Distinguished Speakers Series: Linda Rendle, Clorox CEO: Be Kind, Not Nice

Clorox CEO and chairperson, Linda Rendle spoke with Dean Bill Boulding about the mentors who helped her see herself as a business leader, getting more women into top corporate leadership positions, and the difference between being kind and being nice.
The talk was held on February 6, 2024, as part of the school’s Distinguished Speakers Series.
#WomenLeadership #Mentorship #CSuite
More information about the series can be found at www.fuqua.duke.edu/dss
00:00 Intro
00:51 Did you imagine being CEO in a state of perpetual crisis?
02:14 What can we do to accelerate the ability of women to rise into the CEO position?
07:18 How did you keep everyone moving forward in a supply chain during the COVID pandemic?
12:03 How do you deal with product demand in new phase of COVID?
15:05 Distinction between "nice" and "kind."
15:52 Risk and uncertainty: how do you respond to cyberattacks?
19:34 Technology risk: Are you nervous about giving more control to generative AI?
20:59 Political risk: How do you deal with the threat of polarization in society?
24:42 Financial returns: valuing stockholder returns and ESG concerns.
29:56 Are CEO's who duck the issues of DEI and ESG just being "nice" versus "kind?"
31:42 What advice would you give to your younger self?
34:46 How did you develop a positive mindset to accept and learn from failure?
40:43 What is the next big sustainability challenge for Clorox?
42:14 How do you navigate crisis situations, from a global leader level and lower levels abroad?
45:10 How do you decide who you want to be on your team?
48:51 What courage is needed to go through the process of being considered and selected as CEO?
51:18 How do you manage and measure culture change at your company?
53:26 If I got hired at Clorox right now, and got a hiring bonus, why should I invest that money in Clorox stock for the next 3 years?

[@pieterroux9420]

Incredible wisdom shared! Thank you!

[@user-qz7fm6hi7i]

Absolutely LOVE the thought process on KIND vs Nice and the term being generous in how politics and business have to be weighed and bad times are when we learn the most... EXCELLENT!

[@user-qz7fm6hi7i]

Thanks for meeting the discussion of mom's and leadership... HARD DISCUSSION

[@Eristotl3]

Some people are passive aggressive under the heading of being kind

[@maryannanderson7413]

So there are no consequences from failure, there should be. The Company cannot be helped from failure and accepting it. She is an absolute fool.

[@maryannanderson7413]

She is wrong on diversity, equity, the primary focus in a stock company is profits. Sometimes you have to be blunt with people or fire them, being kind does not help the bottom line and being into diversity is stupid. She cost the company alot and deserves to be fired now. She does not have my backing or most of the investors how could she? My comment is fire here now. She is a failure in so many areas. Forget the woke emphasis. Look at her failures, the drop in stock price, the disruptions to the company. Even the employees know she is poison.