CEO SPEAK... AL RAJWANI ‘ It's Not Enough to Talk About Strategy, the Key is Execution’

CEO SPEAK AL RAJWANI ‘ It's Not Enough to Talk About Strategy, the Key is Execution’  Al Rajwani, the new CEO of P&G in India, believes  that complacency is terrible for business and there should be clarity and accountability in each person's role in the organization Amiable and informal, Rajwani is a US citizen of Indian origin. His roots are Gujarati, and “back in India, I am like a kid in a candy shop“, he said during an interview with ET. His personal style is what he calls “management by walking around“ -meeting consumers, distributors and employees as part of his onboarding process at the company's Mumbai headquarters. “What I tell my people is: one week at the office, one week out in the field,  talking to shoppers, consumers, distributers getting a touch and feel ... I am a big believer in execution excellence,“ he said. His India strategies, still at the formative stages, are going to be in the areas of driving physical distribution harder as well as having the right value and good distributor partners, who are capable to fully implement the strategy . He is pushing for stretch leadership and wants leaders to be approachable. “Complacency is terrible for business. I believe in constant communication-mails,  informal conversations and meetings,“ he said. “I should be able to wake up in the middle of the night to call my distributor and he should be able to explain to me his role in helping P&G grow. Merely sitting in the office won't help,  repeating strategy won't help unless it is broken down into execution. There should be clarity and accountability in each person's role. Leaders have to be in constant touch with their people and consumers.“ Rajwani, who took charge in July to implement the group's new global strategy -faster and more profitable growth to drive strong shareholder value creation -has delivered double-digit growth for P&G in markets where he managed its operations in the past. In India, the $1.5billion (.`9,840 crore) maker of brands such as Pampers, Tide and Head & Shoulders has been criticised for a growth strategy that did not get the global attention it deserved at a time when other competitors were maximising focus. P&G also got flak for slipping in innovation and focusing on higher margins while rivals increased market share. P&G's recent innovations -Gillette Flexball (rotatable razor top) and Pam per Premium diaper pants, to be launched in October -are part of its top down strategy. “Our strategy is winning from the top (with focus on Tier I and Tier II products), with exception of the Gillette portfolio where we are all across,“ he said. “We will also focus on double-digit sales growth and profitability.“  The focus will be premium products with great value. Products will be of premium performance at value which consumers are willing to pay, he said. “In India, I think strategy has been consistent. But I believe that it is not enough to talk about strategy. The key is in execution. Brutal obsession with fundamentals (BOF) is a term I will use a lot more here. We have to be out here with consumers and distributors, asking feedback on what we do right or wrong and what are the barriers to using our brands. There has to be visible distribution, we will offer the right value and we will recalibrate the value we offer by listening to what consumers say.“ Rajwani has been visiting consumers who use P&G brands and those of competitors. He has been taking his entire leadership team for these visits. He has been to Bengaluru, Kochi, Bhopal and Ahmedabad. “I don't see need for any massive correction in strategy in India. It is about winning from the top. Offering Tier I and Tier II consumers the best premium  products at the right value. There is a short-term plan and a long-term plan. The decision to cut prices was to explode he category. We are lowering barriers  to purchasing our brands through consumer feed-back. That was the right thing to do in shampoos. That will help consumers move to bigger bottles, leading to better product experience and usage since consumers will use the right amount to wash their hair. We are reviewing value equation and it is an ongoing analysis and so there will be only a small premium to trade up,“ he said. According to Alpana Parida, president of brand consulting firm DY Works, P&G has built a strong preference for its brands among consumers. “During a recent visit to the Beed district of Maharashtra, a village with a population of below 500, I saw a little girl with a sachet of Pantene shampoo in her hand. When I asked her why she chose to buy this brand, she replied that she bought it because she liked the product. So, P&G has to work out how it can sell affordable products without diluting quality. Also, localisation of brands is something P&G has never done. They always sell a global story here,“ she said. Rajwani is taking a lot of cues from P&G's new global CEO, David Taylor, who is pushing teams to take risks in local markets and humility as an organisa tional culture. “It is all about waking up each day and working hard. It is about looking at work on a daily basis and paying close attention to what competitors are doing and what consumers are saying. We have to be humble in our approach to win consumers.“ When P&G cut prices of its shampoo brand a few weeks back, it was seen once again as a price war to get growth going. But analysts criticised it as defeating the very purpose of profitable growth. “The company's growth in profits came in from cutting marketing and advertising spends,“ said an analyst on the conditions of anonymity. Analysts have not been too happy with the way P&G handled its toothpaste launch. “That was a damp squib compared to how Colgate handled it. We expected something better from a company that has strong global brands,“ said Gautam Duggad, vice-president, research (FMCG & retail) at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Rajwani called the toothpaste launch a learning ground. “P&G's Oral B toothbrushes are doing very well. We launched toothpaste selectively in some markets as a test ground, so it was not a national launch. It is yet a learning ground there.“ Rajwani said he has done a review of the company's marketing and advertising spending. “And I find there is good sufficiency there. What we have done is a massive shift from TV to digital, especially mobile. The spends in marketing will be based on efficiency and a strong ROI analysis.“Rajwani is also promising game-changing innovation: for starters in Gillette and Pampers. Our innovation calendar is full. Do watch us closely.“

Kala Vijayraghavan & Rica Bhattacharyya