Here\'s a report of our 2010 Berlin Future Leaders event with summaries from all our speakers from the consumer goods business and other sectors. Get an update on our first "Peak Performance" workshop as well as feedback on the Berlin stores our delegates visited. An all-in-one document which will help you understand the value of the FLP event. Join us in 2011 at the FLP Congress in Chicago October 16th-18th!
For more information, visite our website at www.tcgfflp.com
1. Future Leaders
Congress 2010
E x Ecut i vE S ummar y
Re-shapinG yOuR Business, yOuRself and OuR wORld
10 th -12 th October 2010 / Berlin, Germany
www.tcg fflp . com / www. tcgfflp. cn
3. The future leaders programme is the global event
for dynamic future leaders in the consumer goods
business, moving rapidly within their company.
►Thought-leadership
►Discussion & debate
►Knowledge sharing & workshops
►International networking
►Store visits & best practices
►Consumer-focused analysis
►CEOs as mentors
4. The congress thematics are developed by
the future leaders Committee:
Chairman: Guy Tiebackx, Develey Senf & Feinkost GmbH, Germany
hege abrahamsen, ica aB, Norway patrick Kgengwenyane, Pick n Pay, South africa
Georg Bruch, Globus, russia Rhoda lane-O’Kelly, the consumer Goods Forum
Jerry fleeman, Food Lion LLc, uSa simon lau, tcc, Hong Kong
Richard flint, Nike, the Netherlands Karsten Kamin, the coca-cola company, Germany
paul havinga, albert Heijn Bv, the Netherlands Thomas storck, Galeria Kaufhof Warenhaus aG, Germany
Tara haynie, Wal-mart Stores inc., uSa Giuseppe Zuliani, conad, italy
a masterclass programme
this programme is designed to help future leaders to develop FLP provides a platform for discussion on top-of-mind issues
their potential to become part of senior management, and and brings knowledge and networking to young leaders
to enhance their personal contribution to the business. the from around the globe.
Future Leaders congress includes strategic, operational
many companies use the Future Leaders Programme as a
and leadership modules, all of which are characterised by
core development tool for their future generation of managers
spirited debate.
and as such the event is valued as an investment in the
future of their company.
examples of the diverse profiles of past future leader delegates include:
Director Business Strategy, Director it Finance, Human resources Director, managing Director, Private Label Director,
General manager - Store Operations, category manager, Sales Director, customer team Leader, Logistics manager,
National account manager, customer marketing manager, marketing Director, communication Director, Format Director,
Supply chain Development manager, Key accounts Director, Quality manager, Global Business Development Lead,
Director Sustainable Development...
FLP congress 2010
4 executive summary
5. COnfeRenCe sOundBiTes
“the industry is changing. How can you “if you’re waiting to be a leader tomorrow,
be the change?” you shouldn’t be in this room today ...
Richard flint you need to bring yourself to work.”
Jerry s. wilson
“the small and unforeseen can have
enormous consequences, causing “it is dangerous to be surrounded by
cataclysmic reputational damage and people who are afraid to tell you the truth.
long term business damage.” you need to take the time to sort the
alex Thomson yes-men from those who are speaking
“the consumer is an animal of habit and their minds.”
Thomas Gutberlet
not change. auto-pilot shopping is the
reality of our business”. «consume to be happy is a message
Jean-Jacques Vandenheede drummed into us from birth, but is leading
“rather than a huge amount of choice, to illness such as diabetes.”
will day
shoppers seek the ability to make
decisions.”
stephan Grünewald
“the brand connection is made in the
mind. Don’t tell someone how great
you are, prove you have something by
positioning.”
amir Kassaei
“We can actually create a more unified
world by dealing with the aspirations of
poorer people.”
wayne Chen
FLP congress 2010
5 executive summary
6. Sunday 10th October 2010
sTRaTeGiC sessiOn
welcome to the future leaders Congress
i
n his opening address, richard Flint introduced the twin
themes of transformation and reinvention. Welcoming
110 participants from 27 countries, Flint said the question
to address at this “pivotal conference” was “how we
as leaders are transforming in a rapidly changing
environment”. the industry was changing, he said, and
companies were increasingly required to trust each other.
Our leadership skills need to change to keep in step. “How
can you be the change?” Flint asked.
Richard flint, managing
Director, Greece &
associated territories,
marks & Spencer;
chairman, Future Leaders
Programme committee
a year of Transformation in Context
W
e are living in a viral world, alex thomson the form of regulation was a real possibility. the argument
asserted. Speaking as a journalist who that what consumers eat is a question of personal choice is
had been initially slow to realise the “not a sustainable position,” thomson maintained, given the
impact of so-called “citizen journalism” as links the medical world had established between weight and
offered up by blogs and websites such health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.
as twitter, thomson reminded the conference not to get
complacent: “the small and unforeseen can have enormous
consequences,” causing “cataclysmic reputational damage
and long term business damage,” he said, citing BP cEO
tony Hayward’s unthinking remark that he wanted to
get his life back, following the epoch-making oil disaster.
“BP won’t be able to get into uS deep-sea drilling again,”
thomson said.
Looking at the world from an economic point of view,
thomson said the austerity theme would be a lasting trend,
as governments around the world – particularly in Europe –
make drastic cuts to public spending to reduce their deficits.
Obesity was increasingly a political concern, he said. “it’s
possible that food companies won’t be able to go on as
they are” he said, adding that government intervention in
alex Thomson, Presenter
& chief correspondent,
itN channel 4 News and
congress moderator
FLP congress 2010
6 executive summary
7. The new market trends storming our industry
J
ean-Jacques vandenheede enjoys debunking “the consumer is an animal of habit and not change,”
popular misconceptions about the industry with vandenheede asserted, and “auto-pilot shopping is the
hard market data and this presentation was no reality of our business”. Faced with uncertain economic
exception. calling for perspective on the pace times, most shoppers, according to Nielsen survey data,
of change and transformation, he said “fast shopped at the same stores they always did. this may
moving consumer goods” was a misleading name, since be in part, vandenheede posited, because all the grocers
transformation in the industry generally happens very had essentially the same offer. Only a minority (not more
slowly. “recession” was another word to use with care, than 16%) swap stores to benefit from specific promotions.
he suggested, since “overall, our industry has never been in fact, consumers’ store selection criteria have little to do
in recession”. consumer confidence, generally reported to with price, which falls towards the bottom of their ranking,
be low, has in fact “followed [economic] recovery, slowly and more to do with convenience and experience. Good
crawling back” and consumption volumes are returning. in service and an efficient checkout is what draws them back.
terms of turnover, large and small supermarkets have been the growth in the discount formats has gone hand in hand
“flatlining”, also, although hypermarkets have suffered in recent with increased density: “it’s a mechanical phenomenon and
times, losing 7% on average over the last few years. “there has nothing to do with consumer change.” Similarly, the
is a need to reinvigorate the growth in private label is a “structural phenomenon” that
hypermarket,” vandenheede has followed the density of organised retail and has not
said. Both market share for been driven by consumers.
all three format types and the
the other myth that vandenheede was keen to explode is
number of shopping trips were
that the majority of consumers want to shop online. Not for
also flat between 2007 and
groceries: only 19% bought groceries online over the last
2010.
three months, his data show.
Jean-Jacques Vandenheede,
Director, retailer insights Europe,
the Nielsen company
The Consumer in time of crisis: shaken but not
on the rocks
S
enior citizens are not what they used to be. actually motivated by the desire to reduce complexity. “they
Older people, are getting younger. today’s accept high prices in order to make mental savings.” the
seniors burned their bras and put che Guevara consumer is not “homo economicus” . Shoppers don’t want
posters on their bedsit walls. they were at to be bombarded with price messages: they don’t comfort.
Woodstock. according to Stephan Grünewald, What they want are solutions: for a menu, for being more
these attitudes die hard: today’s seniors are characterised beautiful and so on. they want to buy happy moments and
by the breaching of norms and ideals of eternal youth. they feeling of eternal beginning: “all
don’t “retire,” they maintain restless post-work activity and consumers dream of starting
keep their diaries full. By contrast, the 18-25s are controlled, something new,” Grünewald
mature and serious. they feel they are living in a “divided says. are we delivering?
and fragile world” in which they may fall into an “abyss of
downward mobility”. therefore, they pursue wishful thinking
with “excessive prudence, determination, obsessions with
order, self-control and competent, relentless activity to keep
the abyss at bay”. stephan Grünewald,
managing Partner,
in retail and cPG, the crucial trend is for complexity rheingold institute for
reduction. “rather than a huge amount of choice, shoppers Qualitative market &
seek the ability to make decisions,” Grünewald holds. He media research
maintains that the decision to buy at discount stores or
filling stations, or to buy regional and organic products, is
FLP congress 2010
7 executive summary
8. Be everywhere, all the time
t
he digital revolution could never have been Sites offering «user generated
foreseen by those who lived in the nineteenth content», such as youtube,
century. in 2010 new technologies and options have now arrived as a
proliferate at a bewildering rate. the challenge mainstream communication
we face today is therefore to decide which channel. youtube is the
technologies to grab and take forward into our business. second-largest search engine,
But we also need to look ahead and imagine the as yet after Google, while micro-
uninvented technologies. blogging site twitter receives
600 million search queries
in the new retail eco-system, information flows between the
every day. increasingly,
shopper and the retailer, between brand and consumer in
people are using these sites
ways previously unimagined. this development has led to
via their phones rather than
the emergence of a new «super consumer» empowered by
their computers.
new technologies and demanding of «hyper experiences» Mike Bosman, cEO,
that live up to expectations set by more advanced sectors. more and more consumers One Digital media
companies need to master this new landscape in order to are making their purchasing
engage the attention of their consumers and target their decisions and brand affiliations based on the «word of mouth»
marketing. Facebook, for example, has 400 million active endorsements — or criticisms — of fellow consumers online.
users. the average age of users is now 33 and the fastest «it’s a matter of looking for credible and trustworthy sources
growing segment on the site is women over 55. Half the of information,» Bosman said. «What is your business doing
site’s users log in every day. However, users are resistant about all of this?» Bosman foresees a not-too-distant future
to the ads on the side of Facebook pages. a much smarter, in which our mobile phones will «learn about us and make
subtler approach is needed. recommendations».
upcoming technologies
►Moving imagery on product packaging or store displays,
via silicone ink
►Temperature sensing built into products (recording and
displaying temperatures across supply chain)
►Intelligent shelving and dynamic electronic pricing
►Digital or biometric check-outs: finger and iris scanners
will drive down exit time for shoppers
►Augmented reality: mobile phones can now overlay
information about what is seen through their camera
lenses
►Digital POS material and shopping cart tracking
►Digital personal shopping assistants, such as Siri: they
can search the web for peer-reviewed recipes, scan online
grocers and have the relevant ingredients delivered to your
house
►Gender recognition technologies can tell whether a man
or woman looks at a shelf or buys a product
At present these technologies exist: what is yet to come is the ability to manage them well. For example, we generate far more
customer data than we can mine for information to help us market. Could statistics be the next coolest career?
FLP congress 2010
8 executive summary
9. learn to sell the way consumers want to buy
i
n a world where all the realised that success depended on converting the staunchly
communications devices republican elderly Jewish vote in Florida, BBD created “the
are connected and all Great Schlep” – a humorous idea with a serious purpose.
the people are connected reasoning that the only people that Jewish grandparents
via social networks, our would listen to were their grandchildren, DDB mobilised the
customers are no longer kids via their social networks to make the trip across the
“consumers” they are our States, in order to talk their elders round. the campaign
friends. a new way of selling gained massive coverage in the mainstream media and
is needed that they can buy the movement snowballed. the mix of web 2.0, and street-
into. awareness alone is no level guerrilla marketing feeding into the mainstream media
longer working; there is too was successful. Florida turned Democrat and Obama was
much noise. companies elected. Similarly, in a campaign for German green energy
amir Kassaei, chief should not use the internet as provider Entega, people were mobilised at a grass roots
creative Officer, Doyle a megaphone; it’s no longer level to militate against global warming by a massive “save
Dane Bernbach Group about loudness. “Don’t tell our snowmen” campaign. For automotive manufacture vW,
someone how great you are, DDB convinced public transport users to use the stairs
prove you have something by positioning.” rather than the escalators by making the stairs
the internet is not a new media channel, it fun. Each step was converted into a piano
is a tool for “connection, communication, key that played a note when it was
and distribution”. companies should be stepped upon, so the staircase
relevant, if they are not, they will get became a keyboard. “Before”
“lost in space”. Fun is a key factor and “after” videos showed the
in changing consumer behaviour. wholesale shift of traffic from the
if marketing campaigns are both escalator to the stairs. Such
relevant and fun, “the brand an approach is crucial, Kassei
connection is made in the mind”. argued, if you want to turn
customers into friends. the
illustrative examples from DDB’s
reason you want to do this is
portfolio abound: When the
simple: your friends will advocate
Obama election campaign
your brand.
Retailing in emerging markets
F
rom its study of retailing in emerging markets, the offer with a relatively low barrier to entry, which both brings
coca-cola retailing research council unearthed more aspirational shopping into underprivileged areas and
a simple, basic truth that can be applied offers the possibility of self-governed economic growth via
universally. “We can actually create a more unified local entrepreneurship. in Peru, “minka” has done well by
world by dealing with the aspirations of poorer providing an ordered and structured environment in which
people,” Wayne chen said, showcasing highlights of the the capital’s diverse informal market traders can set up.
findings. commerce, he claims, is the most important part of “it captures the energy of the informal market, but raised
development. in more traditional the standard,” chen says. in turkey, discount retailer Bim
times the place of worship was coped with the country’s 2002 hyperinflation crisis by
the focal point of communities offering stable low prices for three months. certainly, the
and also the chief dispensary retailer took a short-term hit, but created the “everlasting
of hope. today, chen argues impression” that its prices were the best. Bim’s rival tansa
that modern retail has to some navigated the same crisis by focusing on righting the things
degree taken that place. “it is a its customers said they hated. the retailer formulated a
temple that people can look to charter of “incredible consumer rights”, including having all
and aspire to.” the tills open if it was busy, a no-questions return policy and
a freshness guarantee. the result was a strong operational
chen gave the example of
improvement and a significant increase in profitability. all in
Pick n Pay in South africa.
all, success lies in actively creating a vision of the future; in
the retailer has reached
keeping an open mind; in enriching lives through customer-
out to hitherto underserved
wayne Chen, cEO, based solutions and in finding opportunities within crises.
sections of the South african
Super Plus Food Stores, community with a franchise
Jamaica
FLP congress 2010
9 executive summary
10. Built to last
cEOs discuss how they transformed their companies, reveal their biggest challenges and how they rose to them.
Thomas Bruch, cEO Klaus dohle, cEO, Michael durach, Thomas Gutberlet,
& Proprietor, Globus, Dohle Handelsgruppe managing Director, chairman, tegut Gutberlet
Germany Holding, Germany * Develey Senf & Feinkost Stiftung & co., Germany *
GmbH, Germany *
* Ex-FLP committee member
how lonely is it at the top? alex thomson asked.
thomas Bruch said it shouldn’t be if you have built a
good team. Klaus Dohle agreed and added that, on
the contrary, it is dangerous to be surrounded by
people who are afraid to tell you the truth. “you
need to take the time to sort the yes-men from
those who are speaking their minds.” thomas
Gutberlet said if you are both leader and servant
to your company you don’t get lonely.
On mistakes
Durach said one of his mistakes had been not taking
smaller competitors seriously enough. “if it’s a good idea, size
doesn’t matter.” Dohle agreed that overconfidence had been
instrumental in one of his own failed acquisitions. Gutberlet
said that often we rush to get a first-mover advantage,
when being a fast follower is more efficient. Bruch said
his company had expanded without properly studying the
locations: “it’s important to see where you’re going in the
wrong direction and turn the wheel.”
are customers your “friends” ?
Bruch said society had shifted and the industry has to shift
from a push to a pull model. “the push model was inefficient
and unsustainable.” Dohle said companies needed to listen
much more: “if we talk to our customers we’ll have a lot
more friends than we realised. But you have to make people
The future leaders
want to have you in their community.” programme has been
On flp developing leaders for
Durach said that for 14 years, the Future Leaders Programme
had been a window on the world for him. “i’ve learned about
over half a century
different areas, business models, different thinking.” Over the – a true mark of
years the contacts he has made have become friends. “you
can ask friends honest questions.” Bruch it was his first time sustainability.
at the event and the exchange with colleagues from other
countries was valuable. Dohle said he had learned a lot and
seen a lot of the world. Gutberlet said it had been invaluable
to him to be able to share different perspectives.”
FLP congress 2010
10 executive summary
11. Berlin Retail scene
t
he German market Germany has no strong
is different to most convenience operator: the
European markets in density of the discounters
that it is dominated obviates the need for a separate
by local players. proximity format. the market
None of the big non-German has no successful hypermarket
grocery retailers (Walmart, format either. Kaufland,
carrefour, tesco, ahold) are mcKinsey argues, is really a
present in the market. Growth “hybrid discounter”. Discounters
in the market has been hard to achieve a far higher volume per
come by and like-for-likes are SKu than their traditional rivals.
negative. Expansion is the only However, despite the ubiquity
thing that makes a difference, of the discounters, German
Tobias wachinger, Björn hagemann,
but the excess space, coupled shoppers still shop around. aldi
Principal, mcKinsey & co. associate Principal,
with constant downward shoppers typically also visit
pressure on prices from the Lidl (66%), Edeka (33%), rewe mcKinsey & co.
discounters, makes for low sales densities. retailers “really (32%), real (30%), Penny (29%),
have to struggle to be profitable”. Only one retailer is growing Kaufland (23%) and Netto (19%).
profitably: Kaufland.
Within the general context of Germany, Berlin is an especially
One of the major challenges in Germany is that 42% of the tough market. it has lagged German growth since 1995,
market share is held by discounters, which drive the market. with a current caGr of 0.3% versus 1.5% for Germany as
aldi –“the business of two brothers who hate each other” a whole. unemployment in Berlin is at 16.1% versus 8.7% in
– effectively sets prices for all players. Discounters have a Germany. Even by German standards, then, Berlin is highly
major share of the organic market and while the lions share price competitive. Discounters have 47% of Berlin, where
of sales come from high-margin private label, they are shoppers like to search for branded goods on promotion.
increasingly persuading shoppers to stay with them while Berlin’s shoppers are younger and more diverse than the
uptrading by introducing a higher branded component. the national average, there are more single-person households
margin advantage is now being aggressively reinvested in and a higher share of the population has a migration
brands. carrying fewer SKus allows discounters to increase background. in this context, innovation is vital. New concepts
their bargaining power: aldi, for example, has 17 times the born in Berlin include 24-hour organic convenience format
purchasing power per SKu of Walmart. FreshNFriends, or Kochhaus, where consumers shop by
recipe.
this allows the discounters to sell brands at a lower price
than supermarket rivals.
FLP congress 2010
11 executive summary
12. a world in transformation
P
opulation is probably
the most important
factor in determining
the future of our
planet and its
resources. and while population
is increasing in countries such
as china and india, russia,
Japan, South africa, Germany,
italy and Spain are among
the countries expected to
experience population decline.
most of the increase in the
older population is in developing will day, chairman,
countries with an average Sustainable Development
income of less than uSD 2 a commission, uK
day. the fastest-growing age
group is the over-80s — by 2050, over-60s will outnumber
the under-14s and there will be 1.9 billion people over 65. the
world’s population is also increasingly urban — every week,
humans create combined conurbations equivalent to a city the
size of vancouver.
in terms of income, the world has 1.2 billion «middle class»
consumers, accounting for 19% of total global consumers. the
world’s wealthiest consumers, including the 488 billionaires
and 10 million millionaires, account for only 10%. multinational
corporate enterprise, therefore, reaches only 29% of the
world’s total consumers. Some 4 billion people (71% of total)
are not currently being reached by multinational corporations,
according to Day. Within the next ten years, more than half the
world’s poor will be found in middle income countries. «they’re
not headed for leafy suburbs,» Day said.
Day foresees significant migration by 2050, as water shortages
and crop failures force farmers in africa, South america and
southern asia to leave barren land. Food prices could soar,
starvation could increase. this year the uS military warned
of serious oil shortages by 2015, with a significant economic
and political impact. «We really couldn’t have designed a
worse place,» Day said of the 21st century city. the faster the
economic growth, the more profound the gap between rich
and poor. «it’s not a stable place to do business.»
ultimately, our way of life is threatening our way of life. «consume
to be happy,» is a message drummed into us from birth, but
is leading to illness such as diabetes. moreover, «happiness»
as reported by the world’s citizens, has not grown in line with
GDP growth. «So what’s it for?» Strong economic growth
gives only the illusion of prosperity, but in fact is destroying
more than it is creating. the proof of this, Day argues, is that
developed countries’ ecological footprints continue to expand,
suggesting little tendency so far for the delinking of economic
activity from environmental degradation.
FLP congress 2010
12 executive summary
13. monday 11th October 2010
OpeRaTiOnal sessiOn
the consumer Goods Forum would like to thank Bio company, real, rewe and rossmann for their hospitality in welcoming
the groups in their stores.
FLP congress 2010
13 executive summary
14. store feedback session
deleGaTe RaTinG Of The sTORes VisiTed:
Each delegate was asked to rate the store based on
Price, Service, communication, in-store experience and
assortment.
the consolidated results are reflected in the pentagrams
below:
Price Price
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
assortment 1 Service assortment 1 Service
0 0
in-store in-store
experience communication experience communication
Price Price
5 5
4 4
3 3
2 2
assortment 1 Service assortment 1 Service
0 0
in-store in-store
experience communication experience communication
FLP congress 2010
14 executive summary
15. peak performance workshop by McKinsey & Co.
almost everyone mentioned trust – the suspension of
individual agendas - and here we should not be surprised.
if a group is to have the same sense of absorption and
focus as an individual, then its members cannot lose time
and energy trying to second guess their colleagues. closely
linked to trust, though, and mentioned just as frequently,
were simplicity and clarity. Delegates recognised the value
of non-negotiable time-sensitive objectives in their teams
delivering at such a high level, but there was more to
simplicity and clarity than that. Some of the features that
emerged in multiple conversations included clear direction
and common understanding, the transcending of any sense
of bureaucracy and above all, transparent feedback. in
these peak performances, what success and failure looked
O
n monday afternoon, delegates stepped like was not in any doubt.
back from the day to day practicalities of in discussing why these peak performances had been
the Operational Session to try something necessary, however, something very striking emerged. in
new for the Future Leaders congress: some the majority of cases, the organization in which we worked
group work exploring the psychological
characteristics of those rare but unmistakeable experiences
which constitute peak performance in a team: moments
in which we truly recognise that the whole of our team
is greater than the sum of its individual members, that
success is of critical value and during which time each
person senses an engagement and identification with
work that is so total that even exceptionally difficult
tasks can appear natural, or at least, fully capable
of accomplishment.
tobias Wachinger from mcKinsey suggested
how delegates might work to explore
this concept. it’s one which psychologist
mihály csíkszentmihályi famously identifies
as that of flow – a feeling of being “in the
groove”, and work becoming effortless –
and it can be applied to both individual and
team experiences. as a group of leaders,
delegates would be concentrating on what
they could learn from each other with regard
to flow, or peak performance, in a team
setting.
So our groups worked on two sets of questions.
the first explored individual experiences of peak
performance – when, where and why they had
occurred, their key characteristics and what they
had felt like for team members at the time. the
second was more tactical: what blocked us from
having these experiences more of the time – and
what might enable us to have more of them.
So what were our experiences of peak
performance? the answer was inspiring.
there was a common recognition of this kind of
experience. it felt great. One delegate talked of a
sense of being “vibrant and alive”. Others talked
of passion.
FLP congress 2010
15 executive summary
16. had been in a state of crisis. in the literal sense of the construct of flow, but for the idea that it could apply just as
word, a crisis is not necessarily a problem, or a bad thing; much to group or team experiences as for individual ones.
it means a significant choice. But of course sometimes that they could be divided up from the perspective of a leader
significant choice can mean the difference between survival into those they should provide, those they could enable and
or extinction for a project - or even a company. those they might observe.
this paradox was a topic of discussion in most of our Leaders should thus be able to provide clear goals, articulate
groups. On the one hand, these great team performances a difficult but not impossible challenge and provide direct
represented some of our best experiences of work. memories and immediate feedback. they should enable a sense
to last a lifetime were generated; people felt deeply proud of personal control, the conditions for concentration and
to have been there and to have played their part. On the attention and allow colleagues to find the intrinsic pleasure
other, there was a nagging feeling that only conditions of in performing their work. in return, they might expect to
the greatest urgency had triggered this performance. could observe a significant loss of self-consciousness and focused
we not aspire to lead this kind of work experience more of awareness completely on work. Of course the tenth point
the time – and without emergency conditions? it was this – that people in the middle of flow can become unaware
question that was at the heart of the second part of our of bodily needs – also implies leaders might want to make
discussion. sure that such fully engaged teams eat, exercise and rest
properly.
to try to break down the question we explored both enablers
– the features or conditions which make something possible
or at least easier – and blockers – those which do the
opposite.
clearly, the first and most important enabler was a clear,
common goal – and one of real importance to the team.
Following closely on was strong personal relationships
between team members (one reason why teambuilding
sessions, however artificial they can seem initially, are
so important where teams have been newly formed).
But another enabler was more subtle – the sense of an
overarching story. Delegates talked of distinct phases
in their peak performance experiences: initial shock and
uncertainty, the acceptance of collective responsibility, the
emergence of a plan and the growing realisation of the
team’s strength when it acted together. as leaders, we
might conclude that these three factors - setting clear goals,
convening teams built on mutual trust and being aware of a
dynamic, longer term setting – were especially important.
in contrast, blockers could be said to be the absence of
these factors – but they could also be characterised as
acting in a territorial manner, being obsessed with multiple
small priorities and the generation of multiple administrative
protocols or policies.
Summing up a rich set of discussion, tobias asked the
group to reflect on the 10 factors which csíkszentmihályi had
originally identified for the psychological state of ‘flow’. What
was remarkable was how many of these had emerged
spontaneously in our discussions – support not only for the
FLP congress 2010
16 executive summary
17. tuesday 12th October 2010
leadeRship sessiOn
entrepreneurship, transformation and taking
a chance
a
s capitalist business owners who were also part build a business in a wine-saturated market. the answers,
of an aristocratic lineage, Prinz’s family were not it turned out, had a lot to do with his family story: humility,
wanted in East Germany under Soviet rule. in sacrifice and perseverance were critical. Prinz believes in
1945, the family’s land, property and business the concept of “same eye level”. that is to say that his
were expropriated, with no compensation: Prinz’s team are considered co-entrepreneurs, each with a stake
parents were instead sent to jail. When their employees in his or her own business area. tradition and innovation
“made a lot of fuss”, the family was released and expelled were equally important: “tradition is dynamic,” Prinz asserts.
from the GDr. From riches to there is room for individuality. Quality and authenticity are
rags, Prinz senior and junior paramount in wine, but so is sustainability. Not only must
both worked in menial jobs, the viticulture be sustainable in environmental terms, but the
before gradually rebuilding trading relationships must also be sustainable. Only true
their business interests in win-win partnerships can survive. the business began as a
the West. after the fall of “garage winery” and built to the stage where, in 1996, Prinz
the Berlin Wall, Prinz went was able to repurchase his old family estate. the esate
back to Saxony and bought was renovated and redeveloped as a guest house and
a run-down vineyard. He restaurant.
acquired great soil and great
people, but was still faced
with the question of how to
dr Georg prinz zur
lippe, Owner, Schloss
Proschwitz Wine Estate
FLP congress 2010
17 executive summary
18. Managing Brand you
“
if you’re waiting to be a
leader tomorrow, you
shouldn’t be in this room
today,” Jerry S. Wilson seven steps to
began his presentation. if
you are hoping for success,
managing Brand you
you need a roadmap to your
future, just as you would build 1. audit: recall your activities, successes, failures
one for your brand. “What if etc
you thought of yourself as a 2. image: what are the qualities that make you
brand?” Branding is vital: “No unique and differentiate you from others?
one says, bring me a brown,
sparkling liquid. they say bring 3. identity: what do you stand for? Leverage
Jerry s wilson, Senior me a coke,” Wilson said, your equity beyond functional skills.
vice President, chief adding after a slight hesitation: 4. Positioning: who are your target groups and
customer & commercial “OK, maybe they say bring how should they perceive you?
Officer, the coca-cola me a Pepsi too.” the point is
company that both brown beverages 5. Goals: envision the life you want 10 years
have a powerful brand, with from now and manage back.
strong recognition and loyalty. the key to success, as a 6. Strategies: how will you achieve these
future leader, is unleashing the power of “Brand you”. this goals?
is not about “dress for success”, nor is it about blatant self-
promotion. it is about brand building by positioning and being 7. implementation and monitoring: set times
true to yourself. Surprisingly few people choose to position and dates for commitments and monitor your
themselves in a unique and valuable space. Sometimes, results.
this means expanding your job description to marketing
the essence of what you bring to the table. Branding is
not that complicated in itself. a brand relationship is the
simple sum of promise plus experience. How well we deliver
on our promise determines the success of the brand. a
great example is Google, a brand that has become a verb.
Great brands do not try to please everyone. they focus
and excel. mtv, for example, does not care if grandma
disapproves: it’s not for her. Good brand also communicate
with consistency: apple is a great example, Wilson says.
Winning brands differentiate with authenticity. But how to
be authentic? it’s simple, Wilson says: “you need to bring
yourself to work.”
FLP congress 2010
18 executive summary
19. sustainable leadership:
why doing good is good for business.
a
s the first South african company to promote «investment in the community
a black manager above white staff, Pick n will stand us in good stead»,
Pay knows something about standing up for citing Walmart’s unsuccessful
its principles. these are: make a fair profit; venture in Germany. ackerman
have a heart; build social capital; build pride mentioned Pick n Pay’s
in association; build an achievable values system and developmental work in South
acknowledge diversity. Pick n Pay openly opposed apartheid africa and said: «if you build a
policy and fought against cartels to make business fairer community, you build a middle
for all concerned. Founder raymond ackerman believed class. Energy can come
that if you fought on behalf of the consumer you would get from severe poverty.» asked
good press and the consumer would back your business. whether Pick n Pay was just
Since the fall of apartheid, Pick n Pay has fought for the a company that had grown
rights of South africans still disenfranchised, it has embraced rich on the back of apartheid,
democratic change and in particular, employment equality. ackerman explained that Pick Gareth ackerman,
Every part of the company –including the ackerman Family n Pay had never been a chairman, Pick n Pay
Foundation – invests in the local community with a focus company of «a discriminating Stores, South africa & Ex-
on entrepreneurship, skills development and sustainability. nature». On the contrary, it chairman FLP committee
the company helps local farmers and food manufacturers had fought discriminatory laws
work sustainably. “Doing good is good business,” ackerman and the apartheid regime. «yes, we got wealthy during the
says. “Be good to your community and that will be good for apartheid years, but we’ve done so much better since and
shareholders and employees.” we think our record as a family and as a business stands
up around the world.» On the subject of health and wellness,
mr ackerman agreed to a “hard talk type” by mr thomson.
ackerman said the industry was not tackling obesity: «if the
thomson asked ackerman «where did it all go wrong in
industry doesn’t self-police, governments could interfere in an
australia», a reference to Pick n Pay’s recent market
incompetent way.» He concluded by saying that many cEOs
exit. admitting he had been unprepared for the question,
were «too shepherded», with too many people around them
ackerman replied that local retailers coles and Woolworths
cossetting them. «you’ve got to get out and do the work.
were «huge competitors» and that Pick n Pay had been
you’ve got to understand the consumer.»
unable to achieve a cost differential. On the subject of
Walmart’s imminent entry into South africa, ackerman agreed
that it was a «huge challenge» but added that Pick n Pay’s
FLP congress 2010
19 executive summary
20. pillars of strength
t
he consumer Goods
Forum is not “one eMeRGinG TRends
more association”
but rather, the
vehicle through susTainaBiliTy
which the industry can finally
speak in one voice. Launched
in June 2009, in New york, safeTy and healTh
with the fusion of ciES with
the Global commerce initiative
and the Global cEO Forum, OpeRaTiOnal eXCellenCe
the body aims to drive unified new ways Of wORKinG TOGeTheR
collaborative action on non-
Jean-Marc saubade, competitive issues. “the cEOs
managing Director, the of your companies were sitting KnOwledGe shaRinG &
consumer Goods Forum on too many boards and peOple deVelOpMenT
going to too many meetings, in
which they were talking about the same things,” Saubade
the Forum is not a lobby but nonetheless aligns itself
explained. “at the same time, the industry is not talking in
strategically with lobbying groups in the regions, such as
one voice. We are not in the driving seat.”
Gma, Fmi, Errt, Eurocommerce and so on. “We still
the consumer Goods Forum members have combined need to influence legislation in various countries,” Saubade
sales of Eur 2.1 trillion: an organisation with enormous asserted. the connection in the regions is made via local
collective influence. the board of directors brings together the Efficient consumer response (Ecr) groups. the Forum
cEOs and chairmen of 25 retailers and 25 manufacturers. also aligns with GS1: global projects need global standards.
the Board positions cannot be delegated, so the decisions the idea is to avoid duplication and pursue a single industry
are made by the people who can “really get things done”. agenda.
Driven by its vision of “Better Lives through Better Business,”
the Forum has a mandate to make collaborative work
accessible to all companies, for the good of the industry.
“We work on things that can only happen when we unite,”
Saubade underlined. these include, among others, food
safety, sustainable packaging and carbon measurement,
stripping cost from the supply chain and information sharing
and are arranged under five strategic pillars:
FLP congress 2010
20 executive summary
21. Keynote closing address
attitude is what determines altitude
Z
imbabwe-born
Hilton-Barber lost his
sight out of the blue
at 21, the result of a
hilton-Barber’s life
congenital condition. principles
He had joined the airforce,
hoping to be a pilot. Blind,
the options seemed greatly 1. Start with your goals and dreams, not with
diminished. However, he did not your circumstances
want to spend his life “weaving
dog baskets”. He wanted to be 2. Fear is only False Evidence appearing real.
a pilot. So he did. “Quality of life,” 3. you are only as big as the dreams you dare
he says, “is not what happens to to live
Miles hilton-Barber, you, but what you do with what
Blind adventurer happens to you.” He became 4. all achievers are dreamers, but not all dreamers
the first blind pilot to undertake are achievers
a 55-day, 21,000 kilometre microlite flight from London to 5. Successful people are those who go through
Sydney. to succeed, he employed revolutionary speech- bad things, and persevere
output technology, accompanied by a sighted co-pilot, his
friend, and raised money for blind charities. to achieve, he 6. unity is the key: there is no room for backbiting.
says, “you need to start with your goals and dreams, not your future depends on mutual interdependence
with your circumstances”. 7. “Never judge a man until you’ve walked a mile
this was only the beginning for Hilton-Barber. His philosophy in his shoes. that way, when you do judge him,
was that “you can use up energy worrying or you can do you’re a mile away and you’ve got his shoes.”
new things”. if you want to grow, it’s important to step out
of your comfort zone: “the last time you did a new thing is
the last time you grew”. With these thoughts in mind, Hilton-
Barber – among many other adventures – man-hauled a
sledge 250 miles across antarctica, climbed Kilimanjaro and
mont Blanc, became the first blind aviator to break the sound
barrier and to participate in a drag-racing event, cage-dived
with Great White Sharks and raced 150 miles across the
Sahara on foot. in the process, he learned a lot about himself
and his capabilities, and about teamwork and success. “i’m
now giving you some life principles i’ve stumbled across as
a blind man,” he said. “there are many sighted people who
are blind to their potential. i’m trying to give them vision.”
FLP congress 2010
21 executive summary
22. sponsors
the consumer Goods Forum wishes to thank the following companies for their generous support of the Future Leaders
congress 2010.
networking Breaks
product showcase
monday 11th & tuesday 12th October 2010
leadership session
tuesday 12th October 2010
& Refreshments
Official delegates lunch
Sunday 10th October 2010
store Tour programme
monday 11th October 2010
Official delegates dinner
monday 11th October 2010
FLP congress 2010
22 executive summary