Kerry Clark who was CEO at Proctor & Gamble for 32 years says that what impresses him most about any employee is performance. He says “It’s not about personal loyalty per se. It’s about facing reality, accountability an doing the right thing. I have zero tolerance for dishonesty or crossing the line ethically. So, it’s not about jumping in front of the train, but maybe realizing the train is coming and doing something about it.”
He was asked “Would you recommend that people take on high-risk assignments with a good chance of failure, or assignments that are a sure thing?” and answered “Stretch assignments can help individuals grow in ways they did not imagine. The idea is not to create a risk of failure but to create an opportunity to test the limits of their capability.”
And “You lead top executives who are ambitious. Should middle managers expect the same thing of their employees or must they resign themselves to different expectations? He said “… we expect each of our employees to live by our core values. Those are: ethical, people-driven, performance-driven, innovative and collaborative.”