2022 Book Report #6 - My Life in Full (Indra Nooyi)
6/12 - My Life in Full by Indra Nooyi
An autobiography from the former CEO OF PepsiCo on work, family and our future
It all starts with family for Indra. Growing up in India, her household prioritized education and development of the children.
She married Raj, which was the best thing that happened to her. He was a man who shared her ideas and fully supported her ambitions.
Indra is adventurous by nature, something that helped her adapt to the diverse places, cultures & circumstances that she found herself in throughout her life.
A ballroom dancing teacher of hers once advised Indra, “Sometimes if you learn to follow, you will be a better leader."
Indra acknowledges the important role played in her professional growth by her seniors & mentors along the way.
As an executive, she went through every correspondence/memo addressed to her as she, “loved the intellectual stimulation of all that reading & correspondence."
Being data-driven by nature, she had the habit of conducting in-depth analyses before undertaking new initiatives.
At PepsiCo, Indra started a number of new initiatives including the mantra of ‘Performance with Purpose' (PwP) that added three important imperatives to PepsiCo’s work – ‘Nourish, Replenish & Cherish’.
Indra was deeply influenced by interactions with Steve Jobs, which her to incorporate 'Design Thinking' at PepsiCo.
She also managed to always have a good relationship with the Board.
She chose her battles carefully, knowing quite well when to bide time & when to move on.
As an immigrant, a woman & a person of color, Indra did face her share of discrimination. When she & her husband realized that they couldn’t rent a particular house in Connecticut because of racial discrimination - “Raj & I just moved on...no time or energy to dwell on this."
On the constant work/life balance discussion, she writes, “We (women) really need to let go of perfection… Competing to reach the very top of an organizational pyramid is a brutal business no matter who you are."
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Some great quotes from Indra in the book: -
"Huge change has no shortcuts. It requires honesty, agility, and courage."
“I often refer to the Greek philosopher Epictetus’s saying: “We have two ears and one mouth, so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” My father was a living example of this. He was adept at walking away from any tense situation without exacerbating it.”
"Good business demands tough decisions based on rigorous analysis and unwavering follow-through. Emotion can’t really play a part. The challenge we all face as leaders is to let the feelings churn inside you but then to present a calm exterior."
"We are all balancing, juggling, compromising, doing our best to find our place, move ahead, and manage our relationships and responsibilities. It’s not easy in society that changes very fast yet sticks to some age-old habits and rules of behavior that feel out of our control."
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