Customer Reviews

What Really Matters: Service, Leadership, People, and Values

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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I inherited this book from my recently deceased father (a retired P&G officer), and will soon pass it to my son to help guide him in his beginning business career. Good stuff. I remember the paper products wars in which my father engaged and Mr. Pepper recollects, and have met John and his wife (oddly, not through a company connection). We have little time to "make a difference," as my father drilled into my head, and that drive is part of the P&G tradition Mr. Pepper articulates so well here. What you do matters - a lot - and service can wear many faces. This book might be a little dry reading in parts for those not in the P&G loop (although no more than any general business text), but the principles are nonetheless timeless, and well suitable for digestion by any executive, business person, - or worker bee (like me!) for that matter.

In this long and winding walk thru the modern history of P&G, via the personal learnings of life-long P&G executive John Pepper, the reader is given a glimpse of the Proctor & Gamble Way - the mutual interdependency of personal and business interests.

While the book is presented as a three part discussion of...
* How companies succeed - by creating and sustaining leadership brands, letting the consumer decide, and going for big wins; all of which is primarily a marketing story
* How companies can stay in the lead - by creating organizational qualities; thru values, practices and relationships that support the brands and develop a vibrant community with employees.
* How we live our lives - through intimacy with consumers, competitors and colleagues that builds and sustains passionate ownership amidst a culture of trust and high expectations.
..., it really is an integrated picture of how P&G's guiding purpose, principles and values work to support its position as one of best, if not the leading consumer products company in the world.

Although the book is filled with P&G stories to demonstrate and emphasize its messages, it is not a fast or simple read. It reads a bit like the memoirs of John Pepper, who comes across as a person of integrity, demonstrating P&G's desired 'passion for winning', while showing his learning and caring aspirations. The later is best shown thru a quote of his favorite text of the Talmud: "You are not required to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it." I found the book interesting, but beyond recommending it to P&G employees or alumni and business school graduates interested in working for P&G, I am not sure of just who else might find it interesting.

Dennis DeWilde, author of
"The Performance Connection"

This is a must read for anyone interested in achieving excellence in business, understanding the role service plays in all we do, and appreciating the things in our lives that truly matter. Fundamental lessons such as "perserving the core while being willing to change everything else" make this book both informative and meaningful.

John Pepper is in a league of his own when it comes to CEO leadership. There are not many like him (if any at all) and his ability to express the importance of putting people first - both those around him as well as those his company seeks to serve - is unique and uplifting.

This book is about a good man who helped make his company one of the most successful in the world. It's authentic and original. A must read.

This is no doubt one of the best business book I've read this year. Even after reading the first chapter, I knew I had to give it 5 stars.

John Pepper is the ex-CEO of P&G from 1995 to 1999. He is now the chairman of the board at Walt Disney Company and a CEO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

As you can see from the cover, the book talks on service, leadership, people and values. Throughout the book, you'll be be presented with never ending life experiences from John Pepper over his 40 over years of service in P&G.

The book is divided into three parts, Foundations for Success, Staying in the Lead and How We Live Our Lives.

In the first part, he talked on the principles behind brand building. He drew on numerous examples to make his point.

For the second part, he touched on how P&G was involved in community building and the important role it played for the company.

In the last part, it was about management in general and how he lead his company and what he learned during the years at P&G.

Even though you may not have worked for P&G, after reading the book, you will have a very thorough understanding of the guiding principles of P&G.

John Pepper is a remarkable man who shares his advice and his experiences and dreams
with all of us, and we can all benefit from his writings. Put this book in your library
so you can go back and read your favorite parts again.

He asked ME what I wanted him to talk about. I sat in awe and fumbled for words. He just wrote a book. I figured I'd point him to the chapter I wanted him to explore with us and then let him run with it. But he sat there in the meeting room of the Freedom Center with his chin on his hand, gazing at me with the most friendly, down-to-earth, and quizzical stare. Parity. His book is personal. He is personal. What else should I have expected when I asked him to speak to recruits at the University of Cincinnati? Personal and powerful. Ordinary and yet extraordinary.

John Pepper has produced a genuine and candid work. His true colors shine through, forcing the reader to care about him and grow a respect based on more than just his business achievements. His passion for the community and doing right promote a fresh optimism for 'Corporate America'.

We used this book for our company's book of the month club. It is a wonderful a tool for any company. John Pepper not only includes what worked but what didn't work while working with P&G. Well organized and written so that you can continually return to it. Recommend it to anyone in a company that is growing and looking to expand it's knowledge on how to keep an organization moving forward, how to recognize leaders and how to create a community within a company.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in personal and professional growth.

Written with a pull-you-in blend of candor, warmth and honesty, this book is a treasure of "fly-on-the-wall" insights into critical decisions made at a company that has become the country's largest maker of consumer goods....not just what the decision was, but more importantly how it was reached, and the impact it made. It also offers a refreshing look at how balancing business with values has paid off for P&G in unexpected ways when the stakes have been so very high.

For those of us in business, if offers a series of real stories of solid leadership, and examples of how to both lead and follow.

At the same time, interwoven on every page are insights for those of us not in business, but are students of life. Through the eyes and heart of one of the world's most renowned and accomplished business leaders, it offers perspective on what really matters in life...how to make moments special and then make them last...for us and those around us.

It's an inspiration. You close each chapter feeling as though you've just finished a detailed and personal conversation with John Pepper. I bought copies for my mother, father-in-law and 2 dearest friends.

John Pepper is an icon in the Cincinnati community for many reasons, one of them of course being the past CEO of Procter & Gamble, itself such a huge institution and pillar of Cincinnati. This book was originally published in 2005, intended for P&Gers only, but when it became apparent what a great message there was for non-P&Gers as well, Pepper revisited the book and updated it, and it is now released for all to enjoy. (Disclaimer: I am not an P&G employee.)

In "What Really Matters: Service, Leadership, People and Values" (305 pages), Pepper covers a lot of ground. I found the retelling of his early days at P&G fascinating (he accepted a job offer on the spot, without knowing how much it paid), how he was allowed to take charge, make mistakes, learn from them and grow stronger from it. Pepper discects a lot of the P&G commercial successes AND failures, demonstrating how to let the customers decide is the ultimate mantra ("never give your customers a reason to switch away from your brand"). Pepper describes in vivid terms how P&G was able to become a strong player in Eastern and Central Europe, after an early shaky start. In the next part of the book, Pepper demonstrates the rewards of "doing good", pointing out how the CEO of Nuxell (of Cover Girl Cosmetics) told him he couldn't envision selling his company to anyone other than P&G, and what P&G did to assist workers in Russia it had to lay off due to a difficult commercial environment at that time.

Pepper goes on to demonstrate the value of being honest, at every level, in every situation, even if the short-term effect is not good, resulting in a company culture that thrives on honesty. In the latter part of the book, Pepper demonstrated the benefits of diversity, and 'informed passion', as he calls it. After finally retiring from P&G in 2002, Pepper became VP of Finance and Administration at Yale (his alma mater) and then the CEO of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center here in Cincinnati. His jobs may have changed, but his leadership never did. We here in Cincinnati are lucky to have someone of his caliber in our community, but truth be told, everyone, regardless of location, can learn from him. "Waht Really Matters" is outstanding in every which way and, frankly, should be required reading for HS seniors and college students around the country.