What’s in it for me? The challenge of trying to do it all.
Indra Nooyi grew up in India, but she’s also a US citizen.
She’s a mother, wife, and former CEO of PepsiCo.
Throughout her life, she’s had to find a balance between these dualities, across cultures and conflicting responsibilities.
How do you run one of the biggest companies in the world and still find time for your family?
This is the story of how Nooyi tried – and mostly managed – to do it all.
But as she reflects on her career success, she realizes that a change is long overdue, both for women in business and for working parents in the US.
Nooyi’s excellent support network helped her to succeed in her studies and early career.
In this Blink, you’ll learn why Nooyi came close to spending a night in jail; how she revolutionized PepsiCo; and some practical suggestions for transforming the world of work.
One day in 2009, Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo, was at a meeting in Washington DC.
Also in attendance were the president of the United States, Barack Obama, and the prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh.
When Nooyi was introduced to the group, Prime Minister Singh said, “Ah, she’s one of us.
” With a smile, Obama replied, “She’s one of us, too.
” This encounter sums up Nooyi’s life, career, and sense of identity.
As an Indian woman who’s had a successful corporate career in the US, she truly belongs to both worlds.
And while she’s now a proud US citizen, Nooyi is equally proud of her roots in India.
After all, it was her family and mentors in India that helped to make her the person she is today – one of the most influential women in business.
Even as a child, growing up in Chennai – then Madras – in the 60s and 70s, Nooyi knew that she was going to aim high.
And she certainly wasn’t going to be held back by her gender.
You see, Nooyi grew up in a Hindu Brahmin family.
This is a culture that values self-discipline and prioritizes education for both sexes.
Also, at the time, many women in India were being encouraged to study.
Yes, they were still expected to become wives and mothers, but they could also pursue an education.
Although Nooyi’s mother didn’t work, she was determined that her daughter would have a college education and get a good job.
The rest of Nooyi’s family were equally supportive.
Right from the beginning, she was expected to work hard and get good grades.
Luckily, this is something that came naturally to Nooyi.
She loved school.
Every morning, she hopped on the back of her father’s scooter and headed to her all-girls Catholic school, excited for another day of learning and .
.
.
freedom.
For Nooyi, school meant freedom, away from the strict rules and close monitoring she experienced at home.
At school, she got to read what she wanted, join the Girl Scouts, and learn all kinds of new things.
After class, she’d literally run down the corridor from one activity to the next.
Her love of learning continued throughout school and college.
Afterward, she went on to do a master’s degree at the prestigious business school IIM Calcutta.
Nooyi’s classmates and professors were nearly all men.
She was part of a new generation of Indian women entering the world of business.
But fortunately, Nooyi and her female classmates felt respected and supported by the men they worked with.
And there was also a sense of excitement – they were on the cusp of something special.
After graduating, Nooyi enjoyed getting stuck into her first jobs in product management.
But in 1977, while she was working for Johnson & Johnson in Bombay, she found herself thinking about opportunities abroad.
More specifically, America.
So many of her college friends were heading there for postgraduate programs in California, Illinois, and Texas.
Many of the best business students in India flocked to the US for further education and then went on to have super successful careers.
So as her friends went off, one by one, Nooyi found herself wondering.
Was that the way to move ahead with her career?
Did she have a future in the US?
Fast-forward a year.
Despite the initial culture shock, Nooyi soon settled into her new life in the US.
Nooyi found herself sitting alone in a dorm room at Yale.
She’d just arrived with a suitcase full of saris, a bag full of books, and not much else.
She was early for her orientation at the Yale School of Management, and there was no one else around.
For the first time in her life, she felt scared and lonely.
So far, America wasn’t what she’d been expecting.
For one thing, it was so quiet.
Where were all the welcoming faces?
The noisy taxicabs?
The hustle and bustle that she knew?
Nooyi had grown up with American music and movies, but the reality was a little different.
Still, as she later came to realize, these experiences are typical for immigrants at the start of their new lives.
For so many people, the American dream starts with fear and loneliness.
Although Nooyi soon settled in with the help of her new friends at Yale, there was still a lot to get used to.
Initially, she was taken aback by her American classmates’ laidback attitudes.
They ate sandwiches in class and put their feet on the desks.
They even called professors by their first name.
But the relaxed atmosphere in class had its advantages too.
Nooyi soon came to appreciate the free-flowing debates and discussions, and the fact that students could challenge a professor’s point of view.
Outside of class, Nooyi did her best to integrate, experiencing American staples like baseball, which she adored, and pizza, which made her gag.
But despite her best efforts, she sometimes got it wrong.
There was an interview for a summer internship that she’d rather forget .
.
.
She knew she had to dress to impress, but she wasn’t quite sure how.
Also, her budget was pretty limited.
On a shopping trip, she picked out a dark blue outfit – an oversized polyester jacket and matching slacks which were too short for her.
Instead of heels, she decided to wear the orange suede loafers she wore every day.
It’s okay, she told herself.
No one would notice.
During the interview, she could just hide her feet under the table.
But when she saw her classmates on the day of the interview, she immediately realized her mistake.
The men were immaculately dressed in well-fitting suits, while the women wore elegant skirts and blazers.
And when they saw what she was wearing, there was a collective gasp.
The interview went pretty well, but Nooyi was mortified.
Afterward, she went to see Jane, the director of career development at Yale.
In tears, Nooyi told her what had happened.
“Well, what would you wear to an interview in India?
” Jane asked.
“A sari,” Nooyi replied.
“Next time,” said Jane, “wear the sari.
Be yourself.
” Despite her fashion faux pas, Nooyi got the internship.
And the next time she had an interview, she wore her favorite sari.
Once again, she aced it.
After graduating from Yale, Nooyi focused on climbing the career ladder.
While focusing on building her corporate career, Nooyi worked long hours and relied on family support.
She loved her job as a consultant at BCG in Chicago, but it meant working hard – really hard.
The punishing work schedule, constant travel, and lack of sleep often wore her down.
Even though she can naturally get by on just five hours’ sleep a night, there were moments when she felt overwhelmed.
One night, on a long drive from Wisconsin to Chicago, she got pulled over for speeding.
At the police station, Nooyi wasn’t able to pay the fine with her American Express card.
Then she caught sight of a comfy-looking bed in the jail cell.
Couldn’t she just sleep there for the night?
She was so exhausted that spending the night in jail seemed preferable to driving back to Chicago.
There were many low moments like this over the years, especially as she struggled to balance her career with her family.
By her early 30s, she was a high-flying executive at Motorola with two young daughters.
Her husband Raj was supportive, but he was also busy with his consulting career.
There was no question of either of them quitting their jobs.
They urgently needed help with childcare, and it had to be quality help – someone they could trust.
So, this is where Nooyi admits to being really lucky.
For years, she and her husband got help from her mother, who moved from India to take care of her young granddaughters.
And when Nooyi’s mother eventually left, there was a team of aunts and uncles ready to take their turn helping with childcare for months at a time.
Nooyi feels incredibly lucky to have had this family support.
But what about the millions of working parents who don’t have this luxury?
She finds herself wondering why high-quality, affordable childcare isn’t a priority in the US.
After all, even with family support, Nooyi often struggled with the juggling act.
She was dedicated to her career, which required long hours and frequent travel.
But she was also filled with guilt and regret, knowing that her children needed her.
Often, Nooyi would work in bed late at night, with her eight-year-old daughter sleeping next to her, and her baby asleep on her outstretched legs.
As Nooyi tried to get on with her work and then struggled to sleep in the same position, she started to have doubts.
Should she give up her job?
If she quit, how would she provide for her family?
And years down the line, how would she reenter the job market?
Despite her conflicting emotions, Nooyi decided that quitting wasn’t an option.
She loved her work, and she was moving ahead, and moving up.
One day in 1994, she got a call from Wayne Calloway, the CEO of PepsiCo.
“We need someone like you in our executive ranks,” he said.
Nooyi accepted immediately.
She couldn’t wait to get started.
After joining PepsiCo as a senior vice president, Nooyi continued to juggle work and family commitments.
From day one, Nooyi was thrilled to be working for such a fun, ambitious, and optimistic company.
Here was an organization that was just as upbeat as she was.
Also, she’d be working with household names.
At the time, PepsiCo owned not just Pepsi Cola, but also snacks like Lay’s chips, and restaurants including KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell.
Nooyi loved having a relatable job.
Her daughter’s school friends thought she worked at KFC – pretty cool.
Of course, as a senior vice president at PepsiCo, Nooyi wasn’t just working for KFC.
Her responsibilities involved overall corporate planning and strategy, as well as strategy for the restaurant group.
The second position was unofficial and there were no conversations about extra pay.
All of a sudden, Nooyi found herself on the road with the new CEO of worldwide restaurants testing out Taco Bells and other fast-food restaurants.
Together, they’d try to work out why the restaurant branch of PepsiCo was in decline, and how to fix it.
For the most part, Nooyi thrived under pressure and enjoyed the challenges of her new position.
But it wasn’t always plain sailing.
She often felt frustrated by criticism of her department from other senior leaders and worn out by the intensity of certain projects.
And of course, there was still the constant strain of balancing work with her family.
Just like previous jobs, working at PepsiCo also involved long hours and constant travel.
Nooyi’s youngest daughter once wrote her a letter that said, “I’ll love you again if you please come home.
” Please was written seven times.
There’s another moment that sticks in Nooyi’s mind which sums up the juggling act.
It was years later and she’d just found out that she was going to be the president of PepsiCo.
She couldn’t wait to share the news with her family.
When she got home that night, she walked into the kitchen and saw her mother.
“I’ve got some incredible news,” said Nooyi.
Her mother replied, “The news can wait.
We need milk.
” So Nooyi went out, bought the milk, then came back home.
“I’ve just been made president of PepsiCo,” she said to her mother indignantly.
“And you wanted me to get the milk?
” “Listen,” her mother replied.
“Whatever your job at PepsiCo, when you come home, you’re a wife, mother, and daughter.
Leave the crown in the garage.
Years later, Nooyi still thinks about this conversation.
Was her mother right to tell her to leave the crown in the garage?
As she progressed in her career, Nooyi reflected on the difficulties for women in the workplace.
In a way, yes.
Nooyi agrees that her role in her family is important and irreplaceable, whatever her job title.
But then again .
.
.
what if Nooyi were a man – a husband and a father?
Would her mother have reacted the same way to the news of her promotion?
Probably not.
Generally speaking, it’s easier for men to celebrate their professional achievements.
There’s a different standard for women.
When a woman achieves something outside the home, there’s this assumption that a) it was easy, or b) the woman must be neglecting her domestic duties.
Then, of course, there’s the pay issue.
In the US, the average salary for women is 80 percent of what a man earns.
High up at PepsiCo, the pay disparity wasn’t quite as bad – a woman would earn 95 percent of a man’s base salary.
When Nooyi questioned this, HR would respond, “Don’t worry, it’s such a small difference.
” “If it’s a small difference,” Nooyi replied, “why not pay a woman 105% of a man’s salary?
” She just couldn’t understand why HR was indifferent to the issue of equal pay.
Nevertheless, Nooyi doesn’t feel she was held back because of her gender.
She continued to work hard and rise through the ranks at PepsiCo.
All the while, she was supported by her husband and the relatives who flew over to help out with childcare.
She also had a fantastic assistant, Barbara, who treated Nooyi’s children as if they were her own.
Essentially, she became part of the family.
And even Steve Reinemund, the CEO of PepsiCo, helped out.
Once, when Nooyi was away, he picked her daughter up from school.
It’s pretty unusual for CEOs to be that supportive.
As they say, it takes a village to raise a child.
With the help of her village, Nooyi was able to dedicate herself completely to work.
In the summer of 2006, she discovered that she was going to be the next CEO of PepsiCo.
Obviously part of her was thrilled, but she was also apprehensive.
As she reflected on the future, she broke down in tears.
Now it was her responsibility to lead this massive, iconic company in a new direction.
Whatever happened next, she knew that she wasn’t going to have a break for a long, long time.
Still, at least there was no question of Nooyi being unprepared for the job.
During her 12-year-tenure as CEO of PepsiCo, Nooyi was able to implement real change through the Perform With Purpose program.
She’d been working for PepsiCo for more than a decade.
During this time she’d toured manufacturing plants, and visited retail partners across the world.
As well as being familiar with every detail of the profit and loss statement, she’d also tasted all the chips, and sipped all the sodas.
Basically, she knew the company inside out.
And she had a vision of how to run it.
Nooyi had a dream of a new era for PepsiCo.
This company, set up in 1898, had to become one of the defining organizations of the twenty-first century.
PepsiCo should be proud of its roots, but with a global outlook.
It also needed to change with the times.
Nooyi could see that real change was needed, as PepsiCo was facing unprecedented challenges.
Critics claimed that the sugar and fat in PepsiCo products were contributing to a health crisis, with growing levels of obesity and diabetes in the US and beyond.
PepsiCo was under pressure not just from public health experts and governments, but also from consumers.
Even PepsiCo staff had doubts.
One woman told Nooyi that she was reluctant to give her children PepsiCo products because of their poor nutritional value.
There were other issues too, like PepsiCo’s negative impact on the environment.
Nooyi was horrified by a photo of the North Atlantic garbage patch.
This floating island of debris was partially made up of PepsiCo bottles and packaging.
Something had to be done.
So Nooyi came up with a plan.
She called this new program “Perform With Purpose.
” As well as delivering excellent performance, PepsiCo would focus on three objectives – nourish, replenish, and cherish.
So, what does that mean in practical terms?
Nourish was about health.
The goal was to help consumers make healthier food choices, cutting levels of fat, sugar, and salt in certain products while keeping the delicious taste.
Replenish was focused on the environment.
It was time to rethink the use of energy and water, and find a way to reduce plastic in packaging.
Finally, cherish was all about the workplace.
Nooyi wanted PepsiCo to be a supportive environment – a family of 250,000 employees.
Nourish, replenish, cherish.
Those were the goals.
At first, Nooyi encountered some skepticism, especially from shareholders, whose main priority was profitability.
When Nooyi announced her plans, one shareholder asked her, “Who are you – Mother Teresa?
” But over the next decade, Nooyi pressed on, confident in her plan and backed by other senior staff within the company.
The results speak for themselves.
PepsiCo revolutionized its products, cutting sugar in soda by up to 20 percent and reducing sodium in snacks, without impacting taste.
The company also made countless improvements to its environmental impact.
PepsiCo was on the Ethisphere Institute list of the most ethical companies during all 12 years of Nooyi’s tenure as CEO.
Also, the shareholders needn’t have worried.
The focus on health and sustainability didn’t do any damage to company profits.
While Nooyi was in charge, PepsiCo shareholders got $79 billion in cash, and net revenue went up by an astonishing 80 percent.
When Nooyi stepped down as CEO, it was partly because she was feeling a little burnt out, and ready for a change.
Real societal change is needed to allow women to prosper in the workplace.
But it was also because she felt she’d achieved her goals.
She was proud of what she’d accomplished and felt PepsiCo would continue to do well without her.
Still, old habits die hard.
After an emotional last day as CEO, she headed home, went to bed .
.
.
and got up the next day at 4:30 a.
m.
, ready for work.
She was still a chairman, after all.
There was work to be done.
And even today, there’s still so much work to be done.
Not just at PepsiCo but in the world of work in general.
Nooyi is troubled by the lack of female CEOs and continuing inequality.
Yes, there’s been some progress, but it’s far too slow.
Why are so few companies led by women?
There isn’t just one reason.
There are hundreds.
Childcare issues, for example, or gender bias.
Nooyi was struck by the treatment of some talented women at PepsiCo.
In performance appraisals, a male manager would be assessed positively: “He did this, and this .
.
.
” With a female manager, there was always a “but.
” “She did a great job, but .
.
.
” Unfortunately, women are still perceived differently.
Just as there isn’t one cause for the problem, there isn’t one simple solution.
Women’s conferences and events can provide a helpful support network and keep the issue in the spotlight, but they’re unlikely to bring about real change.
For true, systemic change, Nooyi suggests a more deliberate approach.
All of us – men as well as women – need to be talking about a radical shift.
A shift that allows women to get equal pay and power.
We also need a shift that integrates work with family life.
When it comes to balancing work and family, there are no secrets, but there are some clear solutions.
Some people assume that Nooyi has the secret to balancing a high-flying career with family responsibilities.
How did she do it?
What’s the trick?
There is no trick, but you’ve probably noticed a theme throughout this Blink – family support with childcare.
Without this crucial help, Nooyi and her husband would have really struggled.
Actually, it was still a struggle.
Nooyi was often stressed, exhausted, and filled with guilt and regret.
She knows that her career success has come at a cost.
Because of this, Nooyi is passionate about changing the system.
She’s identified three key areas which need fixing.
Firstly, paid leave.
Paid maternity and paternity leave should be a US government mandate – a minimum of 12 weeks for the primary caregiver.
This is essential for everybody’s health and well-being.
Also, the initial so-called “cost” should actually be seen as an investment.
A woman who takes paid leave after giving birth is 93 percent more likely to be back at work within 12 months.
The second area to focus on is predictability and flexibility.
Shift workers need predictable schedules so they can plan their childcare arrangements.
Office workers, on the other hand, should be allowed to work flexibly as much as possible – when and where they want.
Nooyi believes that work should be organized according to productivity, rather than time and place.
And finally, the childcare system should be improved.
Good, affordable childcare should be available for everyone.
It’s time for governments, the private sector, and childcare experts to come together to create a system that works.
Paid leave, predictability and flexibility, and childcare.
Without these changes, working parents will continue to struggle.
Of course, true change takes time, but there is something we can do about it.
Nooyi hopes that companies and governments will take action sooner rather than later.
No one should feel that they have to choose between work and family, living a life of continual sacrifices.
Indra Nooyi feels lucky to have had so much support – from her family in India, her husband Raj, and countless mentors and coworkers.
Final summary
Thanks to this support, and her own hard work, she’s thrived.
From happy days at Yale to her years at PepsiCo, she feels she’s truly lived the American dream.
She’s also extremely proud of her work accomplishments – most of all the Perform With Purpose program, which had a huge global impact.
However, Nooyi admits she’s made a lot of sacrifices along the way.
It’s hard to be an executive or CEO and still find quality time to spend with your children.
Regardless of job title, this is a problem that millions of working parents face.
But a balance is possible, and it’s up to businesses and governments to make it happen.