Leader to Leader Reflections
October 10, 2007
The Leader of the Future Celebration (2007)
Good evening, Andrea Jung, the 2007 Leader to Leader Institute, Leader of the Future, Frances Hesselbein, Chairman of the Institute, Fred Altstadt, Senior Executive Vice President and CFO, Mutual of America and our host for this evening, Alan Schrader, Josey Bass our publisher of the 3rd edition of “The Self Assessment Tool,” Bob Gaylord, the CEO of Leader to Leader Institute, Board members and friends. I am honored to present the thought for the evening I will begin my reflections with…”Hello Tomorrow!” in honor of Ms. Jung.
Avon is celebrating its 121st year anniversary…A very very young company because it is still changing as its customers change. My earliest memory of Avon is our doorbell ringing and a lady saying “Avon calling”…A theme that represented the present in our lives. Today at Avon, the theme is “Hello Tomorrow”…”Hello Tomorrow” provides just a glimpse into the forward, future oriented thinking of our honoree, Ms. Jung. John Quincy Adams defines a leader as: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, know more and do more you are a leader.” Throughout my reflections, Peter Drucker’s words of wisdom and my memories of him are warmly felt, I will briefly reflect on two areas:
- Reflect on the third edition of “The Self Assessment Tool”: and Drucker’s “Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization” and I will reflect on the leadership of Ms. Jung and her successes in answering the five most important questions.
- Reflect on transformational leadership, the final chapter in “The Tool”…The transformational leadership of Ms. Jung.
And now, my first area is a brief review of “The Five Most Important Questions” and Ms. Jung’s answers. (It was a great experience to bring the two into focus).
The first question is: “What is our mission?” Peter Drucker said “An effective mission statement is short and sharply focused. It should fit on a t-shirt. The mission says why you do what you do. It is broad even eternal yet directs you to do the right things now and into the future.” As he reflected on leadership, he said, “Leadership has no choice but to anticipate the future and attempt to mold it”…in walks our honoree and “hello tomorrow”…with Avon saying to further its mission there has to be action today with specific aims for tomorrow, it has to look for tomorrow’s success with true innovation and global diversity that stirs the imagination. Avon’s mission is “to be the global beauty leader” plan and simple and it fits on a t-shirt.
The second question in “The Tool” is “Who is our customer?” Peter said, “A customer is someone you must satisfy. If you don’t you have no results, and pretty soon you have no business. You define your customer as one who values your service/product, who wants what you have to offer, who feels it’s important to them. Philip Kotler, one of the contributors to this edition of “The Tool” said, “The best companies don’t create customers…they create fans,” my mother was an Avon customer and a fan; my two sisters were customers as well as my two sisters-in-law (One of them was an “Avon Lady”) and I have three nieces who were customers…three generations of fans and customers. As the CEO Ms. Jung has kept the focus of Avon on the customer, recognizing that the customer is never static, their needs and wants evolve. Her focus on the customer is paramount! Of women, and a few good men of all ages; global from the US to Latin America, China, to Russia and beyond.
The third question: “What does the customer value?” Peter said, “Customers are increasingly buying on value not on relationships. What satisfies their needs, wants and aspirations is so complicated that it can only be answered by the customers themselves. When Ms. Jung took over as CEO she gave the company an extreme makeover pouring millions into research and development creating new products—the makeover worked…the customers valued the new lines which will be evident as we review the fourth question: “What have been the results?”
“The Tool” points out “results are the key to survival.” Peter said “The first measure of results is whether the customers are willing to try the product again…over and over the best rule is to put your efforts into your successes.” I understand, there was consideration of a strategy to start selling Avon in department stores. Ms. Jung was able to convince the company to put their efforts into proven success…the direct sales approach. Her plan contributed to outstanding results. St Augustine is quoted in “The Tool” as saying, “Pray for miracles but work for results.” Ms. Jung has demonstrated throughout her career that she is a results-oriented, transformational leader and has led Avon to be a global beauty company.
The fifth and final question: “What is the plan?” Planning is not masterminding the future. Any attempt, (according to Peter) is foolish, the future is unpredictable and in the words of the older woman, “The future ain’t what it used to be.” In the face of uncertainties, Ms. Jung defined the particular place she wanted Avon to be and how she intended to get there. The Avon plan did not substitute facts for judgment nor science for leadership. It recognized the importance of analyses, courage, experience, intuition and even hunches. Under her leadership, a viable, alive, and relevant plan was developed, “bought into” by the employees and implemented, by the employees.
And now my final area…and in the words of Henry the Eight to one of his wives…”I won’t keep you long”…
My final area is transformational leadership. Frances Hesselbein, who is a transformational leader, devotes the final section of the tool on transformational leadership. The goal of the “The Self Assessment Tool” is to assist organizations to achieve excellence in performance and build responsible citizenship through transformational leadership.
Frances speaks of the journey to transformation as a journey moving from where we are to where we want to be in the tenuous future that lies before us. Through her many travels around the world, she has observed that in universities, communities of faith, corporations, governments, and the social sector, leaders are working to shape the transformation of their institutions. Ms. Jung, a transformational leader has emphasized that there were certain essential qualities that were the hallmark of good leadership. She describes these qualities as, and I quote:
- Integrity and character: It starts at the top and has to pervade the organization.
- Passion for the work and the company—“I love my work”
- Compassion—“leaders must treat employees with respect, no matter what the business decision is”
- Humility—“Acknowledge what you don’t know. Acknowledge what you did wrong and learn from it.”
- Pride—“Take pride in who you are and what you do.”
- Courage—“There are curve balls in business every day. Leaders cannot be afraid to fail and must have the courage to act swiftly.”
- Focus on social causes—“Doing good is as important as doing well. Companies must play a role in social causes and try to make a difference in their communities.”
Finally, Ms. Jung, in the words of John Quincy Adams, “your actions inspire others to dream, to know more and to do more.” You are a transformational leader.
