Timeless Leadership

You have talked in the past about the importance of finding joy and meaning in work. For you, what is that joy and meaning and why is it so powerful?

I've always found the joy and meaning in something in the business that's beyond financial results. As I said earlier, I believe financial results follow if you pursue something with joy and meaning, and you do it well. And I've always found that the source of joy and meaning often has to do with others. Join and meaning is less about myself but the joy and meaning are, in my case, it's about the ability to transform a company that when I took it on as a CEO was 101 years old. The most forward-thinking packaged goods company in the industry, make a lot of difference to communities, to employees, 8,800 families and dreams, and 401(k)s and colleagues--

Yeah.

You know, being a little bit of a role model for a company that does things the right way, and isn't just about financial results but is about financial results kind of in a way that also makes a difference to the planet and to the communities and is a role model to the next generation of leaders in terms of how to do things. That was joy and meaning for me. And it's powerful because it's infectious, it's engaging, you're able to get better talents. And frankly, it's not always fun, right? Not every day is a joyous day, but if you remind yourself what the meaning is -- and I've often gone to our manufacturing plants, visited manufacturing plants, a lot of our manufacturing plants are in small-town communities in West Virginia, in Missouri, in Oregon, in Kentucky. And in many of these areas, we are far and away from the number one employer. Speaking to our plant associates and the difference that our company makes in their lives, in their families lives, in their communities' lives, talk to so many people who've been able to send their kids to college for the first time because they've worked for a company for a while, and it's worked out for them. That's where I get a lot of meaning and that's what makes me pedal a little harder, during the day when it perhaps feels a little harder to do the work. So it's a way to make it through the tougher days.