One of my favorite books is a slim 39 page gem, called Obvious Adams, The story of a Successful Businessman, by Robert R. Updegraff; first published as a short story in the Saturday Evening Post in 1916. It is an interesting story of poor boy who began life as Oliver B. Adams, and who grew up to be known as Obvious Adams in the business world.
Why Obvious Adams? Because of his simple but effective philosophy which states - in all our affairs, the obvious is most likely to work out well, and in business to prove sound and profitable. So, why doesn't everybody follow this profound advice? For several reasons, explains Updegraff - chief among them being that the obvious is apt to be so simple and commonplace that it has no appeal to the imagination. In today's lingo - the obvious lacks sex-appeal!
Unlike Obvious Adams, A.G. Lafley is not a fictitious character. But like Obvious Adams, Lafley is a successful businessman. Recently, the CEO of P&G had lunch with Elizabeth Rigby of the Financial Times, and as I read the article that described their conversation, I could not help but think of the parallels between Lafley and Obvious Adams - between what Obvious Adams espoused and what Lafley has practiced.
In his eight years at the helm, Lafley has turned P&G from a bloated and bureaucratic business back to being an American icon. How did he do this? Not by the sheer force of logic, nor by leaning heavily on bulky management speak. He did it, as he explains in his book The Game Changer, co-authored with Ram Charan, by the obvious tactic of showing empathy and respect for P&G's customer. He did it by breaking down the organizational wall between us and them; he became one of them, one of his customers.
How many CEOs do you know who have done laundry in 25 countries? Or sat with his feet dangling in water, talking through an interpreter to a woman and her daughter doing their laundry in a river in China? Or studying low-income women's daily washing rituals in Mexico? No, this is not a plug for A.G. Lafley. It is an impassioned plea for authenticity in how organizations and their leaders do business with their customers.
Authenticity is the corner stone of customer driven innovation and co-creation of value. Without authenticity there is no co-creation, only an imposition of what the company thinks a customer wants. Authenticity based on respect and sensitivity to customer needs, wants, and desires should be an obvious cornerstone of a company's operating culture.
But it rarely is.
Most companies have little respect for their customers (or employees). And the bigger they are, the less respect or sensitivity they are likely to show. Its almost as if size breeds a sense of invulnerability.
So where does this authenticity come from? From the top, from how the mommies and daddies of the company live day-to-day. Those of us who have been tested by parenting know the futility of don't do as I do, do as I say.
We all know of CEOs asking their employees to do as they say. Every now and then we come across a rare breed, who simply do, and expect the rest of the company to follow. That's what is so appealing about Lafley. He's a CEO and a commercial anthropologist! An obviously explosive combination.
May his tribe multiply!
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