Foreword by Ramon Laguarta
When I became CEO of PepsiCo in 2018, one of my first initiatives was to organize a two-day meeting every month for our top executives to co-create with me the vision and mission of the company. On the first day of our first meeting, during one of the breaks, I approached our chief design officer, Mauro Porcini. I told him that I had a special assignment for him. I needed him to be one of those individuals on the leadership team who think differently. I asked him to bring design thinking into the mix—to question our assumptions. I asked him and his teams around the world to bring a disruptor’s mindset to a company that wanted to shake things up.
By that time, Mauro had been leading our design function since its formation in 2012. For the first six years of its existence, the design function had been operating with a start-up mindset, as a creative group of pioneers churning out high-quality work. Now, I wanted PepsiCo to take things to the next level and become a fully design-driven company, a company aiming to be the most human-centered and innovative organization in the world. That meant design needed to graduate to a scale-up mindset. And it meant Mauro and his team needed a seat at every table, and they needed to be among the loudest voices at those tables.
This elevation of a human-centered approach to innovation was directly tied to the changes we were seeing in society—changes that have only accelerated over the past few years. People are demanding what they want, when they want it, at a price they can afford. They want products that are better for themselves and the planet. And they want to feel a personal connection to their favorite brands. In other words, the future of brand building and product innovation, along with the future of organizational culture, is human.
In this book, Mauro explains the steps that any company should take to apply this approach at scale. Let me give you two examples mentioned in these pages that come from our PepsiCo world.
The first is a product innovation example: SodaStream Professional. This is our custom beverage fountain that lets people customize their own water experience—from flavors and functional ingredients to temperature, carbonation, and more—adopting reusable bottles and a QR code to limit single-use plastic and save the individual’s personal preferences. SodaStream Professional is a critical tool for building out our ecosystem of customized beverage options, while also helping to meet the needs of people who are looking to lead healthier, more sustainable lives. This is what human-centricity is all about: an approach to innovation that creates value for individuals and for society.
The second example is related to culture. When I approached Mauro on the first day of our monthly meeting, I wasn’t asking him to design a specific product or experience. I was asking him to help transform our culture by voicing his opinions fearlessly, acting as an owner, and focusing and getting work done fast. And that’s exactly what he has done—and what he talks about in this book. This approach was part of his instinct and his way of thinking and acting. I gave him an opportunity and a platform to unlock his potential. Today, we are a company infused with design-led thinking across our entire portfolio of products. Through this culture, we create new reservoirs of value for the end users—the human beings—who engage with our company.
These two examples only scratch the surface of Mauro’s insights, gained over two decades of working in corporations and agencies. In this book, he goes into depth about the mindset and strategies he has used to champion a more people-focused approach to innovation. It is a fascinating study of what it takes to drive change at the team and organizational levels. And it offers a blueprint for anyone who aspires to build companies and brands while growing as a leader—and as a human being.
Ramon Laguarta, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo