My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future

by Indra Nooyi

I was a dreamer and a doer,

people should be able to bring their whole selves to work. I see this as fundamental to inclusivity in any organization.

Of the five hundred biggest US companies in 1965, when Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola merged, just seventy-seven, about 15 percent, remained on the list fifty years later.

The health debate wasn’t our only big test.

Al Gore’s documentary on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth, had just been released, and the whole world was talking about the planet.

the convenience culture was embedded in our society and would take a lot to change.

A second troubling environmental issue for me was water. The value of water is in my bones.

needed a relatable, universal plan. It had to reflect our youthful culture and signal a wise evolution of our historic company.

transforming large organizations, about managing change, and about the responsibility of corporations.

I decided the way forward was to rethink the company under the umbrella Performance with Purpose.

three imperatives to our work ahead: nourish humanity and the communities in which we live, replenish our environment, and cherish the people in our company.

PwP would transform the way PepsiCo made money and tie our business success to these objectives: Nourish. Replenish. Cherish.

Fun for You, like original Pepsi-Cola and Doritos, but figure out how to cut their fat, sugar, and salt levels.

Better for You products—our zero- and low-calorie options, including pretzels and diet sodas—and

Good for You products, including our range of juices, ...

Cherish was all about ensuring talent sustainability. PepsiCo had to be a supportive, empowering workplace, where all people could prosper.

Millennials were facing enormous stress related to balancing money, marriage, and kids.

explained how PwP was not about giving the money we make to deserving causes. There was a place for that, but what I was talking about was a new way to make money.

If we didn’t transform our portfolio to meet changing consumers, we couldn’t grow; if we didn’t focus on the environment, our costs would rise, and some countries would deny us license to operate; if we didn’t let people bring their whole selves to work, we wouldn’t get the best employees.

And if we didn’t deliver performance, we couldn’t fund purpose. Performance and purpose reinforced each o...

Huge change has no shortcuts. It requires honesty, agility, and courage.

Mehmood Khan. He was president of global R & D at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, the Japanese biomedical company, and had previously led the diabetes, endocrine, and nutritional trials unit at the Mayo Clinic.

We committed to remove at least 1.5 trillion calories from the food system over five years and, three years later, had eliminated more than six trillion calories. We partnered with First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign and funded community health programs in thirty-four thousand schools.

Private industry—with its incredible ability to move fast and efficiently—in partnership with government, with its broad mandate, is perhaps the most powerful force we have for positive change in society.

enjoyed real meaning in my job as CEO because of the people I met and how they invited me into their lives. Cherishing is very natural to me.

I wanted to let you know that your letter had a tremendous impact on them. I very much appreciate the gift you’ve given them and, in turn, to me.

Wal-Mart was our highest-volume customer by far,

I had to muster the courage to change my mind when the environment changed and required a different approach to the business. That was leadership.

Design was how Steve lived and how he thought.

Apple is an experience. Users didn’t only see the product, he said. They were romanced by it. Design is emotional. It captivates.

Megatrends are dominant, undeniable forces that influence the economy and society.

When the going got tough, I could always refer back to the reasons we took on even more change—the meticulously crafted megatrends research.

Steve had built up an important coordinated sales effort across snacks and beverages for customers like Wal-Mart, Kroger, and Safeway, which we called Power of One.

lift and shift of ideas and best practices boosted both revenue growth and profitability,

We started using real-time data to make quick decisions

Mauro Porcini, an Italian designer working in Minneapolis at 3M.

I was a popular voice on work-life balance.

Lagos and Kampala—busy,

I met with women leaders, and our discussions were so familiar. They wanted education. They wanted economic and financial freedom for themselves and their daughters. They didn’t want to be held back by men.

In South Africa, Sello Hatang, the CEO of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, took me on a personal tour of Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned for seventeen years. I felt the humiliation of oppressed people in the country when a random number generator picked me to walk through the “colored” line in the Apartheid Museum.

I met Graça Machel, Nelson Mandela’s wife, and, at a public event she attended with me, we announced a five-year PepsiCo partnership to help address poverty, including supporting a program that distributes menstrual products so that girls never have to miss school because of their periods.

When I started at PepsiCo, I remember one senior leader telling people, “The distance between number one and number two is a constant.”

“My job is to lead and yours is to follow. Sometimes if you learn to follow, you will be a better leader.”

final quote by the Sufi mystic Rūmī:

Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul, there is no such thing as separation.

Rumi goodbye

I advised my cherished associates to strive to be good listeners and lifelong learners.

We have so little of it on this earth. Make the most of your days and make the space for the loved ones who matter most.

be mindful of your choices on the road ahead.”

So on days that I was mad that people, both inside and outside the company, didn’t quite get what I was trying to do, I’d go into the little bathroom attached to my office, look at myself in the mirror, and just let it all out.

More female leaders will mean a healthier, wealthier, more egalitarian society.