Book Review: What Really Matters: Service, Leadership, People, and Values

This book review is part of a series that covers the topic of Personal Accountability. The Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to Personal Accountability is Jay Fiset. Personal Accountability allows you to move away from a mindset where things happen "to you" in your life without your consent or influence, and embrace your role in the way your life is shaped by moving to a place of true power and freedom.nnWhat Really Matters: Service, Leadership, People, and Values is a valuable resource for people interested in Personal Accountability, and it is available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.nnAmazon.comnThe fundamental question in business and in personal life is the same: What really matters? In this book one of America’s most widely admired business leaders distills a lifetime of experience, including failures as well as successes, to reveal his answers.nnJohn Pepper, president, CEO, and chairman of Procter & Gamble for a combined 16 years, underscores the importance of continuous change, innovation, and renewal as prerequisites for growth and sound leadership. In What Really Matters he suggests that a preparedness to alter perspective, rethink assumptions, or change course is central not only to understanding customer needs and keeping costs under control but also to developing talent, organizing global businesses, and supporting communities. While he discusses specific business tactics, he notes that they all center on fundamental tenets: listen to and respect the customer, engender personal accountability and passionate ownership, encourage diversity, and create a vibrant, trusting institution that incorporates employees and their families. In his own years as an executive, Pepper has demonstrated that a profitable business can create and sustain a culture that shapes—and is shaped by—ethical behavior. His profoundly important advice and counsel belong in the lexicon and practice of every leader.nnFrom Corporate LeadersnRoger Martin : n“What Really Matters is a wonderful antidote for executives who make excuses for their bad behaviors: ‘it’s complicated out there;’ ‘the pressures are enormous;’ etc., etc. In practical, clear, and compelling terms, John Pepper lays out how to lead with integrity, humility, and —not instead of —effectiveness.”—Roger Martin, Dean of the Rotman School of Management, University of TorontonnDavid M. Abshire : n“John Pepper’s What Really Matters may been written for a Procter and Gamble audience, but it should be read by other companies and business school, as well as those in government. Not only was John Pepper an extraordinarily creative CEO at P&G, but he also has an unusual ability to communicate what I call ‘character-based leadership.’”—David M. Abshire, President and CEO, the Center for the Study of the PresidencynnRichard Ferris : n“An exceptional roadmap, built from experience, for success in business and life.”—Richard Ferris, Retired Co-chairman, Doubletree CorporationnnDomenico De Sole : n“An insightful and wonderful book about business and life originally directed to Procter and Gamble employees. What Really Matters is a book that every business man must read.”—Domenico De Sole, Retired President and CEO, Gucci Group, NVnnDonald R. Beall : n“John Pepper has again demonstrated his awesome leadership skills, people sensitivity, personal values, and focus on the delivery of real value to the consumer”—Donald R. Beall, Retired Chairman and CEO, RockwellnnPete Nicholas : n“What Really Matters is a deeply personal, almost spiritual, set of reflections focused on the human side of enterprise. John Pepper presents a collection of principled values and short stories that focus on individual contributors and team-based behaviors that at the core reflect humility and pride, stewardship and service, loyalty and devotion, all shaped and guided by a shared sense of purpose that binds together a very special global community of winners who are privileged to call themselves P&Gers.”—Pete Nicholas, CEO, Boston Scientific Corporation nnErnesto Zedillo : n“This is an honest and generous personal account of an inspiring career by a great business leader who also has served a range of other good causes so well. I hope many young people will read and benefit from this excellent book.”—Ernesto Zedillo, Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, Member of the P&G Board, Former President of MexiconnRichard Levin : n"John Pepper proves that leading a good life and leading a great company require the same personal attributes: vision, perseverance, kindness, and the capacity to change. This is a wise and inspiring book."—Richard Levin, President, Yale University