Inspired to Perform

As I wrote at the beginning of this letter, we have placed significant emphasis on P&G’s Purpose because we believe it inspires people to perform at their peak.

Fulfilling P&G’s Purpose is not merely a noble ideal. It is potentially a game-changing growth strategy because it unleashes creativity and capability. Our purpose as individuals inspires our performance as professionals. The congruence of our Company Purpose and our personal purpose captures our imagination and passion. It focuses us on the consumers we serve and inspires empathy for them that, in turn, leads to insights, big ideas and innovation that drive growth. Simply put: Touching and improving people’s lives motivates peak performance. I believe that to my core.

Everywhere I travel, P&G people and our partners tell me they are inspired by what we can accomplish together. They tell me that they are inspired by the thought of what we can accomplish if we can infuse the work of our entire organization—all 127,000 of us—with the meaning that comes from our Purpose. We’re inspired by the thought of serving five billion people by the middle of this decade, and perhaps touching and improving the lives of nearly every person on the planet in our lifetimes. We’re inspired to create new innovations, ideas, services and products that improve people’s lives in ways we’ve not yet foreseen.

It is all this, taken together, that drives my confidence in P&G’s future. We have all the elements of a high-performing organization in place at P&G: passionate leaders at every level and in every part of our business; sound strategies that continue to provide abundant opportunities to grow; robust systems that enable us to operate with discipline and to collaborate inside and outside the Company; and a culture that enables, demands and rewards high performance. These pillars stand on a foundation of technical competence and the bedrock strength of our Purpose, Values and Principles that constitute the core of P&G.

I am honored to stand alongside Purpose-inspired leaders in every part of our organization who ensure that P&G touches and improves lives every day. It is a privilege to work with such outstanding people and I thank them for all they are doing to touch and improve lives and to grow our business.

Robert A. McDonald
Chairman of the Board, President
and Chief Executive Officer