Inspiration: Indra Nooyi

The 4.5 minute video below is an extract of an interview with Indra Nooyi, Chairperson and Chief Executive of PepsiCo. She has been CEO since 2006 (after joining PepsiCo in 1994 and becoming CFO in 2001). 

The interview is facilitated by Daniel Roth from LinkedIn, and offers Indra's career advice for those who aspire to the C-suite. She sets out five 'building blocks' that she feels help ambitious people to get there.

1) Doing your current job very well
2) Developing a specific skill you're known for, especially within your organisation: competence/capability
3) Having the courage to defend what you stand for: ideals and values
4) Communicating effectively: need to be able to "get [people] to go places they never thought they needed to get to"
5) Following your business compass: "your ethics are so important"

She also speaks about her 'hip pocket skill' she cultivated over her career: making simple the complex. A 'hip pocket skill' is something useful that helps you to stand out as not many people in your team or field excel at it.

LinkedIn interview: Indra Nooyi (4.5 minutes; opens in new window)