As mentioned, this morning I did the "Q" part of a 75-minute Q&A session with P&G CEO A.G. Lafley. The discussion was wide-ranging, covering everything from the need to re-think marketing and advertising to the benefits of a liberal arts education. At the end of the session, I told the audience that my six takeaways were:
- In an age of disruption, growth is getting increasingly difficult.
- Companies need to take the long view. Lafley said he finds it hard to watch CNBC for more than 7 minutes because the focus is so short-term.
- The customer needs to be the center of the innovation equation. When Lafley took over as CEO in 2000, he said he saw too many managers on their cellphones, or buried in spreadsheets, in essence "showing customers their behind."
- Experimentation is key. Lafley talked about the value of giving customers even crude prototypes to test an idea. He also described how different parts of his organization approach innovation differently, and that's a good thing.
- Complex organizations need to simplify to successfully innovate. Lafley said he seeks Sesame Street simplicity.
- The CEO has to be the "Chief External Officer" to manage external pressure and the "Chief Innovation Officer" to push the innovation agenda forward.
Read the rest at Scott's Harvard Management blog, Innovation Insights.