The Conference Board: Stop Letting the Messy Middle Undermine Change Success

Transcript

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00:00:00:00 – 00:00:39:11

Welcome back. We continue with our change leadership theme with another topic that I think resonates with many of us, how to stop letting the messy middle undermine, change success. We’re delighted to have with us today David Trento, vice president of Strategic Initiatives and H.R. Transformation and Nestlé USA. In a conversation with with Chris Thornton, principal, a Dr. Reagan group, Dr. winning group, Hardin to share with us practical and effective ways for senior leaders to equip and enable that messy middle to shift from resisting change to leading change and being held accountable for it.

00:00:39:12 – 00:01:00:12

With that, I turn it over to David and Chris. Thanks so much. All right. I think I’ve called you David once before in my life, so I’m going to call you David one more time. David, how are you doing today? Good, man. Good to see you. It’s good to see you. Can I actually call you treatment from here on out?

00:01:00:13 – 00:01:20:01

No, it’s a branding thing. So if you want to call me David, I know if it’s David. Alan, I know I’m in trouble. So that’s who I want to go with. Okay, I’m going with Teredo. I’m going to treat or you’re definitely not in trouble. Thanks so much for making time for this conversation today. I was looking back to see when I first met you and we are approaching our three year anniversary.

00:01:20:01 – 00:01:42:00

So happy anniversary to us. We, my team and I have been working with you for three years now and helping with some cultural transformation that that’s been happening to you. And talk a little bit about what’s been happening happening at Nestlé. Yeah, absolutely. And listen, it’s been a heck of a journey and pleased as punch that I’ve been on it with you.

00:01:42:00 – 00:02:18:09

And you’re the smartest one of the bunch here outside of you. All right. I’m looking out the window and I will not play my cards right here, but thanks for showing us all lot. I appreciate. It’s been a really fascinating journey that we’ve been on here at Nestle USA. And I would say we’re pleased and privileged to work with you and the dangling group on that journey, and I’m going to use that word journey really specifically because as we unpack this important topic today around that message Middle, I think one of the things one first lessons I’ve learned through this is it is a journey to destination.

00:02:18:12 – 00:02:40:08

And those three years at the University of Greece, I can’t wait first to go out to dinner and find flour for a really fun time together today, really kind of talking about what that looks like. And for us, you know, this started when we had a CEO change a few years back and really the pivot of our organization and get getting into long term sustainable growth.

00:02:40:09 – 00:03:04:00

And what has happened even more recently and again, having been part of this journey, is that acceleration of where we need to go specifically with that messy middle for our organization. You know, we’ve been we’ve all been impacted by COVID in different ways. Whatever industry or company you work for, I’m sure you’ve been impacted. And what I would offer for those that are in attendance saying we’ve all faced that challenge.

00:03:04:00 – 00:03:24:14

And here at Nestlé, if you think about it, you know, we we actually sell products to 97% of the U.S. households. And when you were out there and I was out there pantry loading with toilet paper and paper towels and all that, you were also buying frozen pizza and mac and cheese and coffee-mate and all the chocolate chips, which was wonderful.

00:03:24:14 – 00:03:54:07

Thank you for that. So our business has been on fire. And what’s important as we talk about this today is that journey we get on to prepare us for this situation now that we’re in and how will accelerate it to our advantage as we move forward. So, yeah, you know, one of the words that we are going to be saying here throughout this messy middle right this term of messing that I’ll know that that’s my phrase, that’s not your phrase.

00:03:54:08 – 00:04:21:14

But one of the things that we’ve seen in working with companies, including Nestlé, is that sometimes we don’t make time for the messy middle, right? For the middle to get it. We expect the middle wherever you want to find it within your organization. Let’s just let’s just call it from the top down to people, leaders, where they’ve got to activate people in teams to get work done.

00:04:22:00 – 00:04:44:10

That sometimes we just expect the cascade to do its work. Sometimes we we hope that they’ll just get a lot faster than it took top leaders to come to the decisions about what’s needed and what’s next. And and that’s where it gets messy. It’s not that your middle is messy, it’s that we sometimes forget to make time for for that middle so that they can lead the way that we need them to.

00:04:44:14 – 00:05:10:04

Can you talk a little bit about how did mindset and behaviors need to evolve with that middle leader group, given the journey that you’ve been on? Yeah, absolutely. And like you said, it is a messy part for them because I, along with you and others, have worked our way through that and it is important that you win the hearts and minds of that group, right.

00:05:10:05 – 00:05:25:13

You know, they will say culture eats strategy for breakfast. We all know that. But I would offer, no matter your strategy or your culture, you have to depend on that middle group to not only cascade that message, but win the hearts and minds of the folks on their team. That’s where the rubber is going to hit the road.

00:05:26:00 – 00:05:49:06

And so what we’ve had to do here is really engage in what I would call a journey, like I said before, or a program to bring our leaders along on this. Right. It’s not just about setting that vision from the top. And we’re really privileged to have a CEO and a crew that put people, capabilities and culture at the forefront of everything we do.

00:05:49:07 – 00:06:13:06

Right. It is that is the key to our success for long term sustainable growth. That’s that’s our secret sauce. And we’ve had to do is is help the leaders specifically that middle pivot. And what’s hard in that journey is they’re so focused on the day to day. They’re so focused on that fire drill. That’s right. In front of them or that employee issue that’s right at their door.

00:06:13:07 – 00:06:31:08

And what we have to do is really take a longer look in, involve them on the thought process and engage them in the conversation of what are we trying to do and who are we trying to be and how can you help us win rights about winning with the consumer, winning with the customer? So how can you be a part of that with us?

00:06:31:08 – 00:06:49:08

How can we leverage your skill set as a leader and that of your teams? You know, our CEO says in a lot of our dialog around here at the end of the day, we make we make food, make good food taste good, right? But there’s other companies out there that also make food. So our biggest differentiator are our people.

00:06:49:10 – 00:07:17:04

He knows that. And we believe that inside and out, but really galvanizing the leadership team. And I really believe that. But to lead in that way, there’s a difference. Some people might believe that, but there’s still perhaps command and control. There’s still top down, maybe a little bit micromanaging. And what we’ve seen in this process, in this journey and just this kind of self-reflection and development with our leaders is an unlock to say, what are we trying to achieve?

00:07:17:04 – 00:07:37:06

And for us, it’s been less about getting a win on the board, right? The words we use with our folks are let’s go build a dynasty. Let’s go be the Bulls or the Knights, right? Three peat in a three peat. Let’s actually get us to a point to where winning is second nature and to do that, engaging the leadership on that journey.

00:07:37:06 – 00:08:05:10

So it’s listening to them, right? Asking them about what they need. It’s galvanizing them with that vision. It’s pulling them in to how they can contribute to it. Right. What’s expected to them as a leader? I think expectations are really clear, right? We talk about goal, clarity and role clarity all the time with our leaders, specifically those in the middle, because with clarity drives, purpose and purpose, drives action, and that can then be results focused.

00:08:05:10 – 00:08:46:08

And I said, we’ve been on this long journey with them and I think they’ve really lead into that. But like you said, it’s a change. It’s hard cheese, right? And it takes it takes a while. And so it’s a constant kind of interaction with them and winning for them and really self-reflection for our leaders as well. For second, and just talk about goal clarity for a second, because that has been, I think, a pretty important change that I’ve seen within your organization happen over time, where everybody stop in to say goal, clarity.

00:08:46:08 – 00:09:09:04

In fact, it becomes this catch phrase of, hey, goal clarity here. In fact, some I’ve been affected by it so much that I now use it within my teams. I use it on with other companies that I’m working with and I’ll just call a goal clarity moment. Can you talk about the importance of goal clarity as you’re trying to shift the middle to get them where you need them to go?

00:09:09:05 – 00:09:24:00

Right. You know, because if you ask what’s the goal of those in the middle? And you might get and just like in any setting in a sport setting, you might get this for the team anywhere else. Same thing in business, same thing. And like you ask that team of leaders, what’s the goal? And you might get a barrage of things.

00:09:24:03 – 00:09:55:09

My goal is to develop people or my goal is to make products faster, or my goal is to kick out this campaign or whatever. And ultimately, if they’re driving down different paths against different goal, the ultimate goal, winning with the consumer, winning with the customer, creating that dynasty. Right, is difficult to do. And so what we’ve really tried to focus our energy on is how can you help drive and achieve that goal orientation and the climate you create with your teams?

00:09:55:10 – 00:10:16:08

Right? And if you can get a sense of team and clarity with your team on purpose, on goal, then you’re all driving in the same direction, all rowing the boat in the same direction. You have nuances, right? But for us, we’re really pushing on this idea of, if you can see, to understand everyone’s impression of the goal, you start meetings with hashtag goal clarity.

00:10:16:09 – 00:10:32:11

Here’s what we’re trying to achieve now. The mindset is in the right spot because we talk about this with our leaders as a mindset and behavioral transition and journey. Are you going to think at lead, behave differently? And so that starts for us with goal clarity, because if you start at the beginning, what are we trying to achieve?

00:10:32:14 – 00:10:59:11

Everyone’s mission aligned. They know their role with it that then you can see your your ability to accelerate a lot more. So it’s been a big focus for us and it continues in that it’s hidden. Painter Right. It’s really helping our leaders focus on the mission of what we’re trying to get done. It’s been incredible, incredible to be in meetings large and small where all of a sudden just by saying the goal clarity and here’s what we’re actually trying to achieve.

00:10:59:13 – 00:11:22:02

You see you see people’s minds at work on, okay, that is not the problem. I thought we were solving. I thought we were solving something else and being able to bring people along so that they don’t get lost, so that they don’t go off and do their own thing so that they don’t waste a lot of time and energy and cause a bunch of frustration with their teams and in solving problems.

00:11:22:02 – 00:11:46:06

That might be interesting, but aren’t vital or solving a part of the problem, but not the whole problem. So it’s been really important to see that in action, especially with that messy middle. What are some of the challenges that you’ve seen working with middle management leaders to, you know, what mindset shifts did you have? Does it help them through?

00:11:46:06 – 00:12:06:04

Where did you see things go? Maybe not as well as you wanted to, or just took a little bit more time than you expected? Absolutely, Yeah. And there’s going to be challenge in any end of this journey as we go on. Right. And for us, I would say we’ve come across those that were we’re comfortable and what we want them to do is embrace agility, right?

00:12:06:05 – 00:12:26:09

Do things differently. Our least in our industry, the consumer, all of us. Right? We’re changing dynamically all the time. So we want folks to feel empowered, right? Empowered to grow with the firm, empowered to to do things differently and work with intentional speed and agility. And that’s been a mindset shift for some. They’re all really comfortable with things they’ve done.

00:12:26:10 – 00:12:46:06

That’s always been around 155 years. Like many folks, I’ve had a wonderful career here. And what we’re saying is this is a dynamically changing environment. What what our consumer wants and how fast they want it and the trends in the industry, we don’t want to react to this woman to lead them. Right. And so we have to work with that intentional speed.

00:12:46:06 – 00:13:07:07

And so that’s been some of the challenge is folks become in are they going to be comfortable, they’ve grown their careers kind of doing things the way they’ve always done it. And we’re coming in and changing the game, right. I think the other eye opening experience with this is as you’re taking an enterprisewide change journey for our folks, all of our employees, thousands of people through it.

00:13:07:08 – 00:13:25:08

Don’t underestimate the impact that has on the people that are leading us through the change because they themselves are going through their own change curve, right? They themselves are getting used to their own change. What this means for them and how this changes, kind of the dynamics for them and how they’re going to lead and how we’re going to hold them accountable.

00:13:25:09 – 00:13:53:13

And so it was really an intentional way for us to spend more time with them through development, through conversations, through accountability, through things like visibility and scorecards. Now we don’t even know one game. And so we’re spending a lot of time with that, with that group to say we recognize you’re going through this change as well. We empathize with that and we’re going to develop you and we’re going to prepare you and equip you and then we’re going to set you free.

00:13:53:14 – 00:14:15:07

Because if you do, when you’re at your best, we’re at our best. Right. But the other learning interest you’ve seen this year, right? This is not everybody’s jam, but there are some people that’s like, No, thanks, I’m along for the ride and having those courageous conversations with those folks to say, that’s okay. The end of the day, I still want you to buy our pizza and our Perrier and our pet food.

00:14:15:07 – 00:14:37:08

Right? But if this isn’t for you, that’s okay, too. But the encouragement that we have is to take the leaders that we have involved them in the process, lean into their element, and again, hold them accountable, but help us position them. And that recognition that they’re going through the changes, Right? Yeah, Yeah. That I’m going to ask the three part question here.

00:14:37:08 – 00:14:58:14

And one is how did you think it was going to go? How did that actually go? And then we’ve got a question from Hannah that came in to asking what are some of the specific activities that we did with people, leaders to get through with this messy middle? Like what? What did we do specifically? What were some of those specific specific activities to help them move forward?

00:14:58:14 – 00:15:16:00

So how did you think it was go? It would go. How did it actually go? And then what did you do to help them? Right. Okay. So how did I think it was going to go? I wasn’t so sure. You know, to be honest with you, as somebody that was partnering on this, we’ve done a bunch. If you kind of go back in our history, we had a lot of transformation that we done.

00:15:16:00 – 00:15:32:09

And with our CEO coming in, that was kind of the start of our journey, new way of thinking internal that I’ve been here for for about 20 years, a little bit more than that well known that really a different vision of where we could take Nestlé as a company with really specific objectives. So Right. We were just saying we’re going to be a growth company.

00:15:32:09 – 00:15:49:14

We put aspirational targets out there, very specific, and then we said, Now let’s devise the plan to get there. So what I didn’t know going into it how it was going to go. I had faith in the people. I believe fundamentally we have the best in the business when it comes to our people. So I knew at the heart of this we’d get through the journey.

00:15:49:14 – 00:16:13:09

I just didn’t know how clunky it was going to be in the process. Right. And so what I learned and how did it end up going? I would tell you this, I think it’s end up ended up in a great way. We’ve seen it in our business results. What I would tell you is that the middle, that messy middle, the folks that are dealing with everything going on day to day, and yet we layer on this transformational activity on top of them flourished in this environment.

00:16:13:09 – 00:16:33:11

We set the right conditions, we gave them the right development, we set them free and said, go do this. And then we were there to support them. And we had those courageous conversations with those that didn’t want that combination. I would offer to you positioned as well as an organization when COVID hit. Because when COVID hit, we didn’t have to come up with, Now what do we do?

00:16:33:14 – 00:17:02:10

We leaned right into what we’ve been talking to them about before. Our ways of running our strategies, our objectives, our goals, hashtag goal, clarity, hashtag leaders got to lead things they’ve been hearing for the last two years. So it works out well for us. And I think what has proven in time, especially as I kind of hopefully put Cogan in the rearview mirror and we think about the future of work and what that looks like, what it’s proven for our leaders is, wow, it was hard and was messy and it was difficult.

00:17:02:10 – 00:17:21:03

It was so well worth it. We are seeing it in our results. We are seeing it in our growth. We are seeing it and in our in our business financials. Fundamentally, our CEO can stand up to the street and say our results are because our people, capabilities and culture are those are the things that drove us to success.

00:17:21:03 – 00:17:44:03

So it’s worked out really well. It was well worth the journey. Our journey was well worth it. To get to Hannah’s question, some specific examples of activities. Hannah Great question. And I think what we did and we did go with a bit of a fire theme and we had some sessions, you know, spark and then fuel and refuel and ignite and fancy words for we pulled these leaders together in small, intimate gatherings.

00:17:44:03 – 00:18:02:12

It was yes, there was there was dollars and cents in development to go do that. But again, well worth it. We’re seeing it in our results. But we pulled our leaders together and we did this mindset shift with it. It wasn’t an instructor led class type session. We fundamentally started to think about and talk about what our future looked like differently.

00:18:02:13 – 00:18:24:08

So we did these events with them. We then made it very specific for their team, so they went through this spark type exercise that talked about the culture we’re trying to create and operationalizing our strategies on how to get there. Right? But then we did what we call the fuel and refill what we had did some interventions for them and we talked about what does this mean for you as a leader, what this means for your teams, What new goals can you do?

00:18:24:08 – 00:18:48:03

We also did a series for individual contributors as well, so that common language within the company was important. We pulled that through and ensure that those leaders that had a script that we equipped them with the messaging that they needed. Right? But some of the examples, those activities were really pulling them into those development conversations. We flowed it through to the other human capital systems, if you will.

00:18:48:04 – 00:19:08:14

We started talking about, well, if this is what we’re going to do, should we recruit what’s what’s the profile of the candidate we want? So we changed the game in recruiting, right? We were doing succession planning. Hey, who do we want to promote? What do they look like? What’s the makeup of their skills and their capabilities? And so we drew the managers into those so they couldn’t turn right.

00:19:08:14 – 00:19:36:08

It just wasn’t an event thing that they did. We embedded this specifically into other parts of the organization. So between the development and then the integration of the other human capital systems, for lack of a better word, it really helped our people, leaders understand and flourish in this environment because now they were navigating what we were trying to achieve through all the things that we’re doing as a leader, not just standing in front of their team, reading off of a fake you, right?

00:19:36:11 – 00:19:56:01

It was who they were hiring, who they were promoting, how they were developing, how they were being developed, how they were communicating. Right. It was it was beyond just communications, right? It was really engagements. And it was really kind of a chance for our leaders, like I said before, to lead into this space. We lead them with it.

00:19:56:02 – 00:20:25:06

Yeah. I think what and while we helped with some of that, you also had other partners and it was internally driven as well. I have never seen an organization be willing to have this long of a constant engagement with top leaders and middle leaders to say, We are going to help you meet expectations, we’re going to help you change, we’re going to help you be successful and be the leader you need to be within this environment.

00:20:25:07 – 00:20:48:06

And that was very often not done with us. You were doing that in inside with with internal talent, and then you were doing it with some other external partners. I’ve never, ever seen a company this devoted to making that that change long term. And I think what a good way to describe it. Describe the changes. This was not a toolkit driven change.

00:20:48:08 – 00:21:10:09

So there were no toolkits handed out to go, okay, now here’s everything you need to go be the leader. You need to be never. I don’t think there was a single toolkit that I can remember that I was a part of. It was all, Let’s engage people in the conversation. Let’s give them the training and support that they need so that they can go live it and not have to reference a document to see what am I supposed who am I supposed to be today.

00:21:10:11 – 00:21:31:01

It was truly changing the culture where people could could succeed, Right? Something like this. One of the first before I was going to say, you know, when again, when our folks thrive, we thrive. And we really again positioned our employees and our leaders in that space. And I think the point you’re servicing is really important. It’s not about a tool kit.

00:21:31:02 – 00:21:53:05

It’s not about a comms PAC, right. Because it’s beyond context. This is a change domain. We kept coming back to that language. This is about leading and and kind of operating differently. That behavioral and mindset shift we bring to the forefront. We give them a vision of what that looks like, where we support them. But we kept coming back into those words because we said it’s it’s part of that journey.

00:21:53:05 – 00:22:15:01

It’s part of that, that progression of what we’re headed. So by saying that, by saying to then it is, you know, this is the behavioral mindset shift, they really positioned their mindset on where we needed to go and they leaned into that. And going back to your point, there is no manual. Back in the day when we first started this journey of how do you evolve the culture of a company 155 years old.

00:22:15:01 – 00:22:32:08

We kind of just went with what we knew and we took the vision of our CEO on our own and really leaned onto it, made it work. Similarly, when we got to. Then there was no manual as a as the world’s largest food company, what do you do? Well, we just kind of figured it out. What we did there was lean back into our culture elements.

00:22:32:09 – 00:22:56:03

We lean back into the things we’ve been telling our leaders in a very systematic and repetitive way. Right? And now, as I think to the future, as we all are grasping with the future look like, and the people come back into the office and all those things where there no manual for that. But what we are doing is leaning back and do what we started three years ago because it’s just that concept, that mantra, this idea, it’s a journey, not a destination.

00:22:56:04 – 00:23:22:08

Has seen, seen it painted evidence for sure. And when I, I think we’re talking about the journey over three years and it’s easy to put a pretty positive light on it looking back and seeing how far you’ve come, I’ve also been with you in the room when it didn’t feel so good, when it was really hard and we now have to go into details on all of that.

00:23:22:09 – 00:23:47:02

But what what would you have done differently? And I didn’t ask you this in advance, so what would you what’s your advice to people to learn from what you would do differently now? Yeah, that’s very question. And no, you didn’t ask me too fast, but I like it. I like the on spot question. I would tell you is this I do think it’s important to win the hearts and minds of some of the naysayers.

00:23:47:03 – 00:24:03:05

Early on. We knew we’re going to have change resistors out there and we had to find a way to tackle them. But you kind of your focus sometimes your energy in the areas that aren’t going to be as hard because you’re just trying to get some wins on the board, you’re trying to make some progress. And then that that small mushroom cloud became a lot bigger.

00:24:03:05 – 00:24:29:11

And we we had to interject and really tackle those things sooner. So I think having those courageous conversations, we had them for sure, having them earlier probably would have been a little helpful. And yes, like you said, we’ve been in the rooms and and we’re passionate people. Everybody. Right. Especially people, because this means so much. We knew in our heart of hearts that at the end of this journey, we believe this would transform our company.

00:24:29:12 – 00:24:46:05

It would transform our employees, it would help us win in the marketplace and those things that paid off. But in that there was some of the ugliness, the messiness, the hard parts, and there was F-bombs and all sorts of things that we were flying around. Right. But that’s just because I have passion. I apologize for the F-bombs. I know.

00:24:46:07 – 00:25:11:06

Well, you know, we’re good, but what we do is we take that right and we take that energy. We spend it towards where should it go? And I think that was one of the things that I learned, is how do you do that quickly? How do you bring in, you know, some of those key leaders first, because they can then be the apostles, if they can then go out and spread the gospel, spread the word, voice less work for me and the core team.

00:25:11:06 – 00:25:34:07

Let’s work for you. Right? We were trying to create it and sell it in a build the airplane while flying it. That’s not peanuts at the same time, boy, there’s a way to get some of the folks on the airplane to help you build some of it out, some of the peanuts. Right. So engaging them in the process rather than trying to develop the whole thing, put a bow on it and deliver it by engaging them in the process, because that’s what we’ve learned.

00:25:34:07 – 00:25:56:02

That’s what we’re doing right now. We’re really leaning into those leaders to give them the vision, give them the tool, but now they’re leading into it. So it’s less core team led and more leader led and that’s been part of our learning through those three years, is how to do that effectively. And it’s excellent, I think. Let’s make sure we leave time for for some questions and then we’ll maybe get a closing comment or two from you.

00:25:56:03 – 00:26:20:01

Alan, over to you for some questions. Sure. We have a question here from Shakira Tuttle. How did Dee and I play a role part in all of this? Was it also integrated? It was. And it’s it’s a great question. And it’s one of those things I would tell you the fabric of who we are as a company. And I is at the core is at the center of who we are.

00:26:20:01 – 00:26:37:07

And so we not just embedded it because we had to, but we embedded it because we needed to. And it’s again, core to who we are. And so we did weave that in not only into the development, but in all those other human capital system things I just mentioned. Right. It’s a part of our complete journey of thinking actually differently.

00:26:37:08 – 00:27:01:08

Like I said before, we sell to a lot of U.S. households, we sell to everybody, right? And so what we want to do is have the makeup of our consumers within our organization and how we interact and treat within our communities. And so DNI being a part of this culture journey and having it as not some corporate mandate on that because you hear it in the news, but because we are a company that sells to 97% of all of us.

00:27:01:09 – 00:27:29:05

We need to represent the interests of those folks and understand what they’re looking for. And our employees represent them as well, represent all sorts of different walks of life. And so we’ve embedded that into our way of thinking in this journey. We continue to do that. Now, what I can say I’m pretty proud of is Netflix really led from the front on this for years and we continue to pull that into the work that we’re doing in our transformation and this continual journey.

00:27:29:06 – 00:27:50:09

Excellent. And I think that time for me, one more question before Reinforce. You need to close from Kelly. Did you have a burning platform to push the new culture or was the leadership change the initiator? Yeah, now it’s great and I would say it’s a little bit of both, but I’m going to the burn platforms in Portland and I’m Steve, our CEO, the visionary leader.

00:27:50:13 – 00:28:09:14

He definitely had, you know, he wanted to take the company in a new direction and that was gigantic for us. What was also clear is in our industry, things are changing. Our burning platform is very simple. We got to adapt or die, right? And anybody out there, if you today wanted to go into your in your kitchen and go make some mac and cheese, you can get on Shark Tank and start selling it.

00:28:09:14 – 00:28:29:13

Now all of a sudden you’re a competitor. Like, the speed to market in our industry is massive and we needed to find that this big conglomerate, big 105 year old company had to figure out how do we tackle that as well. And so this idea that you have to think actually differently, you got to bring in a different profile of candidate and employee.

00:28:30:00 – 00:28:48:13

You got to have a different leadership mindset about this long term sustainable growth. That was our burning platform. What Steve, his secret sauce that he put into this, our CEO and our teacher, our Judy put into this was very clear the way you do that. Yes. Make better tasting products and yes market it well and make it and make sure it’s on the shelf when people want.

00:28:48:13 – 00:29:13:13

Their taste is king and they want their products. But people, capabilities and culture is the differentiator. They believe that they read this into everything we do and that between that burning platform industry wise and the growth that we need to go do and tackle that and Steve’s vision, that combination of those two things really propelled us into this, this massive undertaking that is paying off in our results.

00:29:14:00 – 00:29:34:07

It’s paying off and our retention it’s paying off and our engagement of our employees. And as someone can look at as an employee through your program, big investment, I am telling you the growth that we’ve seen because of it and the partnerships we’ve had with folks like that, we have really helped to position us. We’re now top of the industry pyramid and where we’re going and our trajectory is even stronger.

00:29:34:08 – 00:30:02:12

It’s not people centric focus and a focus on engagement really, that seems to be paying dividends for for you and see. So thank you for sharing those insights. And I say thank you to David and to Chris for such an engaging discussion that will close the session. Next. We will have a 15 minute break, followed by the Change in Transformation Council session on how change will change in the new future of work.

00:30:02:13 – 00:30:51:05

Please answer the evaluation form now on your screen and we will see you after the break. Thank you. Thanks, guys.