On Mar. 11, a large and diverse audience—students, alumni, faculty, and staff—filled the Simon Conference Room in Baruch’s Newman Vertical Campus to hear Ian Cook, chairman, president, and CEO of Colgate-Palmolive, offer his thoughts on what it takes for a company to succeed in a global business environment and what it takes for an individual to succeed.
Global Business Success: 9 Key Lessons
So what accounts for Colgate-Palmolive’s staggering success with consumers? CEO Cook summarized it in nine key lessons Colgate-Palmolive has learned in more than 200 years in business (quotations below in italics are from Cook’s presentation):
- A simple strategy that everyone can understand
- The need to build the brand(s)
- Innovation for growth, both global and local: “You need innovation to grow a company—relevant innovations that meet people’s needs”
- Effectiveness and efficiency
- Lead to win: Actively develop the next generation of global business leaders
- Focus: Colgate-Palmolive does business in four basic markets: oral care, personal care, home care, and pet nutrition
- Build strong relationships with consumers, retailers, suppliers, dental and veterinary professionals, and government/regulatory agencies
- Continuous improvement: “We aren’t waiting for the home run. We believe that businesses are built by doing a little bit better every year.”
- A values-based culture underpinned by the highest integrity: “When investors ask what makes Colgate-Palmolive different, I answer, ‘It’s not an algorithm. It’s a culture, a values-based culture of integrity. . . . How we get stuff done is as important as what we get done.”
Clear Expectations of Leaders
The 61-year-old Cook, who joined Colgate in 1976 and has progressed through a series of senior management roles around the globe, has clear expectations of the company’s leadership. “Leaders must master what they do, have an enterprise-wide view, live and work in various company locations, must be team players, and be excellent communicators,” he explained. The three elements of leadership: character, consistency, and courage. “Trust is what gives you the power—the ability—to lead,” he said.
What advice did Cook offer Baruch’s aspiring young business leaders? “Keep calm under stress, be optimistic and resilient, deliver authentic personal contact, communicate well, have a sense of humor, and ‘get outside.’”
By way of clarifying the last piece of advice, he explained that “getting outside” means leaving the office and embracing cultural and intellectual diversity. Then looking at his audience, Cook realized he was preaching to the converted and said, “Baruch College is a living example of this.”
—Diane Harrigan
[box sid=”box-1395679060-” width=”500px;” style=”background-color:#ccc9ae;” align=”left”]About the Kossoff Lecture Series
The Burton Kossoff Business Leadership Lecture Series was created 11 years ago by Mrs. Phyllis L. Kossoff in memory of her beloved husband and his commitment to Baruch College. A graduate of the class of ’47, Mr. Kossoff was the founder and CEO of Burton Packaging Co., Inc., and a founding member and trustee emeritus of The Baruch College Fund.
On hand for the 2014 event, Mrs. Kossoff said of her husband: “Burton lived his life with optimism, devotion, honor, and courage.” Of the lecture series she says, it is “a family tradition” that allows her to continue her husband’s “legacy, his belief in people and the efficacy of education.” Mr. Kossoff was additionally honored by Baruch with an Alumni Allegiance Award.[/box]
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