P&G and Google Swap Workers

Too often, brands and companies become myopic in their vision. Executives and brand managers forget that there is a great big world outside their home companies. This type of swap can help open their eyes and introduce new concepts into the company.

Google and P&G are #1 in their fields. Programs like this will help both companies hold their leading edge positions. If the only constant is change, successful companies are those that are adept at reaching beyond their comfort zones.

Max Goldberg, Founding Partner, The Radical Clarity Group

This kind of thinking and risk taking is what has kept P&G on top of the list as not only a great marketer and leading supplier of retail product in the world but also has made it one of the most desirable companies to work for in the world. This same kind of thinking is what is going to make Google hard to beat.

How many retailers or suppliers would trust letting their best employees work somewhere else and see the challenges and opportunities in a completely different industry?

How many of us would be afraid to invest the time and money that programs like this take to implement because we would be afraid of loosing that investment?

Mel Kleiman, President, Humetrics

I think it's a fantastic idea and should be done more often. P&G is being a leader in adapting to change, and this experience will likely be very helpful in seeding some cultural change in the company. Hats off to both of them! Other companies will want to follow, and I bet Google is overwhelmed with others who want to sign up.

Anne Howe, Founder, Anne Howe Associates

This is not a new idea but one that probably got lost in the shuffle over time. I remember when I started in the CPG business back in the Stone Age (early'70s) my company placed people into retailers for several weeks to better understand the customer we were calling on.

I am surprised that there is not more collaboration being done since understanding and mining an ever-changing consumer is critical to all businesses.

J. Peter Deeb, Partner, Deeb MacDonald & Associates, L.L.C.

Peter's post is most interesting--putting brand managers in with the retailers, what a concept! :) This is a great partnership and one of the reasons P&G continues to lead. They're not afraid to share with partners so that everyone grows the pie. That win/win attitude and confidence in their own smarts and ability to lead keeps P&G at the forefront year after year. Wonder how many retailers are willing to open themselves up to partnerships like this anymore?

Lisa Bradner, principal analyst, Forrester Research

Google takes transparency to an amazingly productive place. Plus it is always fun to watch two 600 pound Gorillas swap bananas.

The old tome is out of date: the battleground isn't for the consumer's mind. It is for marketers to gain superior insight into the consumer's behavior.

This move is part in parcel of the NEW landscape where marketers disintermediate agencies and go direct to content and/or distribution resources. It is plain smart.

The agency business, like retail, ain't for sissies!

'IMRetail'

The marketing world has came a long way up the horizon when P&G folks oogle Google transplants in their Cincinnati towers.

Likewise, who would have ever envisioned that rich, proud and entrepreneurial-like Google associates would ever say, "Oh gee, California isn't the only foundation of creativity. Those smart creative P&G dudes now in our cubicles are from the Midwest."

With all the gloom consuming us these days it's brain-warming to witness "champions" in an innovative exchange.

Gene Hoffman, President/CEO, Corporate Strategies International

We did this 25 years ago when I was working at Scrivner. We would go work for another grocery wholesaler and perform our normal duties generally because the other company was short on help and we did not directly compete with them. Great experience and I continued this practice on my next job. In fact, I would have to credit this business practice for getting me where I am at today.

I think this can be applied in just about every industry. It's also a great way to keep employees operating at full capacity. Maybe you really only need them 40 weeks a year. Ship them out to work for a competitor across the country for the other 10 weeks. That company might be small and only require 10 weeks of work a year.

David Livingston, Principal, DJL Research

Like Peter Deeb, I've participated in this sort of exchange exercise a few times during the past 30+ years both here and abroad, and always found it stimulating and productive. Some of my colleagues even found employee swaps to be conducive to romance, and I know of two married couples who met this way.

M. Jericho Banks PhD, President, CEO, Forensic Marketing LLC