From Americano to Espresso
What I learned moving from a top 50 Fortune 500 to a family-owned company
After 12 years working for Procter & Gamble, I was offered an amazing opportunity: to become Brand General Manager of KIKO MILANO, a family-owned monobrand cosmetics retailer based in Bergamo. So, I jumped from this big blue chip and changed all vectors at once: country, firm, category, and level. It’s been a wonderful hell of a ride, delivering the #businessturnaround and shaping an organization, here is what I learned on this journey:
Passion and willpower are unbeatable trumps
When I joined, the company was in a challenging financial situation. From day one, my team demonstrated an incredible passion and love for the business, and the brand, an openness to learn, and a willingness to do what it takes to deliver the business turnaround. This allowed us to build new capabilities, amongst others: consumer understanding, a brand strategy and positioning, 360° marketing campaigns, and new ways of working – multi-functionally and with the local teams - within less than a year.
Strategy is gold, execution rules
Clear strategic thinking and choices were vital for the business turnaround. Being entrepreneurial and open to learning from executions allowed us to improve speedily. Testing elements of the brand positioning in execution on social media enabled us to receive direct consumer feedback swiftly. We learned fast how to bring the brand to life - and how not to.
Having a real impact is incredibly rewarding
Being part of the executive leadership team allowed me to shape the business, brand, culture, and organization. It also allowed me to be the final decision-maker. Having real responsibility filled me with pride and was for sure motivating.
Magic happens when you work together
In my previous roles, I had been taught to lead people by an objective and to let the team come up with a solution. However sometimes, especially if talents are asked to do something for the first time, people can feel in need of support or orientation, so working together with the team is the better way.
The fundamentals stay the same
Whether you are working in a big or a small firm, the success drivers are the same – just to name a few: having the right talents, customer orientation, fostering a learning culture, a clear and databased vision and strategy, a winning proposition and relevant & 360° marketing communication.