Running a business on a moral compass
Hear them talk about their focus in 7 key priorities (and none were commercial!), which guided them for 18 months.
How data insights and predictions allowed them to see trends before anyone else and react, e.g. their puppy and kitten club boom at the start of the pandemic.
The importance of recognising how life looked for all our colleagues was the most powerful thing we did. Giving them the trust and autonomy to find all 3000 new employees needed to set up a new £90m distribution centre right in the middle of the pandemic.
The huge value of showing kindness in a unique way – creating a Colleague Hardship Fund of £1m – a true GAMECHANGER for Pets. “We showed that we give and we return.”
Of running a business on a moral compass, doing the right thing by colleagues, the importance of over-communication with daily videos to calm fears.
Robert Kent talks about how they “didn’t do data for data’s sake.” They ensured they understood where’s the value was going to be created – for their customers, colleagues and then for the overall business. They talk of the power of ‘Little Data’! and how it drove growth, through personalisation, prediction and anticipation of future needs.
Stay focused. Test, test, test. Let yourself get it wrong. Failure isn’t bad!
No buzzwords. Real humility. “Keep it real and take everyone with you. You are there to serve the organisation, not the other way around. Keep the organisation sensible and kind. Culture is your primary responsibility as a CEO.”