1. Syl Saller
Global Innovation Director
Diageo
The Marketing Academy Boot Camp
25th January 2011

2. Diageo
~ £ 9 Billion Revenue
FTSE 20
180 countries
22,000 employees
Context for examples
Passion – hours vs. quick video
Glimpse of our brands, our world

3. 3

4. Great Work is Hard
“The Work”
Ideas – easier than
getting them through
“Real leaders are
ordinary people
with extraordinary
determination”.
Bob Geldof
4

5. Issues: Translating Great Ideas into Growth
• Ideas watered down
• Conflicts with other functions
• Objectives not achieved
• Feeling out of control
• Career, Identity may feel “at risk”
Just some of the issues...
More out of this if we focus on yours
5

6. What else?
6

7. What do we really
want?
For the business...
• Brilliant work
• Great relationships
• Ownership by the whole
organisation
• Fantastic execution
• Beat competition – not ourselves
Faster growth
7

8. For Ourselves...
• Results
• Confidence
• Virtuous circle:
results deepening
belief
My story:
From GB to the World
8

9. Driving Great Britain vs. Global Diageo
It takes everyone...
What does it take to get real engagement
that is both broad and deep?
9

10. The model in my head...
Responsibility
Real
Engagement
Real Growth Risk
Relationships (perceived
vs. real)
10

11. Responsibility...
Excuses are always
plentiful...
Grab the ball!
“If not you, who?
If not now, when?”
John F. Kennedy
11

12. Mini exercise
One thing you could have made a
difference in but didn’t.
How could you have viewed it differently?
12

13. Relationships
FY 08
An inflection point
The Big Miss...
13

14. Relationship jigsaw
Deep
Understanding Genuine
& Respect
Empathy
Trust
Positive
&
Intent
Candour
14

15. Positive Intent
Focus on the win-win
Ask what you can do to help
Negotiate mutual support, ongoing feedback and
coaching
15

16. Deep understanding and Empathy
Go beyond task, ask ‘what’s on your mind?’; ‘how are you
feeling?’
Focus on: what really drives & motivates this person
Question “what you know” about the person
Test your assumptions: “I think you think?...”
Go slow to go fast . . . Understand before getting into drive
mode

17. Genuine Respect
GENUINE RESPECT
Push to identify what you respect
Your signals – do you convey respect?
Validate what they’ve achieved before saying
what’s lacking
Push yourself hard to see their potential

18. Trust and Candour
Create ‘moments of truth’ – raise difficult and sensitive
issues – work them through
Be good at receiving ‘hard to have’ conversations.
Celebrate them!
Take risk in personal disclosure. Reveal vulnerabilities.
This is strength
What feels risky actually builds relationships...
18

19. Risk...
A daunting subject
‘ The ultimate measure of a
person is not where they
stand in moments of comfort,
but where they stand
at times of challenge and
controversy.’
Martin Luther King, Jr.
19

20. Taking Risks
“ The opponent in ones head is more
formidable than the one on the
other side of the net”
20

21. Perceived Risk
The enemy of...
• Pace
• Decisiveness
• Happiness
21

22. Mini exercise
Think of a time when you faced
what you considered to be a big risk
What were you feeling before...
What happened when you faced it?
Groups of 3s – Share examples
22

23. BLOCKING FREEING
23

24. BLOCKING FREEING
What has to change? What do you have to create?
Syndicating Ownership Having the courage to own
I Include everyone in emails, meetings etc I take accountability for decisions and drive
things forward
I consult with too many people before deciding
I let others do the same
I need to focus on getting everyone’s opinion I feel trusted and empowered to take risk
to keep myself safe
Doing it myself Leveraging what is available
I want to see the data myself I don’t question what others produce
I want to create my own stuff I focus on driving growth with the tools I am
given
I don’t trust that others have my deliverables I trust that others have my deliverables at the
at the heart of their thinking heart of their thinking 24

25. BLOCKING FREEING
What has to change? What do you have to create?
Everyone Contributes Selective Contribution
I challenge & build on everything I’m shown I ‘challenge and build’ only when it will add value
I insist on having my opinion on any subject for I only intervene when I feel it will make a
which I have a degree of accountability material difference
I am expected to add intellectual value at all I am expected to add value through selective
times interventions, enabling teams to execute
with pace
Being too careful Acting with confidence
I don’t Decide/Act until thinking is 100% perfect
I regularly stop and ask myself ‘Will this sell
I stay in the analysis and thinking space another unit?’
because it’s safer
I am prepared to take risks
I avoid any decision that might make me look
bad
Perfect thinking is what I’ll be judged against The only purpose of our thinking is to deliver
and is necessary for things to get executed execution and thus performance
25

26. BLOCKING FREEING
What has to change? What do you have to create?
Managing my image Focusing on outputs
I spend all my time selling ideas internally I spend most of my time focusing on the external
i.e. The consumer, customer suppliers etc
I cover my back because I will be blamed for
mistakes that will limit my career I focus on my activity that drives growth rather
than managing profile
To build my career I need to brand build ‘me’ To build my career successfully, I focus on
me and my team’s contribution to the growth
26

27. You own it, have real relationships, and
can calibrate risks...
Responsibility
Real
Engagement
Real Growth Risk
Relationships (perceived
vs. real)
27

28. Real engagement
leads to better
execution and growth
From Idea to Retail...
From Idea to Retail...
28

29. “The Great Meeting”
Syndrome
Vs
Real Growth
based on
Real Engagement
29

30. It’s all about growth
The business
Your leadership – WIP
Trying new things...
Joy of success vs.
risks in our head.
‘The road to success is
always under
construction.’
30