Performance with Purpose

“The future of the world rests with women,” according to Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo Worldwide. Nooyi explained that more than 70% of the world’s buying power is controlled by women, and therein lies a new source of power. She believes this power is enhanced through mediums such as social media and blogging, democratizing information and amplifying women’s voices.

While an interesting point, Nooyi’s emphasis in her keynote at this month’s BlogHer11 conference was less about thought-provoking stats, and more about urging attendees to challenge their notion of today’s societal norms of power, success, and social good. Her message was simple and empowering—these are tough times for everyone, and we all must strive to embrace a “can-do attitude with a must-do responsibility” by not limiting ourselves in thinking about what is possible.

For many, Nooyi’s remarks served as welcome affirmation. Their power came not only from the idea that an internationally renowned company like PepsiCo can in fact do well and do good at the same time; but that more importantly, an individual can do well and do good at the same time without sacrificing success.

Nooyi also shared how she finds balance between performance and purpose as CEO of the second largest company in the world, mother of two, and a Social Citizen. For Nooyi, combining performance and purpose, both professionally and personally, is critical for success. She cautioned that you cannot have one without the other. The secret to her success — the Five C’s:

1) Be Curious: Don’t be a generalist! To stand out, you need to excel in specific areas that appeal to you, so become a lifelong student continually seeking new information.

2) Have Courage and Confidence: You can be the smartest, most capable person when it comes to a specific subject, but if you are unwilling to share ideas or stand up for them, then why does it matter?

3) Refine your Communication Skills: Nooyi reflected on a required communications class she took at Yale (failed the first time, but went on to pass) as a turning point for her when she realized the importance of being able to clearly communicate ideas.

4) Be Consistent: Here Nooyi noted it is perfectly acceptable to change one’s mind from time to time, but you must do so within a consistent framework so as not to be inconsistent or irrational in your decision-making.

5) Never Lose Your Moral Compass: The most important “C” reminds us to always follow one’s internal compass to know what is “right” and to make the “right” decisions – if one does not, Nooyi warns everything else will come crashing down.

Being a social citizen in business and in life is an ideal that Nooyi strives to achieve. She acknowledged that it is not always easy to do so, and may not always lead to profits, but anything else would fall short of true success.

What do you think about Nooyi’s Five C’s and philosophy? Do you have any “rules” for success? How do you balance performance and purpose?