Doing what matters

Warren Buffett once explained the Gillette board's choice of Jim Kilts as chief executive by praising his plain, clear way of talking through a business problem. Kilts later led three major companies, Gillette, Nabisco and Kraft, and this first-person account describes how he approached each turnaround. He presents a method that blends modern thinking with traditional discipline, built around deciding which priorities deserve attention and which can be set aside, a skill he argues matters more as business keeps accelerating.

Kilts organizes his approach around four elements. The first is intellectual integrity, meaning an honest look at yourself and your company, followed by action based on what that look reveals. The second is stirring up emotional commitment, using personal conviction and ideas to give a whole organization a sense of purpose. The third is decisive action, illustrated by his work at Gillette, where a catalogue of more than 20,000 products had resisted two years of study until he cut it to about 7,000 in a remarkably short time. The fourth is a unifying concept that helps leaders sort through issues, which for Kilts was Total Brand Value, a framework from consumer products that he used to get better and faster results than rivals.

The book is full of anecdotes from his career. One concerns a red razor he proposed at Gillette. Colleagues dismissed it on the grounds that no one would buy a red razor, yet it later became one of the company's most successful marketing achievements.

The guidance is aimed at a wide range of readers, from chief executives of large global firms and brand managers to entrepreneurs launching small businesses and people starting their careers. Topics include a first-day plan for a new job, building support among colleagues, and running an innovation program that brings everyone into change, whether small adjustments or sweeping overhauls.