Dramatic departure from the status quo.

• Position: Views of Peter Harf, Chairman and CEO of Benckiser Group - Special Section: Being a Global Leader

Dramatic Departure From the Status Quo

Just as different animals use different strategies to survive in the food chain, companies wishing to compete successfully on the global playing field must be adaptable and quick to respond to the need for strategic change. At Benckiser in the early 1980s, we had little choice but to develop some talent for adaptability and managing strategic change. Our survival at that time was certainly not a given.

Our markets were dominated by big multinationals with whom we could not compete, given our size, structure, and approach. Our original business strategy - using the same raw material as a base for various products - was becoming increasingly obsolete and, in some cases, a liability. Our origins as a German company were preventing us from developing and competing internationally. And our corporate organization was taking us nowhere fast, promoting bureaucracy instead of entrepreneurial energy, and rigidity instead of flexibility.

It was clear that, as a company, we had to cultivate a new mind-set and develop a set of qualities that would prompt us to think and behave like an international organization on the move, close to its markets, and ready for new challenges. It was equally clear that we had to do it fast.

Fortunately, despite our problems, we had two important things going for us. The first is that the Benckiser family has always been steadfast in its support of nonfamily management. The second is that we had a small group of managers, including my predecessor and me, who were fiercely committed to protecting the company's independence. These two factors proved invaluable in helping us stick to our guns as we launched and navigated an adventurous departure from the status quo.

At the time, the principles and courses of action we embraced seemed drastic, but entirely essential. We were talking about emotional decisions that would virtually remake Benckiser out of whole cloth.

The first major decision was to embrace the principle of capitalism. This meant that we would invest exclusively in activities that would produce the highest profit in the long run. As straightforward as this sounds, at the time, it ran counter to our greater concern for process rather than for the bottom line. We ceased unproductive activities, regardless of whether or not they were part of cherished company tradition, and jettisoned excess baggage. This included our industrial acids business which had been the company's...