Millions of P&G products are being donated from 30 brands in more than 20 countries, with more on the way. These donations ensure that families who do not have basic access to the everyday essentials many of us take for granted, can have the cleaning, health, and hygiene benefits P&G brands can provide.

Our contributions are broad-based with cash support to ensure disaster relief organizations can meet immediate needs, including hygiene education and medical equipment and supplies. We’re partnering with some of the world’s leading relief organizations, including the International Federation of Red Cross, Americares and Direct Relief, and key regional organizations such as Feeding America, Matthew 25: Ministries, the China Youth Development Foundation, One Foundation, the Korea Disaster Relief Association, the United Way, and more.

P&G people across the world are stepping up to use our innovation, marketing and manufacturing expertise to directly support our communities for the greater good.

We have installed new lines to start production of hand sanitizer in five manufacturing sites around the world, using it to ensure our people can continue operating safely and sharing it with hospitals, health authorities and relief organizations. We are expanding manufacturing capacity further in additional facilities in the coming weeks and will have a capacity of at least 45,000 liters per week when fully operational.

Work is underway to produce critically needed face masks at nearly a dozen P&G manufacturing sites around the world. We’re up and running already in China. We have teams working to install capacity in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and will quickly begin production in the coming weeks. This is important for several reasons:

1. It will increase the supply of masks for hospitals, first responders and other organizations by reducing market demand for production and industrial use;
2. It helps us create a safe working environment for P&G people;
3. Longer term, it will allow us to directly help many communities across the globe where there is unprecedented need for protective supplies. 

And we’re not stopping there. Around the world, P&G people are evaluating how we can be of service to the communities who desperately need help. We’re in this together and working side-by-side with retail customers, suppliers, agency partners and government officials to do our part. We’re using areas of P&G capability and know-how to develop and deliver solutions to protect those who are most vulnerable. We’re funding startups with innovative ideas and partnering with established companies who have complementary capabilities. We’re also using our marketing and communications expertise to encourage consumers to support public health measures to help flatten the curve and slow the spread of the virus. 

We cannot predict how and when this crisis will end but we’re committed to be part of the solution. We have mobilized the full capabilities of P&G and our partners to help out in this time of need, and we will be there for our employees, consumers and communities—stepping up as a force for good—however long it takes.

David Taylor

Timeless Truths: Timeless Life-Changing Experiences

I’m reading a book of literary criticism, written by George Steiner, a long-term columnist of The New Yorker.  In introducing his book,   Tolstoy or Dostoyevsky, which was published in 1959, Steiner sheds light on the rewards and requirements of literary criticism.  

 

In reading this introduction, I find a great deal that brings me back to the importance of never forgetting those foundational kernels of truth and principles of living which emerge from our most life-changing experiences.

 

There are more than 100 great books, more than 1,000, Steiner tells us.  But their number is not inexhaustible.  The same comment applies to the principles of living and truths.  There are a lot of them.  But the number is not inexhaustible.  And the most important are ones we must always cling to, including the commitment to excellence, to truth and integrity, to never giving up in the pursuit of what is right,  and to respect for one another.  

 

Steiner points out, correctly, that in today’s world a more diffident view of what is timeless prevails.  “With the decline of Europe from the pivot of history, we have become less certain that the classical and Western tradition is preeminent.  Our minds are shadowed by the wars and bestialities of the 20^th century.  We grow weary of our inheritance.  But we must not yield too far.  In excess of relativism lie the germs of anarchy.”  

 

The “ancient recognition and habits of understanding run deeper than the rigors of time.  Tradition and the long ground-swell of unity are no less real than that sense of disorder and vertigo which the new dark ages have loosed upon us.”  (Steiner wrote this in the 1950s.  The shadow of World War II still lingered.  I feel certain that his thoughts would be no different in today’s troubled world.)

 

Even as we know that change is unending, that circumstances change, and that new opportunities and challenges arise, we must hold fast to those truths and learnings which have come down through time and which we believe in our hearts represent guides to our doing the best we can in the world we live in today.

 

Steiner’s subject is the challenge of literary criticism returning “with passion and awe and a sense of life renewed.   At present, there is grievous need of such return,” Steiner writes.  “All about us flourishes a new illiteracy, the illiteracy of those who can read short words, words of hatred and tawdriness, but cannot grasp the meaning of language when it is in a condition of beauty or truth.”  

 

This may sound too highfalutin, too detached from the rigors of everyday life, but I don’t think it is.    I think it calls upon us to honor those truths gained from our experience and learning which, put simply, helps us be our best selves.

 

 

The Vital Role a Company Can Play in Our Lives Today

THE VITAL ROLE A COMPANY—AN INSTITUTION LIKE PROCTER  & GAMBLE—CAN  PLAY IN OUR LIVES TODAY

Yuval Levin, the editor of National Affairs, raises a bone-chilling question we are facing starkly today:  “Have we lost faith in everything?” 

Levin reminds us—not that we need a reminder—that we are living through a social crisis:  vicious partisan polarization, culture war resentments and an epidemic of opioid abuse. And I would add—a disregard for the truth. 

What are the roots of these symptoms, he asks.   He points to a loss of the structure of social life which gives us shape and concrete meaning and identity, as individuals and together.  And, in turn, he links this to a collapse of confidence in institutions of all kinds:  public, private, civic and political.

Levin points to a major institutional dereliction as a cause of this collapse:  “The failure to even attempt to form trustworthy people, and a tendency to think of institutions not as molders of character and behavior but as platforms for performance and prominence.”

Pause and reflect on that statement for a moment.  It contains a great deal of truth. Tragically, in my view, it applies to the office of the President as it is being executed by Donald Trump. 

I was moved to reflect on Levin's statement because of my career at Procter & Gamble. 

Without for a moment claiming perfection, from the day I joined Procter & Gamble over 55 years ago, it was an institution which was a molder of character and behavior.    How?  Through its unwavering commitment to doing what is right; to pursuing truth, no matter where it leads; to respect for open debate; and to excellence and continued improvement.

Like my colleagues, I came to believe that I had a personal responsibility to preserve this character of trustworthiness and these values.

Levin urges us to ask this simple question in moments of critical decision:  “Given my role in this institution, how should I behave?”  

That is the question I and my colleagues have tried our best to answer.

Trustworthy values that put doing what’s right above doing what’s expedient lies at the heart of a strong culture.  This can never be taken for granted.  Its value is incalculable in attracting men and women of character, building their spirit within the organization and retaining their loyalty over time, and its value is incalculable in preserving the trustworthiness of the institutions themselves. 

 

The Life Changing Impact of Transformational Relationships and Experiences

A good friend of mine, Janet Reid, is about to publish a book (co-authored by her partner, Vince Brown) committed to improving the track record of organizations in advancing diversity and inclusion.  She asked me to write a Forward.  

In reading the manuscript, I was struck by a concept which Janet identifies as key to a person’s development, specifically the presence (or absence) in their lives of “positive transformational relationships.”  I find this a huge idea.  I’m going to elaborate on it here.

I think there are, generally speaking, three kinds of relationships which one person can have with another person. 

The relationships can be “transactional,” “personal” or “transforming.”  

Most relationship are transactional.  Dealing with a dry cleaner, or the clerk in the grocery store, or the waiter in a restaurant; they are transactional.  There are many relationships at one’s place of work that will be transactional.  

Over time, transactional relationships may become personal as one gets to know another person better.  

Examples of personal relationships would likely include a parent’s relationship with his or her children’s teachers; your relationship with your doctor or with your personal assistant or financial advisor.

These relationships rely on mutual respect, on a decent understanding of one another and a reasonably high level of trust.  Without these elements, a personal relationship is not likely to be satisfying or successful over time.  

Finally, at the top of the hierarchy, there are “transformational” relationships.  I will define what they are and what their impact is with a series of questions and answers.

• What distinguishes a transforming relationship?  For the recipient:  
• It elevates the expectation of what the individual can accomplish, and what they are capable of.
• It makes them feel they matter, that they belong, that they are “in the house.”  That, “I have a future here.”  
• The trust a person feels and the belief that they are valued enable a person to be freer to be themselves, to take risks, to feel that they are part of a team. 

• For the provider or initiator of the relationship:
• It affirms the reality of another individual’s ability to grow as a result of your trust and high expectations.
• It demonstrates “what is possible” as an individual responds positively and accomplishes more than before.

What have been the most meaningful examples of “trusting relationships” in my life?

1. My wife’s finding me worthy of marriage.  This literally made me feel that anything was possible.  It was the greatest possible validation that I was a worthy, loveable person.  

2. My first two-up boss and his wife invited me to his home for dinner many times.  His telling me not long after I joined the company that one day he felt “everyone may be working for you,” a statement I could hardly believe.  He made me feel I belonged in the company, that it could become a family for me, that I could succeed.  My relationship with him became a lasting one, right up to the time of his death.  

3. My house master and math teacher in high school clearly had higher expectations of me than I had of myself. He established high standards and did so in a way that I knew he was with me every step of the way.  My relationship with him, too, lasted right up to the time of his death.  

4. My three-up boss when I joined the company, and later the man I worked for for half of my career, Ed Artzt, was a tough taskmaster.  He allowed me to pursue an initiative that I felt he didn’t think would work but carried sufficiently high potential and such little risk that he let me try it.  He spent hours with me one-on-one.  We didn’t always see things the same way; he didn’t even always seem to listen to me, but I knew he respected me and believed in me.  It was a powerful transforming relationship even as it had its ups and downs.

5. My relationship with a distinguished judge, Nathaniel Jones, an African-American for whom my son clerked and whom I’ve known for decades, opened my eyes to the power of diversity and the qualities of integrity and courage, which he possesses at the highest level.  The mutual trust we have for each other is reinforcing and strengthening.  

These are just a few of the transforming relationships I’ve had.  

What about transforming experiences?  

A transforming experience, like a transforming relationship, elevates a person’s expectation of what they can accomplish.  It demonstrates that they are trusted and respected.  It affirms and validates their instincts to do what they think is right, as “being okay.”  Transformational experiences provide totally fresh insights on what matters most in an organization and life in general.  They highlight what values really count in the purpose of the organization and what makes it succeed.

Transformational experiences don’t always grow from a transformational relationship, but many do occur within one.

Here are examples of transformational experiences I have had:

1. Being asked to undertake the outfitting of PT boats for Vietnam when I was in the Navy, a task I felt totally unprepared for.  But reaching out to work with other experts, I did it.  It gave me enormous confidence.

2. Being challenged by a person in P&G down the line who told me that I should have taken a stronger leadership position on a particular issue.  He was right.  He made me reassess the balance of my leadership between getting input and moving on.

3. Bringing the union and management together when I was working at Yale to improve the condition of the Yale golf course, which had fallen in ranking among college golf courses in the nation from #1 to #75.  Folks told me we couldn’t get the union and management to work together. I disagreed.  I got everybody together and we showed we could.  The golf course has returned to #1.

4. Being asked by John Smale, who, at the time was my senior by many levels, to work with him to develop a new exhibit for the Cincinnati Art Museum.  This was transformational in many respects.  It showed John cared about me; before I wasn’t even sure he knew me.  It opened me up to the community; it made me see I could do something good in the arts area.

5. Ed Harness, then CEO, casually telling me to “take care” of myself, because someday “you might be leading the company.”  This was 15 years before I became CEO.  It was transformational in giving me a vision of what I might eventually be asked to do, which I had not conceived of.  

Another unforgettable transforming experience which Ed Harness gave me occurred shortly after I was appointed General Manager for the P&G Italian business.  Ed, who had recently been appointed to be CEO, was making his first visit to Italy.  It was a very difficult time.  Our business was in tough shape.  Inflation was high and the Communist Party was within one point of gaining majority control in the government.  There wasn’t a lot of good to talk about, other than our forward-looking plans, in which I had confidence.  

I don’t recall what I said to Ed during the business review.  I know I was uptight.  He must have sensed that.  As the two of us were walking together to leave the building, Ed paused.  He put his hand on my shoulder and, with a smile that one would have had to know Ed to fully appreciate, he said:  “John, sometimes you have to wait for the other shoe to fall.  You are doing the right things.  Everything will be alright.”  I’ll never forget that.  It gave me a sense of confidence and freedom that I had not had before.  I knew Ed cared about me, and I felt he valued me.

6. Francie and my being sent to Italy as General Manager, giving me a leadership position far beyond what I had before and putting us in a new environment of learning about people who were different from us but shared the same characteristics.  This experience transformed what I understood a “good life” to be in balancing personal relationships with the business.

7. In a diversity training class, I was asked to play the role of an African-American female at a P&G plant.  In the role play, I was supervised by a women who played the role of a white man who had two basic dislikes when it came to those working for him:  African-Americans and women.  I was the composite of both.  I remember what that felt like, though it’s more than 30 years ago.

8. My experiencing the death of family members (my sister and my parents) and a close brush with death myself in my battle with cancer conveyed the fragility of life and the overriding importance of family.  

9. I observed the company’s decision to withdraw the product Rely from the market, at great financial sacrifice, because the safety of our consumers matters more than anything.  This experience was one of many which cast P&G’s commitment to “do what is right” in stone.  It was transformational.

 Transformational Relationships I’ve had With Others

1. Influenced, I’m sure, by the recognition of the transformational experiences others had afforded me, I played the same role, sometimes without even knowing it.  

Johnip Cua was one of the most outstanding General Managers I ever worked with.  Years after the event, he reminded that when he was still a young Product Supply manager, I had observed him in a meeting and recommended to his line management that he undertake a training assignment in Marketing, leading to General Management.  Johnip recalled, “It took me two weeks to think through what I wanted to do, and what I thought I was capable of doing.  To be honest, I was not sure but, because you placed so much trust in me, I decided to accept the challenge; and the rest was history…”  And what a splendid history it became.  Johnip led the Philippines to record after record, year after year.

2. One of the longest-lasting transforming relations I have had has been with a long-term P&G associate, Beverly Grant, an African-American woman who became a key leader in P&G’s Sales organization and today serves as Chair of the Board of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.  A couple of years ago, Beverly recalled a meeting we both attended in January 1987.  She had been with P&G for only two years.  As she remembers, “During that one hour meeting, you shared your perspective on your experiences here at P&G, as well as the potential you believe all employees have if they work smart, demonstrate leadership and develop their ideas and winning propositions for the company.  

Wow, did you inspire me as a second-year employee!”

Beverly has inspired me by what she has accomplished and by the person she is ever since.

3. Another reciprocal “transforming relationship” I have had is with Eugen Mihai.  I met Eugen some years after he retired from P&G.  I had first known him in Romania.  He reached out to me and said he wanted to help me translate a book I had written into Romanian.  He did that and we have been together personally and through correspondence for more than five years.  He has gone on to great accomplishments, including publishing a well-received book on negotiation.  He wrote me a note in the first week of October, accompanied by a picture of him with his negotiation training class.  The picture showed a photo of me and one of my most deeply felt beliefs: “Life is all about relationships.”

Eugen wrote this, “I could not pass the opportunity to say that it was your support and encouragement that made me publish the book (it is in its fifth edition) and start doing this (negotiation) training.”

4. Another “transforming relationship” I enjoyed was with Julie Grant.  Julie was a rising star in Yale’s finance group when I worked at Yale during 2004-05.  Upon my leaving Yale, she wrote me these heartfelt words:  “You have opened for me a whole new world in which personal values are important in the workplace.  You have made countless contributions to Yale but, for me, the one thing that will always stand out is how you referred to ‘men and women’ in the workplace.  That little thing goes a long way, in my mind, to our remembering that the people are the most important things about an organization and, without the people, the rest doesn’t get done.”

Julie went on to tell me that this experience had led her to change her future academic study and career.  She was an inspiration to me.

I was “paying forward” what others had done for me.  These experiences encouraged me to be more intentional in creating more relationships of this kind.

A recent event said it all.

The life-changing power of transformational relationships was on vibrant display on the night of October 4 in Cincinnati’s Music Hall as the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative held it’s “Dream Makers Celebration.”

Student after student came to the stage to tell us in utterly persuasive words how a relationship they had with a mentor had changed their lives and put them on a course to attend college and, above all, to feel good about themselves.

The audience, and I among them, rose from our seats to salute them, each and every one.  Our hearts were full and our spirits tingled and no small amount of tears were shed.

We were witnessing what’s possible when someone knows they matter and that they are cared for.  Dreams were being converted into reality right before our eyes.

As I attended this “Dream Makers Celebration” on October 4, I remembered my first mentee, Kevin Andrew.  I met him over 30 years ago, in 1988.  He was a sophomore in high school.  First a mentee, then a close friend of mine and my family.  I attended his wedding.  I saw his children grow up.  I wrote him last week to tell him I was thinking of him and hoping we could meet soon.  I told him how close I felt to him.

Kevin wrote me back:  “Your generous feelings about our friendship warm my soul.  I’m truly blessed and humbled to have the opportunity to grow and develop under your stewardship and wisdom.  The Cincinnati Youth Collaborative legacy and impact continues to transform and enrich lives on a scale that is incomprehensible.  Until we meet, may you and Mrs. Pepper continues to have joy and much happiness.”

How important are transformational relationships to the development of an individual’s leadership strengths?

They are very important.  They are critical to creating confidence, the freedom to act decisively, to be oneself.

At P&G, every employee enters the company with strong aptitude and attitude strengths as measured by the best screening tests we can develop.  Yet, some individuals progress further than others.  There are many reasons for this, of course:  their ambition, their aptitude for the work, their love of the work as they get deeper into it, their passion and commitment to continue to learn and to grow.

Beyond these factors, however, critical to an individual’s development are the number and the quality of the transformational relationships and experiences that impact their lives.

This begins with their boss.  How committed and how accountable do they feel to the development of the women and men working for them?  How do they understand them?  Do they interact in a way that creates a transformational relationship or is it more of a transactional or, at best, a personal relationship?

Are they conscious of how a transformational relationship will influence the employee’s progress for years to come?  Are they intentional in seizing opportunities to create a transformational relationship and provide transformational experiences?

Yet another reason why transformational relationships and experiences are important.

 As employees go through a career, they are, like it or not, likely to experience some relationships and experiences which not only fail to be “transformational” in a positive sense, but can be “transformational” in a negative sense.  If and as that has happens, it is vital that an individual have had sufficient positive transformational relationships and experiences to be able to identify the negative one as atypical of the company as it wants to be at its best.

I have encountered negative experiences, ones that left me feeling that the person I was reporting to was not listening to me at the moment or wasn’t giving me the respect that I was due.  I counselled myself in these instances:  “Don’t let this get you down, don’t let it lead you to feel sorry for yourself.  Remember the positive experiences.  Remember who you are.”

All of this is to say that positive relationships and experiences are essential to girding ourselves for what will hopefully be a minority of negative experiences.  Memories of positive relationships and experiences can pull us through challenging moments.

What does it take to create a transformational relationship?  

It starts by getting to know the other person as an individual.  Personally.  Thoroughly.  The individual’s background, their family, their goals, their worries.  I’m not suggesting you approach this with a check-list mentality.  That wouldn’t work.  It has to be developed with the mindset which amounts to an expression from your mind and heart, “I care about you.  I want to get to know you in any way that will help your development.  I feel accountable for your development.”

I have found creating a transformational relationship is not as time-dependent as one might think.  My relationship with John Smale is an example.  It was truly transformational even though he came in and out of my life at interspersed times, giving me, looking back, what were transformational experiences.  For example, I recall in the mid-1980s, proposing to John that we expand a new brand.  I proposed it two times.  Each time, he turned me down.  I was back for a third try.  This was his response to me:  “John, it looks like you continue to want to do this.  I put you in the job.  I will follow what you believe we should do.”  John had given me the benefit of the doubt.  He trusted me.  

It’s worth noting that I have had the benefit of transformational relationships with leaders of very different temperaments.  Some were very tough and demanding, others more overtly supportive.  It didn’t matter.  In every case, I knew they believed in me and wanted me to succeed.

At their most powerful, transformational relationships are shared and mutually reinforcing, a virtual circle if you will. 

My relationship with Janet Reid, whom I mentioned at the outset of this essay, is an example.  In a recent note to me, Janet wrote, “I have seen and experienced the power of relationships that go beyond being transactional to become transformational.  My relationship with you has been that way for me.  I have told our story many times to illustrate what would make a true difference in corporate America and in our communities.”  

In fact, I have told that same story about Janet, from my vantage point, many times.

The power of reciprocal transformational relationships is incredible.  

As I wrote in my book, What Really Matters, “Those relationships in which I have felt free to talk openly without fear of embarrassment have been amazingly productive.  We have been able to cut through the superficial chatter to the essence of issues, whether business or personal, quickly, imaginatively, and honestly.  Those relationships have been important to me in other ways, too.  They have made me feel in touch with another person whom I respect and trust and who respects and trusts me.  They made me feel alive.  They brought me joy and with that joy has come creativity, energy and determination I otherwise would not have had.”

Is the creation of transformational relationships and transformational experiences particularly important in the development and advancement of minorities?

Yes, I believe they are.  In fact, together with the basic sense of accountability every leader should have for the development of his or her people, I believe the creation of transformational relationships and the provision of transformational experiences are the keys to accelerating the advancement of minorities.

Even though arriving at P&G with equivalent credentials as majority employees, many if not most minorities enter the company carrying some fear that they may not belong, or that they may need to act differently in order to fit in with the majority.  Speaking generally, even more than majority employees, they will benefit from relationships and experiences that affirm, indeed elevate, their expectations, their sense of worth, their sense of belonging, and their confidence.

Yet—and here lies the challenge—it will often be harder for a leader to develop a transformational relationship with a minority, someone different than they are.

It is a fundamental truth that we feel more comfortable getting close to people who are more like us.  If we hold a measure of implicit bias, which virtually all of us do, our relationship with a minority can easily default to a transactional or, at best, a personal one.  It may feel uncomfortable getting close.  We have different social lives.  We don’t want to give offense.  All human traits.

What do we do about this risk?

 We recognize its reality.  We acknowledge the tendency to not risk ourselves in what might be an unpredictable, transformational relationship.

So what do we do?  We become intentional.  We recognize the power of building a transformational relationship and providing transformational experiences in other lives just as they helped us in our development.

We take the time to truly know the other person.  We give him or her the benefit of the doubt in a close decision, not with any caveats but right down the line.  We look for an opportunity to ask them to help us on a special business or outside of business project, as John Smale asked me decades ago to help him in developing a new exhibit for the Cincinnati Art Museum.

I believe there will be value in researching the incidence of transformational relationships and transformational experiences during the careers of majority and minority employees, at different levels of advancement.  

I believe we will find a greater presence of such relationships and experiences in the development of our majority employees.  I also feel sure that as we understand the source of confidence and career advancement for those minorities that have progressed the most, we will find they have been empowered by an abundance of transformational relationships and experiences. 

Hopefully, this evidence will help drive us to be more intentional in providing these relationships and experiences to all employees.  

A final word on this subject of transforming relationship and its relevance to advancing diversity and inclusion.  

In a chapter I wrote in my book, What Really Matters, I conclude my discussion of what it takes to make diversity and inclusion a reality with this reminder:

“Let us never forget the overriding importance of showing we care about one another…one by one.  We will not reap the benefits of diversity, personally or for the business, by simply checking off a ‘to-do’ list.  We need strong personal relationships founded on respect, trust and a belief in our common humanity.  We all have benefited mightily from such relationships.  They have heightened our expectations and our confidence and expanded our feeling of influence and belonging.”

For most of us, it is easier to have personal relationships like this with people who are the same as we are than it is with people who are different.  This is a tendency we must overcome. As Fellow Charles Handy of the London Business School wrote in his essay, Beyond Certainty:  “You don’t have much sympathy for those you never meet or see.  We need to rub up against people different from ourselves just as much as we need to join up with our own sort for comfort and security.”

I would amend Handy’s advice by saying that we need to do a lot more than “rub up against people different from ourselves,” especially for those who work for us.  We need to come to know them as individuals.  We need to be able to live in their shoes as best as we can.  We need to try to see the world through their eyes.  We need to listen to them.  In one way or another, we need to show we care and we need to convert that caring into advice and support, frank and constructive, that they will understand as directed at one objective:  helping them grow.

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A Short Course on the Essence of Leadership

A SHORT COURSE ON THE ESSENCE OF LEADERSHIP FROM THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY’S CEO, BOB IGER, AND A SHOP STEWARD AT THE YALE UNIVERSITY GOLF COURSE

Disney’s CEO Bob Iger’s superb new book, The Ride of a Lifetime, provides the reader with a mine of leadership lessons all embedded in experiences and stories that are engaging and meaningful.  

One of these lessons took me back to a lesson taught to me by a shop steward at the Yale University golf course more than a decade ago.

The lesson from Bob Iger I refer to is the importance of “being present” for your people.  Present physically.  Present viscerally.  Present in laying out where we want to go and how we’re going to get there.  Present in listening to people’s ideas and acting on them where they’re appropriate. 

I saw Bob Iger do that again and again as I served on the Walt Disney Company board.  I’ve heard cast members at Disney World talk about how Bob had visited them, communicating, listening, just as if he were another cast member which, of course, he is.

It took me back to a visit with the shop steward at the Yale University golf course.  I was the senior leader in charge of facilities, including the golf course.  I had come to Yale after retiring from P&G out of love for the place and with a particular objective in mind:  overcoming the rift that had developed between management and union workers.  It was a rare student who hadn’t experienced at least one strike during their four years at Yale.

Shortly after arriving on campus, I was presented with a proposal to outsource the upkeep of the golf course from the union to an outside contractor.  My reaction:  “That doesn’t seem like the best way to start healing this relationship!”

I received a lot of pushback.  I was told the golf course, once rated #1 in the country among college courses, had dropped to #75.  Despite repeated efforts, I was told, the union workers simply aren’t up to the task.  

I wasn’t ready to give up.  “We’re going to give it one more try,” I said.  And we did.  

To cut a long story short, several years later, with the golf course now being led by a new supervisor committed to engaging the union workers, the golf course had jumped to #2 in the nation.  Its goal was to become #1, which it subsequently did.  

I decided to go out to the golf course to try to learn what had accounted for this turnaround.  I met with the shop steward, a burly, no-nonsense man.  I knew he’d give me straight talk.  

I asked him how he was liking his job.  “We’re loving it, Mr. Pepper.”

There was deep enthusiasm in his voice.  I asked him what accounted for it. 

I’ll never forget his answer.

Referring to his new boss, he said:  “He knows how to cut grass; and he listens to us.”  That was it. 

Here was a leader who was “present.”  Present in knowing how to help his team do the job better, actually contributing to the result.  And being present in listening to his team, getting their ideas, and being ready to implement them.  

And I knew we had implemented them.  Thanks to their ideas, we had saved hundreds of thousands of dollars as union members repaired equipment which before we had simply gone out and replaced with a new purchase.

Yes, being present.  Being involved.  Intimately.  Caring about the result.  Caring about the people who make it happen.  The essence of strong leadership.