Читать книгу Upstanding - Frank A. Calderoni - Страница 6

I first met Frank in early 2012 over breakfast to explore his interest in joining Adobe's Board of Directors. It was clear from that initial conversation that Frank was a pioneer of understanding the critical connection between corporate strategy and culture in driving a company's success, as his criteria for making a decision were not only limited to Adobe's strategy, but also considered our values, culture, and character. Over the past eight years, as both Audit Chair and Lead Director of Adobe's Board, Frank has provided tremendous insight to the company as we navigated our own business transformation. Frank's expertise and counsel have been invaluable to me personally, as I have evolved in my role as CEO.

Throughout his illustrious Silicon Valley career, Frank has led transformational initiatives for iconic technology companies, including IBM, Cisco, and Anaplan, during critical junctures of growth. Frank has a growth mindset and runs his business by the numbers, but he also understands that people are a company's greatest asset and that employees do their best work when they resonate with the mission and values of the company.

In Upstanding, Frank examines the inextricable link among corporate strategy, company culture, and individual character, underscoring the significant role every employee plays in embodying culture and contributing to a company's long-term growth and success. Activating that link is essential to realizing strong company character—and a requirement for organizations aspiring to achieve hypergrowth, agility, and loyalty. Frank's assertions are reinforced with compelling stories from his own career—as well as other highly successful leaders in his network—and he outlines a practical set of principles that can serve as a blueprint for companies seeking to develop, nurture, and sustain strong character. He posits, and I wholeheartedly agree, that strong character is a proven way to increase employee satisfaction and productivity, and ultimately, win in the market. I've seen for myself the positive impact that character has on organizations, including Adobe.

Being CEO at Adobe has reinforced for me the importance of a company's character. This was clearly the case when, nearly a decade ago, we set in motion how to transform our business from a profitable packaged software company to one of the software industry's largest and fastest-growing subscription businesses. We knew we had to pivot our strategy and business model to achieve strong long-term growth, but we also knew it would not be easy. Without our employees' belief and commitment in our transformational vision, it would not have been possible. Adobe's sincere and encouraging culture played a critical role in bringing people along, and supporting our character built the bridges of trust needed to carry us through the transition—igniting our passion and determination to succeed.

Frank is right in stating that now more than ever, a company's success is not only defined by its financial performance, but by the role it plays in making the world a better place. A company's social purpose, ethics, and commitment to sustainability, diversity, and inclusion are as important as the products it makes. Companies must consider and support all constituents—employees, customers, partners, investors, and the communities in which they operate.

Dynasties are built when great people are rallied around a great mission, culture, and values. The confluence of these factors enables innovation to thrive, businesses to succeed, and the world to move forward.

I hope you'll enjoy Upstanding as much as I did.

Shantanu Narayen

Adobe Chairman and CEO