I hear my own daughters talking about big companies polluting the environment, and then I realise they are talking about companies of which one I am running. But when I tell them to read the things we are doing, then they realise we are doing good things. But millennials are really a great lot.
— Indra Nooyi
When I came to America in 1978, I was a huge sports fan - the problem was, my sport was cricket. Shockingly enough, no one wanted to talk cricket with me!
To be a CEO is a calling. You should not do it because it is a job. It is a calling, and you have got to be involved in it with your head, heart and hands. Your heart has got to be in the job; you got to love what you do; it consumes you. And if you are not willing to get into the CEO job that way, there is no point getting into it.
In 1994, when I came to PepsiCo, there were really three businesses. They were soft drinks, which included both bottling and the concentrate company. There were salted snacks - Frito Lay. And restaurants where we had, we all talk of them, Pizza Hut, KFC and a whole bunch of casual dining chains.
Each and every one of us has unknowingly played a part in the obesity problem.
Companies the size of PepsiCo is like running a little republic, there is no question about it. The only difference is that I don't have to worry about the media hounding me every day, on every word that I say. I have a board of directors that runs the country in the interest of the stake holders.
PepsiCo is a $63 billion company. Half the company is snacks, and half the company is beverages. We have a glorious snacks business and a glorious beverage business. We are extremely profitable. We are growing.
I read every country's perspective on an issue. I also play many games like Bridge, Scrabble and Sudoku online.
BlogHer is an incredibly important conference because it really taps into the power of women. It gives women an ability to do what they do - take care of the home, go to work - and, at the same time, spread their power through the power of the digital world.
Is Naked Juice a beverage, or is it a snack? I think we can liquefy snacks or snackify liquids.
After PepsiCo, I do want to go to Washington. I want to give back.
When I grew up there was no web, blogging or tweeting. In fact, where I grew up there was not even television! I met a lot of my friends in school and in college, and they are still my friends today.
My father was an absolutely wonderful human being. From him I learned to always assume positive intent. Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent.
PepsiCo did not have a woman in the senior ranks, nor a foreign-born person who was willing to think differently.
But the good news was that my elder sister refused to get married straight away and I couldn't get married until she did so I had the licence to go off and dream.
I pick up the details that drive the organization insane. But sweating the details is more important than anything else.
When I was president of the company, I said, 'Okay, I can do this - piece of cake.' Then when you are the CEO, the responsibilities multiply enormously because you worry about everything.
India is a country with huge potential, and it remains an attractive high priority market for PepsiCo. We believe we have only scratched the surface of long term growth opportunities that exist for PepsiCo and our partners.
When it comes to women, there has been a tendency to define women in sports in the context of their relationships - they watch games because their husbands watch. They're interested because their kids play a sport. They buy tickets to a sporting event because it's a way to spend time with family.
Lots are written about how 'she shows up at board meetings in the saree.' My God, I have never worn a saree to board meetings; people play it out in different ways. I think I have never shied away from the fact that I am an Indian, and I don't intend to, but you can be at home with both cultures.
I spent some time at a university for traditional Chinese medicine. There's a resurgence of people eating according to traditional Chinese medicine. So our challenge is, How do you marry traditional Chinese medicine with PepsiCo's products?
By five or six, when the heels start to hurt, I kick off my shoes and walk bare feet. But that's not a big deal. Nobody else is at the office at that time, and as for singing loudly, I don't sing loudly. I might hum a tune at times when I am thinking about something, but that's all fine.
As a CEO of a large company, clearly we need policies in the U.S. government that are pro-business, because at the end of the day, we all work within the framework of a country's policies.
The medical system in the United States is among the best in the world, if not the best. What if we were to make the United States a medical destination? That would bring a lot of people here because there are a lot of sick people around the world. If they can get U.S. treatment, they will take it, but now think about what that will do.
Before blogs, it was all about physical presence. We used to send out videos and audiotapes to communicate. Blogging and the Internet allow us to engage in a lot more real time conversations as opposed to a one-way dump of information or a message.
Not only do we have to change the food we eat... we have to educate people about what they can eat appropriately.
Do you remember campaigns like 'Keep America beautiful'? What about 'Buckle up'? I believe we need an approach like this to attack obesity. Let's be a good industry that does 100% of what it possibly can - not grudgingly, but willingly.
My guilty pleasures are the websites where you can look at the fashions and see how different outfits will look. You can even take a picture of yourself and download it and play with the fashions! I love playing with these websites to see what I can learn.
Blogging and the Internet allow us to engage in a lot more real time conversations as opposed to a one-way dump of information or a message.
I think innovation as a discipline needs to go back and get rethought and revived. There are so many models to talk about innovation, there are so many typologies of innovation, and you have to find a good innovation metric that truly captures the innovation performance of a company.
Every year in consulting is like three years in the corporate world because you have multiple clients, multiple issues - you grow so much.
I grew up in a Hindu household but went to a Roman Catholic school. I grew up with a mother who said, 'I'll arrange a marriage for you at 18,' but she also said that we could achieve anything we put our minds to an encourage us to dream of becoming prime minister or president.
Just because you are CEO, don't think you have landed. You must continually increase your learning, the way you think, and the way you approach the organization. I've never forgotten that.
The one thing I have learned as a CEO is that leadership at various levels is vastly different. When I was leading a function or a business, there were certain demands and requirements to be a leader. As you move up the organization, the requirements for leading that organization don't grow vertically; they grow exponentially.
When I talk football with my friends, I don't talk about Tom Brady's hair. I talk about how he handles the blitz, or how he runs his offense. I talk as a fan. I don't want pink jerseys, and I don't want dumbed-down content. I want to be treated as a real fan - because I am proud to be one.
Most companies target women as end users, but few are effectively utilizing female employees when it comes to innovating for female consumers. When women are empowered in the design and innovation process, the likelihood of success in the marketplace improves by 144%!
What I would not do is flaunt my Indianess by wearing a saree to work everyday, because it distracts from the job. So, I would not do that. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Social events are different. If I feel comfortable in a saree for a social event, I wear it.
Food service is a growth area for PepsiCo.
Slice Mango - something that, you know, is a phenomenal drink, but mango is not a flavour that is easily liked by many people in the West. People in Latin America like it. But we do a lot of Mango in India.
When I was a kid, I would come home from school, throw my bag, go out to play. My daughter comes home from school, throws her bag, goes to play, but sitting in front of the computer because their definition of play has changed. They don't go out to play. They play on the computer with their friends.
I don't think the deficit of the country is a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. I think it's a country issue. I don't think worrying about the reindustrialization of America is a Republican or Democratic issue.
When you have to do as much as women do, the Internet allows you to - from home - figure out a way to extend your reach and power in the world. It allows you to do what job you've done traditionally, and create aspirations by carrying on a job and using the Internet to amplify everything you're doing.
I play the guitar when I want to relax. But to play the guitar, you cut the nails. So one day, I'll cut the nails off.
At the end of the day, don't forget that you're a person, don't forget you're a mother, don't forget you're a wife, don't forget you're a daughter.
There will never be a replacement for that ongoing physical contact. But I don't think blogging is meant to replace the face-to-face of friendships and meetings. Blogging is a way to keep in touch with a larger group of people on an ongoing basis, in a more efficient way.
When you assume negative intent, you're angry. If you take away that anger and assume positive intent, you will be amazed. Your emotional quotient goes up because you are no longer almost random in your response.
I'm very honest - brutally honest. I always look at things from their point of view as well as mine. And I know when to walk away.
I asked my parents for permission to study in America and they were so sure that I wouldn't get in and get a scholarship that they encouraged me to try. So I applied to Yale and got an excellent scholarship. I then worked for the Boston Consulting Group for six and half years.
Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader.
The distance between number one and number two is always a constant. If you want to improve the organization, you have to improve yourself and the organization gets pulled up with you. That is a big lesson. I cannot just expect the organization to improve if I don't improve myself and lift the organization, because that distance is a constant.
