Andrea Jung International Conference Keynote
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udden, unexpected new dynamics are changing the business environment substantially. Now just one crisis, such as the credit debacle, can wipe out a company, and cripple entire industries. No company is immune, no matter how established they are. So we truly live in a time of extraordinary
and unprecedented change. As leaders, there is no rulebook we can follow. And no safe harbor. No one, regardless of his or her industry, can become complacent. Companies must learn to constantly reinvent themselves by the day to stay competitive and leaders must continually reinvent themselves as well, never accepting the status quo, but always striving to be better. Continual reinvention has certainly been the hallmark of my career at Avon. This year marks my tenth as CEO of Avon, and the last decade has been an exciting roller coaster ride. The adventure has opened my eyes to many things: …the increasingly complex demands of running a business today, my own skills and competencies, and about the need to constantly challenge
GRAB BAG
[CEO of Avon Products, Inc.]
and renew my own commitment to being a better leader during transformational times. During my tenure as CEO over the last decade, the company has undergone a significant transformation in every aspect of the business. We have built and continue to grow a wonderfully diverse team. And it’s through the strength of this team, that we have reinvented and transformed the company from top to bottom, building on the considerable power of our core equities but modernizing them for a new generation. We’ve taken a brand that was always well respected and made it modern, hip, and relevant to today’s consumer – this includes investing in world-class innovation for our products and forging alliances with global celebrities and leading fashion designers. As a result, Avon has been named one of Business Week’s top 100 global consumer brands for eight straight years. We’ve also transformed our channel. Yesterday’s Avon Ladies have evolved into today’s modern entrepreneurs. These smart, savvy professional women are a far cry from the famous “ding dong” Avon Ladies of years past. The high-touch is still there, but now they also sell high tech, running modern, web-based businesses. They have emerged as business leaders in their own communities in every corner of the world. In addition, we have transformed our operating model and cost structure. In the last decade, our business has expanded across the globe and more than doubled in size. In response to this exponential growth, we have had to transform the way we go to market, including leveraging our assets more strategically to gain cost benefits from our global scale. I’ll never forget the day I was doing The New York Times crossword puzzle and came across the clue, “The company for women.” And the answer, of course, was Avon. In years past, the clue would most certainly have been “Ding Dong.”
Throughout my career, I have tried to embrace every challenge as openly and honestly as possible. Along the way, I’ve come to believe that there are really eight qualities that define outstanding leadership in today’s complex environment. I’d like to talk about each of these leadership qualities, and what I have learned during the course of my career – my tales from the front lines of leadership, if you will. First, and for me most important, is to have Passion. To love what you do. For me, Passion as been at the foundation of all my most critical career decisions. Sometimes leaders have to make tough decisions. But even as we make these decisions, compassion and the protection of the human spirit and dignity must always be the first concern. A business is nothing more and nothing less than its people. And caring about your people is the hallmark of great leadership. And it’s ok to cry – even in business settings – and to express your feelings for the people you care about. This was brought home to me in a very personal way in late 2005, when we made the very difficult decision to cut the number of layers of management in half. Our goal was to eliminate bureaucracy and streamline decision making. It was the absolute right thing to do, but it meant that over the course of four months, we actually eliminated 30% of the senior management ranks. Many of these people were my close friends. I had walking pneumonia at the time, but I got on a plane and traveled around the world and spoke personally to our thousand top leaders. I looked them in the eye and explained why we had to eliminate 1/3 of all positions. I assured them that no matter what, we were going to be fair, honest and open throughout the entire process. Following these meetings people sent me emails of encouragement, telling me that my message was really difficult to hear but that they were glad I had taken the time to come and explain it to them in person. They told me I was doing the right SPRING 2009 BUSINESS TODAY 19