Diversity, women's leadership, bias, inspiration: Top Quotes from Indra Nooyi
Here we list some of the best quotes from former Fortune 500 leader and working mother Indra Nooyi who transformed PepsiCo during her 12 years as CEO. With a unique vision, a vigorous pursuit of excellence, and a deep sense of purpose, she earned respect as the first woman, and the first person of colour to reach such a high position.
One of the leading strategic thinkers of our time, Indra Nooyi joined Growth Faculty for a special book club event to talk about her autobiography My Life in Full.
These leadership quotes were taken from Indra's Growth Faculty event An Evening with Indra Nooyi.
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On Diversity
This is not a leaky pipeline, it’s a broken pipeline. In the U.S., women make up 5% of CEOs and only 22% of board directors. We’re basically not utilising half of the brilliance of society.
We can’t pray or wish for diversity. We need intervention, attention, mentoring and development of those minorities to ensure all are represented in our organisations.
...All these labels are what people give you, not necessarily what you are...The fact is, there’s a job to be done, and I believe I’m the best person to do it.
Inside many companies, we have to address this issue of conscious and unconscious bias...you strip those people, you slowly strip them of their confidence, and when you strip them of their confidence, you strip away their competence.
On Success
The only way you’re going to achieve what you want is to be a lifelong student. Study everything.
At the end of the day, don’t define me by these labels, define me by the quality of the output I produce.
Just focus on what you’re doing.
On Leadership
Sports are a great training ground to make you a terrific leader, to ensure you develop the best qualities.
When you’re a leader everyone watches - the way you walk, talk and smile. You must do it with confidence.
Just because you’re a CEO, doesn’t absolve you of the responsibility of getting the details.
The CEO should not pick their successor...the board should.
I was more worried about my legacy than I was about my performance as a CEO.
If you want to lift the performance of the organisation, you have to lift yourself...my message to my team was always meet my bar, and that bar would constantly be moved up.
On Work/Life Balance
When I was a CEO at PepsiCo I had no balance. Every day you have to decide, what will I be today: a mum, a CEO, a wife?
If you want me to work in a company, create an environment that I can work in.
On Changing Landscapes
Women watched cricket, they didn’t really play cricket.
[Amazon] gives you the gift of time, it’s an incredible, incredible invention...thank God we have innovations like Amazon.
The environment is changing, and if you don’t do it, you’re going to become irrelevant very soon.
The Migrant Mentality
I don’t think I’m an exception. Most immigrants...have a fear that things may not work out...interestingly, it’s never gone, even today...40 years later.
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