The former CEO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi, is nothing short of an influencer. Her passion for work reflects in the daily 18-20 hours of grind that she put to work every day. It’s not easy to be successful in this stressed world that relies on cut-throat competition and measures success with earnings and profits, especially, when it comes to heading PepsiCo, an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation operating in multiple countries.
The world of entrepreneurship and retail business continued to be male-dominated till Nooyi stepped in and changed the game. She made her own rules, dictated them and eliminated the unhealthy ruthless corporate mindset that eats into young, impressionable minds. Nooyi has consistently been ranked among the world's 100 most powerful women. Her net worth is estimated to be somewhere around ₹5,040 crores.
An experienced leader and businesswoman par excellence, Nooyi set the ball rolling in her company with management skills that have inspired people and will continue to motivate the coming generation.
Nooyi focuses on strengthening the fundamentals while planning the end results. She attributes her financial success to simple tips that many know but only a handful of us follow diligently. Some of them include:
Treat businesses as long-term investments
Nooyi does not adopt a temporary outlook on business. Her views on businesses are tied up with a long-term purview. This is because Nooyi stands by her conviction in viewing businesses as long-term investments. She reiterates how businesses are successful only when as long-term investments. This way you align these businesses with your financial goals, thus, helping the management run the business and make money. This in fact is the best way to run a business as it also helps you to examine trends, assess them and then decide how to make money on them. Align your workplace culture and operations to reduce waste, make your vision clearer, and your goals more achievable.
Focus on sustainability
Nooyi still stands firm by the age-old belief in sustainability. To be sustainable, your team must be able to meet the current needs of your customers without compromising the ability of future generations to survive and flourish. Creating a sustainable environment for both the current and future generations to live in enables old businesses to thrive while new businesses emerge all this while. A company's financial success depends on its long-term growth and strategy. You must be willing to design and put to place a sustainable, long-term financial growth model for the company and its operations. Invest in community and environmental benefits.
Change is the only constant
You cannot be afraid to make changes but then desire to seek change around you. You must be willing to accept the change that is possible only through transformation. It does not matter what you think or believe in. When the world demands change, the only way to keep going to keep your business alive is to invest in it. The world is in a transformative mode – old technology is getting replaced by new each day. Keeping your company's operations and employees up to date with the changing world is critical to driving financial growth and success. Invest in training employees and creating new departments to attract new employees. You will soon realize how your company has not only grown but also left its mark in all areas of the business world.
Invest in innovation
It’s okay to demand a change in the way you must work. However, the key to change lies in innovation. You do not master a subject in a day, which is why you must be lenient to allow room for mistakes. This is because all innovation starts with a few mistakes. You cannot reap the fruits of innovation if you don't give people a chance to fail. Your company is a multicultural organization wherein everyone will think differently. You must have an encompassing and inclusive outlook if you want to innovate and grow in the process. Innovation is key to a company's financial growth and success. Without innovation, the company lacks ideas and motivation, which directly affects the company's sales.
Persistence is the key
How many times have you felt lazy or withheld yourself from going to the office or resented attending an office meeting? Nooyi felt differently. She once remarked, “The best test is that I wake up every morning dying to come to work” adding “What’s important is trying to be the best and working to get there. And that’s how you fulfil your potential. I’m putting my hand up and saying, ‘Able body, ready to work. I can scrub floors to address big issues.”
You must have a set of objectives and then push yourself to them. It’s then you give people a set of objectives and goals and encourage them to work towards the same. What is important is to keep trying to be the best and constantly work to get there.
Every person defines success differently. What matters is how you view your life and the efforts to work on it without regretting your decisions. Your net worth will not define your self-worth, which is why you must aim for self-fulfilment that only comes when you devote your time to the right things in life.
