I was in two minds about this book, THE CEO FACTORY by Sudhir Sitapati, The cover was something that has been putting me off. It was SURF all over. The back of the cover praise by Binny Bansal, Errol D’Souza, Alan Jope, Sunil Bharti MittalN.R Narayana Murthy and Piyush Pandey was pulling me to read it. Whereas all mentions were about talent and CEO’s and rightly so, the note fr Narayan Murthy, The CEO FACTORY helps you understand how you can win and be honest. Or perhaps win because you are honest’ along with Piyush Pandey saying, ‘Sudhir shares the blueprint on how HUL builds brands and businesses by adhering to principles and by a constant understanding of the changing needs of the customer’, were convincing enough to put the book on the wish list.
Then I saw a lot of people sporting this book and reading it during the flight. When one of the close colleagues opened up it for reading during a flight, I curiously asked him, any good. His recommendation made me finally pick the book. I have read or heard the anecdotes about the company many times, and maybe there will be some insights. Not much one can go wrong in investing INR 599. How wrong I was!
Congratulation, Sudhir Sitapati for writing ‘THE CEO FACTORY’ and bringing the HUL way closer to us. The language is so simple that it makes the book easy to read. There is hardly any Jargon. And if some jargon is used, the author has amply explained it and simplified the thinking. Most of the stories are not new to me. However, they have been presented interestingly. There is never a dull moment while reading this book. It is almost like, What they teach you at HUL or even What you always wanted to know and never had access to ask about HUL.
It is good to know that the massive distribution network of HUL gives it only an advantage in the market, but its core competence remains to build great brands.
And that’s where lies the secret. Some of the secrets enumerated in ‘THE CEO FACTORY’ are, it is about quality first and that too at the level of consumer experience and not in the sterile laboratory environment, delegation to the last limb, early identification of talented employees and charting a career path for them, the maverick entrepreneurial approach, fixing of price and profits and then working around it, the belief that there is always scope for improvement and cost-cutting, and you start getting the picture, why HUL is what it is.
The book has covered almost any and every question the reader may have. It presents and explains with clear examples across the HUL business. The management training sauce, how the company looks at the business, how Marketing is the pivot in all brand building and decisions at HUL, and what factors are considered for a business to be successful at HUL. It seems so complete that you pity others who may be wanting to write such a book with HUL in the background.
Sudhir Sitapati joined Hindustan Unilever Limited in 1999. He is currently Executive Director, Foods and Refreshments. This is his first book, and if he writes another one, I am going to be one of the first ones to pick-it-up. I would recommend that people in business, the client-side or the creative agency side must read it.
If you are an MBA aspirant or students you must read it. In addition, maybe pick TATA LOG by Harish Bhat, but do read N Chandramouli two books, ‘Getting better at getting better’ and ‘The Catalyst’.
Published by Juggernaut Publishing, this 236-page book is prices rightly at INR 599 almost in the HUL way, some ambition some aspiration, so the right audience sees value in it.
BLOG/09/20202/book/03
