Lafley, who oversaw the breakthrough development of Liquid Tide in 1984, is proud that most of P&G's growth in recent years has come from core products that are household names around the globe. "I really believe you should play to your strengths," he says. "Our business model is very simple. It commits us, first and foremost, to improving the everyday lives of consumers."
Despite P&G's successes, Lafley is well aware of the dangers that can loom on any operation's horizon. He has talked publicly, for instance, about the limitations faced even by a company that has more than 100,000 employees in 80 countries and that sells its products in 160 nations. "The biggest thing I worry about is that we'll make an acquisition or expand into a new market that stretches our capabilities beyond what we can really handle," he observes.
So far, Lafley's instincts have been right on the money. His decisions to purchase Clairol in 2001 for $5 billion and Germany's Wella in 2003 for $7 billion—P&G's largest acquisitions ever—are already paying off by making the company's beauty-care division one of the most profitable beauty-care operations in the world.
A history major at Hamilton College, Lafley initially planned on a career as a professor. He started a Ph.D. program in medieval and Renaissance history at the University of Virginia before leaving to enlist in the U.S. Navy. After several years of running grocery and specialty stores at a U.S. base near Tokyo, Lafley became "hooked" on merchandising and enrolled at Harvard Business School.
MBA in hand, he arrived at P&G at the age of 30 as an assistant brand manager for Joy dishwashing detergent. A variety of other assignments followed, such as helping turn around P&G's beauty products business in Japan and building the company from the ground up in China. After 27 years, he still can't imagine a better place to work. "I feel honored and lucky to be part of such an extraordinary organization."
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