Ed Artzt Book Review and Book Tour
Published March 17, 2023 by pgalums in
A leader’s legacy is shaped by their choices, what they choose to do, and equally what they choose not to. P&G: The Globalization Years is the story of those pivotal choices that transformed Procter & Gamble from an American marketer to a formidable global powerhouse, quintupling its global reach and revenue in a short span under the leadership of Ed Artzt.
Written in an easy-to-follow conversational style, it is a no-holds-barred, back-and-forth between two iconic corporate leaders, Ed Artzt and John Pepper with vivid stories that make for an easy and interesting read.
As much as they fete the company’s success, what pleasantly surprised me is a refreshing and candid critique of its leadership mistakes and organizational failures. In my opinion, herein lies the greatest value of this book to aspiring leaders as most organizations and leader bios tend to skim the “unpleasant” and paint a glorified picture that is hard to learn and emulate.
I would summarize Ed’s legacy at P&G and his gift to corporate America, as two-fold.
First is the gift of a global mindset, and that being global is more than a large global footprint and brand, but investing in a best-in-class global talent pool that is capable of operating with equal competence in any country and environment, transcending cultural and geographic barriers. Case in point, most of P&G’s top leaders today, including my own former boss (Bala), were not born in America.
Second is the gift of a growth mindset, making an investment in people the number one job of managers. Case in point, P&G, was my first employer and where I first learned how to be a manager of people but was the only company where 50% of my performance rating was determined by my employees’ performance ratings.
Ranu Gupta, PGAN Global Member Engagement Chair and North America Regional Ambassador
Editor’s Note: This is a fascinating book. While the leadership messages in the latter sections are instructive, the “gold” is in the first section, comprising 60% of the book, which provides an inside, behind-the-scenes oral history of decisions made, lessons learned, course corrections, and triumph—available no place else.
Jack McFadden, Co-chair, PGAN Communications
The Ed Artzt book tour, led by John Pepper is currently scheduled for:
- An Americas panel in April 2023
- An Asia, EU, and MEA panel in May 2023
Important Message regarding Ed Artzt Book Offer:
First, the great news. The response to the generous complimentary book offer in the 3/22 PGAN Newsletter to those willing to review Ed Artzt book P&G: The Globalization Years has been overwhelming.
The regrettable news. The amazing response has exhausted the allotted supplies of free books. Those requests that came in after capacity had already been reached will be notified by Ranu Gupta.
However, we suggest an attractive option. The Kindle version of the book from Amazon is readily and quickly available for just $4.99.
Whatever you decide, we hope you will read this deserving book and write a review.
Thanks for your understanding and support!