Transformation How HUL Makes CEOs Out of College Kids

HUL has for a long time been considered a school for CEOs. Almost every year a periodical publishes an
article on this theme, when a HUL alumnus takes over the reins in the corner office. In 2010, HUL (not
Unilever) was ranked number one in India and the Asia Pacific region and rated among the top four
companies globally in the list of Global Top Companies for Leaders in a study sponsored by Hewitt
Associates in partnership with Fortune magazine and the RBL Group. More than 530 companies
participated in this study, around the world. While many attribute the leadership success at HUL to its
innate belief that the foremost job of leaders is to produce more leaders, there is a lot more at work,
than at first meets the eye.
Although the results suggest that the organization has a proven track record when it comes to building
leaders, very little is known about the processes and methods that go into the consistent development
of world class leaders.
The rigorous recruitment process, the 15 month training programs that send recruits for short stints in
the villages of Etah in North India or then the Unilever factories in Brazil, the stretching initial
assignments, the organizational support in the form of buddies, coaches and mentors, the 70-20-10
philosophy, carefully facilitated crucible experiences and a number of other interventions go a long
way in ensuring that leadership development is not left to chance, but a part of everyday life in the
organization.
This book, based on the experiences of people on the inside, explores the many processes at work
through the length and breadth of the organization that build this leadership muscle in young managers
and transform them into powerful leaders, year after year. Complete with real-life stories from trainees
and experiences across the country, it makes the point that leadership can be built.
The book is divided into three sections. The first section deals with the processes that HUL has in place.
It takes a detailed look at the recruitment process, the design of the training program, the career paths
that managers follow in their first 10 years in the organization, the support structure available to young
managers in terms of coaches and tutors etc.
The second section looks at the science behind the processes that might not be obvious to the outsider.
It details landmark research in the field of top performance and highlights its application in the
processes at HUL. Some of the theories examined are:
The Theory of Deliberate / Expert Practice & The 10,000 Hour Rule: K. Anders Ericsson, Ralf Th.
Krampe, and Clemens Tesch-Romer, "The Role of Deliberate Practice in the Acquisition of Expert
Performance," Psychological Review, no. 3 (1993), pp. 363-406.
The Ten-Year Rule : Nobel Prize winner Herbert Simon and William Chase (Ericsson's coauthor on the
memory study) proposed "the ten-year rule," based on their observation that no one seemed to reach

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the top ranks of chess players without a decade or so of intensive study, and some required much more
time.
The Role of a Supportive Culture: Benjamin S. Bloom, ed., Developing Talent in Young People (New York:
Ballantine Books, 1985).
The Multiplier Effect: Stephen J. Ceci, Susan M. Barnett, and Tomoe Kanaya, "Developing Childhood
Proclivities into Adult Competencies: The Overlooked Multiplier Effect," in Robert J. Sternberg and Elena
L. Grigorenko, eds., The Psychology of Abilities, Competencies, and Expertise (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 2003).
Myelin and the Benefits of Starting Early: R. Douglas Fields's "White Matter Matters," Scientific
American (March 2008), 54-61, as well as his "Myelination: An Overlooked Mechanism of Synaptic
Plasticity?" Neuroscientist 11: no. 6 (2005), 528-31.
The relevance of each of these studies at HUL is illustrated through live examples from the last 15-20
years of the organizations history that has been researched through interviews with the senior leaders
in the organization.
The third section details the most critical elements of the first 10 years a manager spends in the
organization. It begins with a comprehensive account of the experiences that one is likely to have on a
day to day basis in the BLT program. It draws on anecdotes and interviews with a number of people who
have experienced this program. The sections on sales and brand management highlight the challenges
that young managers in these roles face on the job and the growth and transformation they experience
through these crucible moments. It reads as a story of the journey of a young recruit over the first 10
years of his career and will reflect the application of the processes and the research in the real world.
(For a sample of the kind of subjects that will be dealt with, you can read some of my posts on my blog
at: http://stephenremedios.tumblr.com/)

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Table of Contents:
Part 1: The How
-

Selecting to Win

Spotting Talent Early

Training for Leadership The BLT Program

Leveraging the Organizations Expertise

The Tools of Leadership LDT / 70-20-10 / DAP / 360 / MBTI

Part 2: Whats Actually Happening?

Deliberate practice
-

Performance-enhancing Design

Repeatability

Continuous Feedback

Mentally Rigorous

Tedious

10,000 hours
-

Sales Management

Brand Management

Part 3: The Experience

-

The HUL model of Leadership

Living the Model

as a BLT

as a sales manager

as a brand manager

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About the author:

Stephen Remedios began his 10-year career with Hindustan Lever Ltd. (now Hindustan Unilever Ltd.) as
a participant in the leadership training program for entry-level recruits in 2001-2002. Since then, he has
worked as a sales manager and brand manager, the two assignments that a majority of the sales and
marketing talent go through in their first 5 years in the company. He has led managerial teams in his
capacity as the regional sales manager for the Rs, 4000 Cr. Urban business in South India, as the head of
the Customer Development Center of Excellence, and in his most recent role as the Head of Customer
Marketing for Personal Products and Modern Trade. Through these 10 years he has been an active
participant in the HUL campus recruitment program, having interviewed over 100 candidates. In his
capacity as a tutor, buddy and coach he has helped many young managers through the BLT program and
the initial years of their careers.
Stephen is a graduate in Economics from St. Xaviers Calcutta, and an MBA from XIM, Bhubaneswar. He
is married to Raynah, and they have two sons, Aidan and Dylan.

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