Preparing himself for the future
Jawa has always approached his own development with a dual focus: performing at his best today while consciously building the skills needed for tomorrow.
“I’ve always asked myself: What’s my potential? How much can I grow?” he says, admitting that it’s been an episodic journey where, every five to 10 years, he asks himself whether he can stretch to the next level and fast-forwards to imagine that future.
Over nearly four decades, his core values of integrity, hard work, and decency have remained constant. What has evolved, he says, is his agility and adaptability, which have been shaped in part by working across many countries. He’s also become more mindful of his health, committing to daily exercise and good nutrition as well as being more intentional about his emotional well-being.
“I’ve learned to be calmer, to reframe things and see them more philosophically,” he reflects. “I’ve learned to take more perspective.”
This maturity comes from a habit of deliberate reflection. “I read the same things over again to see if I’m missing a perspective. I try to keep distilling things down to what I need at every stage of my career growth,” he says. This involves reflecting that what has worked for him so far may not get him further. “It’s a very deliberate, conscious effort to improve.”
As the CEO of a major corporation serving one of the fastest-growing markets, how does he carve out time for that reflection? “I’m at my best when I’m able to delegate,” he says. Having a team of strong performers he can trust helps him to resist the temptation to delve into every issue and allows him to focus on what matters most: seeing the future clearly and shaping the company’s agenda.
In this way, he can stay committed to his purpose: to create impact that endures beyond his time. “With the stage as big as Unilever and Hindustan Unilever, I can impact a much bigger community than in any other situation.”
With nine out of 10 Indian households already using the company’s products, it’s clear that Jawa is well on his way to fulfilling that mission.
Watch the full interview to hear more from Rohit Jawa, including how HUL has developed two very useful and hard-for-competitors-to-replicate capabilities: 1) The ability to create shared services and activities in some areas while clearly maintaining differentiated approaches in other areas, thus reaping benefits from specialization and from economies of scale; and 2) The ability to leverage a culture of frugality and continuous improvement in some areas to fuel significant investment in other areas.