What Designing a Shampoo Bottle Taught Me About Business

You want to be in control of that shampoo bottle, not the other way around. 

During the brief period between graduating from business school and the start of my first real job, I felt on top of the world. I knew the theories. I’d read the case studies. I’d generated brilliant solutions and business plans for hypothetical companies. I had a brand-new briefcase and some sharp professional clothes. I was so ready to impress.

My First Day

And then that first day came, and I started my job as a marketing manager at Proctor & Gamble. I got my desk, my phone, a tour… and an assignment: “We’re developing a new shampoo product. We need you to figure out how big the hole in the bottle should be.”

Like many a newly minted hotshot before me, I thought, “You have got to be kidding me. I’m an MBA, not a designer! Don’t people who spend their careers designing shampoo containers already know the answer? Isn’t there a chart somewhere? Besides, what difference could it possibly make if the hole is four millimeters or six millimeters?”

Of course, I did not say any of that.

My next thought was, “Wait a minute. Maybe this is just a logic test. The answer is simple: Make the hole bigger so the customer will use more shampoo and then have to buy more.”

But as I started to research this issue, I realized it’s not a design decision. Forget the countless business-school case studies I’d read — this was my first real-world lesson in marketing.

Determined to do well on my first assignment, I used the consumer research tactics that were the heart and soul of P&G: I read stacks of existing research; talked to consumers in focus groups and one-on-one interviews; and shadowed customers as they shopped. Like a sponge, I soaked in their needs, desires, and pet peeves. I listened intently to their stories about the way our products made them feel.

A Real-World Education

I had just learned my first and arguably most important lesson in consumer marketing. You do not know what you do not know. Don’t forget to listen to the people who have a stake in whatever you are about to do.

Here’s the thing: Consumers are very particular about shampoo because the shower is a very personal, sometimes vulnerable place. It’s never feels good to be duped by some corporation’s plan to increase sales, but especially not when you have soap in your eyes and no clothes on. You want to be in control of that shampoo bottle, not the other way around. So, after hearing from our customers, we designed a bottle with a hole that provided just the right amount of shampoo — not too much, or too little.

Active listening is a vital skill for any leader. It builds and strengthens relationships between customers and brands, or managers and employees. It helps leaders appreciate that everyone has something to contribute to the business, the brand, the reputation.

Why It Matters Today

I’ve carried this philosophy with me throughout my career. Now, as CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, I listen carefully to our customers, partners, and employees as they navigate today’s ever-changing technology landscape. Hearing about their challenges — their unique journey to the cloud, or how they’re trying to make sense of big data, or protect themselves from cyber threats, or provide digital experiences anytime, anywhere and on any device — demonstrates what issues are most important to them, and ultimately helps me make better business decisions.

It doesn’t matter whether your product is a server or a shampoo bottle. Taking the time to recognize, understand, and appreciate what the people around you have to say will mean the difference between success and failure.

This article was first published on February 29, 2016 by Meg Whitman on her LinkedIn Page. 

Copyright © 2017 LinkedIn Corporation.

You Can't Fake Personality, Passion or Purpose

We’re known for our culture, and our culture is solely determined by our people.  

Each week, our jobs mailboxes are loaded with people wanting to become part of the Virgin story – but unfortunately not everyone can join the team. To help us find the best people for the roles on offer, we are guided by a few very-Virgin values. Here are the four principles that we feel make a successful professional.

The first thing we look for when hiring new staff is personality. In my eyes, personality always wins over book smarts. Company knowledge and job-specific skills can be learned, but you can’t train a personality. We look for people who are friendly and considerate, and who like working with others. From our airlines to our call centres, and our office buildings to our gym floors, you will always see smiling people working together to get the job done. These personalities make our staff successful, and, in turn, our businesses successful – they also keep our company culture vibrant.

We also place more importance on experience rather than qualifications. The person with the top grades and most credentials isn’t always the best person for the role. Time and time again I’ve seen people with a background of broad-ranging employment and skills hired for a job where they don’t necessarily tick the specialist criteria boxes, but become incredibly successful by offering a new level of understanding to the role. With this in mind, we focus on hiring people with transferable skills — team players who can pitch in and help others in all sorts of situations. It’s important never to underestimate the power of versatility. Somebody who thinks a little differently can help a business see problems as opportunities and inspire creativity.

Spanx's CEO Sara Blakely once said to me: "The smartest thing I ever did in the early days was to hire my weaknesses." I couldn’t agree more. I can attribute a lot of my success in business to hiring people who had the skills I lacked. For a business to grow there needs to be a healthy level of delegation. When my friends and I started Virgin, none of us were any good with numbers. Rather than try to act as accountants and do the job badly, we found Jack Clayton. Jack shared our passion, and had a knack for numbers that helped us become successful and grow.

If you’re the one hiring, evaluate where your company could improve, and seek out qualities in people that will help you make those improvements. If you’re applying for a role, look for ways in which you can add to, and improve, the business.

Nowadays, it’s rare that people work nine to five. We’re more connected than ever before, so many of us are working longer hours and with more commitment. With this is mind, it’s important to find and hire passionate people, who genuinely care about the business and its purpose. Purpose is no longer a buzzword. It’s a must-have. Passion and purpose will keep people focused on the job at hand, and ultimately separate the successful from the unsuccessful.

At Virgin, we’re known for our culture, and our culture is solely determined by our people. Our people are our greatest asset and the lifeblood of the brand, and are therefore crucial to the success of our businesses. They are what keep us relevant and ahead of the game. To make sure we continue to deliver a standout company culture, we make hiring our number one priority. While it may seem like a desperate rush to get somebody through the door to help carry the load, it is worth being patient to find the right person, rather than unbalancing the team. 


This article was first published on April 31, 2015 by Richard Branson on his LinkedIn Page. Copyright © 2017 LinkedIn Corporation.

Never Be Afraid To Leap Into The Unknown; Priyanka Chopra

Follow your instincts, believe in your uniqueness and never be afraid to leap into the unknown.

It was September 27, 2015, the date of Quantico’s worldwide premiere. I was sitting by the pool in LA drinking a Bellini, watching the first episode live on television and live-tweeting at the same time.

My hands were cold, and I was thinking, "God I don't know if India, first of all, is ready to see me act in English. Just be a different character, play an American girl. Is America ready to see an Indian girl being a lead of a show?" Probably the scariest moment in my life.

Looking back, I realize that that moment has been repeating itself in my life over and over again. And it always begins when I ask myself: What do YOU want?

It’s the single most important question that has allowed me to do the things I have over the past 16 years of my professional life.

At every stage of my career, the answer to this question helped solidify my objectives and allowed me the mental freedom to chase the impossible dreams I had and turned them into a reality.

This is not some find yourself, inner peace, control your destiny utopian concept… it’s a ‘cut the BS, get real and get down to business’ talk with yourself so you prepare for the journey ahead.

We all make plans for our lives but most often are too scared or embarrassed about our ambitions to go after it wholeheartedly. And that’s where it all falls apart. 

My Miss World journey began when my mom enrolled me in the Miss India contest as a lark, without my knowledge. Having just returned from the US, I was planning to take a year off school and travel. When I got the call, we sat down as a family to discuss and I was asked by my parents “What do you want”? I wanted to give it a shot… it was a new experience (I’m all for new experiences) and something no one in my academic family had ever done (I’m also all for going where no one has gone before) and it seemed like a fun thing to do. I was clear about my objectives… give this a shot with all that I have and if it doesn’t work I go back to the old plan and if it did… I’d see where life took me.

The same rule applied when I started getting film offers; when I started getting interesting characters and films to be a part of; when I launched my music career international and now when I chose to make my acting foray globally with an American TV show. Once I answered the question at each stage, it allowed me to draw up my game plan to ensure I gave the opportunity everything I had. The rest I left to god and the audience.

It may sound simplistic and somewhat naive but in reality once you’ve won the battle with yourself every other hurdle you face seems easy to overcome because you will approach it with the courage of conviction that this is exactly what you want.

It again was an important question to answer when I began my journey as an entrepreneur. Yes, I wanted to tell stories but what did I really want? So it got me to start thinking, consolidating my thoughts and ideas and crystalizing plans for what I really wanted to achieve with my production house. It helped me understand that I wanted to tell stories irrespective of the language, genre or medium. I wanted to give new talent the right kind of opportunities.  And so Purple Pebble Pictures was born and we started with co-producing a digital series followed by a move into regional cinema. We’re now telling interesting stories, giving talent an opportunity to shine and our ambitions and dreams are growing with every passing day. We just released our second regional film in India and also across the world last Friday (Nov 4th). Ventilator is PPP’s first Marathi film and I couldn’t be more happy or proud of the amazing theaters.

So what did I learn from this journey?

• Every successful career, in any field, will definitely, definitely have evolution. Complacency sets in if you don't try and evolve.
• I’d like something that is my path, paved by me. Something that is my own legacy rather than being one of the many successful people in the world.   SO I work towards that
• At some point in your career (you will know when), you will have to leap into the unknown… you have to try in order to achieve. You might have to do it a couple of times…
• Follow your instincts.
• Retain your own identity
• Own your uniqueness
• Be honest with yourself about what you want to achieve. Don’t be shy to dream
• When you try something new… be open to understand and accept the fact that you won’t know everything and people won’t know everything about you. It’s a process of education and you have to be open to learning at all times.
• Always give back… in any way that you can.

So… here I am and I’m looking forward to what comes next including the opportunity to exchange thoughts and ideas with this vibrant community.

Let’s do this!

This article was first published on November 7, 2016 by Priyanka Chopra on her LinkedIn Page. Copyright © 2017 LinkedIn Corporation.

My Second Innings; Sachin Tendulkar

My first innings was about chasing my dreams, the second one is about satisfaction. I want to give back the game to society and to the less fortunate.

It was October 2013 during one of the Champions League games in Delhi. My mornings would start with a gym workout, a routine I had been following for 24 years. But that morning in October, something had changed.

I realized that I had to force myself to wake up and go about my day. I knew that the gym training was a critical part of my cricket – something that had been my life for 24 years. Yet, there was reluctance. Why?  Were these signs...signs that I should stop? Signs that the game that has been so dear to me, would no longer be a part of my daily routine?

Sunil Gavaskar, one of my heroes and a former cricketer, once said that he made up his mind to quit the game when he found himself checking the clock, to see how much time there was left for the lunch and tea intervals. Suddenly I knew exactly what he meant. My mind and my body were telling me the same thing. Maybe, it’s time to hang up my boots.

I also remembered the words of Billy Jean King, at Wimbledon a few years ago - you will know for sure when to go, it will come from inside you, don’t let the world decide when you have to retire. But what will a sportsman do if he’s not a sportsman anymore? How do you prepare for a day when something that consumed each day of the 24 years of your life, isn’t the focus anymore?

The energizing chant of “Sachin, Sachin” that the crowds cheered each time I walked onto the field, was an indescribable feeling and rush. This probably won’t be heard anymore. Was I ready for that?

These thoughts and a discussion with my family and closest friends helped make up my mind. My innings was indeed coming to an end.

The years flashed before my eyes. The victories, the losses, the celebrations, the challenges and the silences…the journey. India’s win at the World Cup in 2011 was a dream come true as was the team’s generous gesture of dedicating the cup to me. But, that chapter of my life was ending. What now, I wondered.

So what has changed? The biggest change is that I have the freedom to choose what I want to do. In my playing days it was always the game of cricket that came first. But that isn’t the case anymore.

My first innings was about chasing my dreams, the second one is about satisfaction. I want to give back to the game, that has made me what I am, to society and to the less fortunate. The scope has changed but the objective and drive of doing my best, remains. I’m still learning, still discovering new things, meeting new people, and contributing in my own way, to make things better.

One of the highlights of my post-cricket years has been the adoption of Puttamraju Kandriga, a village in Andhra Pradesh. Seeing the village don a new look after two years of intensive infrastructural development, had a joy that can’t be put into words.

A project called ‘Spreading Happiness’, that I am involved in, provides electricity to deprived areas. Arrangements to tap solar energy have been made in over 73 villages and nearly 25,000 people have been impacted by the same. The mission to ‘light up’ homes across the length and breadth of the country will continue.

Joining hands with Shri Narendra Modi, our honorable Prime Minister, for the ‘Swacch Bharat’ (Clean India) campaign was another step in this direction. It was also in tune with my role as the UNICEF Ambassador for Hygiene and Sanitation. The campaign’s success makes me confident that India will adopt the cause and adapt to it as well.

Having played sports all my life, there was no way I could stay away from it. The first avatar of ‘Cricket All Stars’ in the USA, was an attempt to give back to the game and engage with fans who had supported us all the years. This also gave the chance to all fans who had not got the opportunity to witness these great players, the retired superstars of cricket, in action – live!

Taking cricket to new geographies and seeing it get accepted and loved is inspirational to say the least. These days, I’m thinking beyond cricket. ‘Kerala Blasters’, the football team I co-own in the Indian Super League has given me many proud moments. The sea of yellow jerseys filling up the stadium, the deafening sound of around 60,000 fans cheering for KBFC is an overwhelming feeling in itself.

In October 2016, SRT Sports Management Company was launched, a firm that will seek to achieve new ground in the field of sports management in India and beyond.

Lastly, but probably the most important, are the changes in my personal life. I now have more time to give to my family, to travel, to pursue my passions and to focus on things that are close to my heart, ones that I can now explore. The love and affection from fans has remained unchanged, the chants still resonate and appear wherever I travel, which is amazing and something for which I am eternally grateful.

So, what does a sportsperson do when they are not playing their sport anymore? Quite a lot, I have found out…

This article was originally published on March 1, 2017 by Sachin Tendulkar on his LinkedIn Page. Copyright © 2017 LinkedIn Corporation.