Leadership

PepsiCo CEO, Indra Nooyi’s Five C’s of Success and How You Can Cultivate Them

By Ed Adkins ⋅ September 10, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

Checking out a recent Costco Connection article (yes, random), I ran across a great article on Indra Nooyi where she laid out her 5 C’s of Success: Competence, Courage (and Confidence), Communication, Compass and Coaching.

Seeing as how she’s currently the head of the fourth largest food/beverage companies in the world, I figured we ought to take notice, but I found something missing in the article. While the 5 C’s are extremely sound, I thought we could all use some extra information: how to develop these attributes in ourselves. So here they are, with suggestions on personal improvement.

1. Competence

“I think you can’t move up in any job or in life unless you are damn good at something. You have to have a hip-pocket skill. [If] you forget that skill, your utility goes down in a company because people don’t know what to come to you for because you are not current in anything.”

Where to find competence:

• Stick to your tasks. It’s said that it takes 7 years to become truly proficient at most jobs.
• Training. Jump at the chance to go to conferences or training.

2. Courage (and Confidence)

“You can be very good at something, but if you are not willing to break some china in speaking up when you think something is not being done right, what is the value of having all that competency?”

Where to find Courage and Confidence:

• Take on tasks that challenge you. No one gains courage from their comfort zone.
• Make a list of things that shake your confidence and pledge to tackle at least 3 this year

3. Communication

“You might be willing to have the courage and have the confidence, but if you can’t communicate what you are going to do in a compelling way, that is a wasted thing.

How to grow in your communication skills:

• Focus on your interpersonal relationships- each one thrives from great communication. The more deep relationships you have, the more refined your skills will become.
• Read, read, read. Reading refines our introspective abilities, as well as deepens our vocabularies.

4. Compass

“You can have everything, but if you don’t have moral integrity it is all for naught.”

Where to find your compass:

• Wisdom books. Whether religious texts, philosophy or even books of great quotations, any book that you feel speaks to your quest for wisdom will provide you a moral compass when tough decisions need to be made.
• Family. For some, staying in touch with their roots grounds them and provides them with direction.
• Spirituality in any form. Many people find their compass through pursuing spirituality; if this interest you, then find a source that inspires you and dig deep.

5. Coaching

“Mentors have always played a role in my life. Mentors find you. You don’t find them. A mentor has picked you because you have the competence, the courage and confidence, you are a great communicator and you have a moral compass. They say, ‘I want to hitch my horse to yours because I think you are going to go places and you will take me with you. Not because I need it but because I like the ride.’ ”

How to get a mentor:

• You don’t have to wait for a mentor to find you, and they don’t have to come from a usual source. Be motivated to ask and be creative.
• Great sources for mentors would your place of business, volunteer organizations, schools or colleges, athletic organizations or spiritual institutions.
• Most of the time the people in your life who provide you with wisdom and direction would be happy to meet for coffee, as long as you respect their time.