The Best Advice Indra Nooyi Ever Got

In business, sometimes in the heat of the moment, people say things. You can either misconstrue what they're saying and assume they are they are trying to put you down, or you can say, "Wait a minute. Let me really get behind what they are saying to understand whether they're reacting because they're hurt, upset, confused, or they don't understand what it is I've asked them to do." If you react from a negative perspective--because you didn't like the way they reacted--then it just becomes two negatives fighting each other. But when you assume positive intent, I think often what happens is the other person says, "Hey, wait a minute, maybe I'm wrong reacting the way I do because this person is really making an effort."

– Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo, The Best Advice I Ever Got, Fortune, May 12, 2008

Tags: Philosophy

Updated at: 15 June 2008 8:06 AM