Voice of Experience: Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO, Avon Products Inc.

“I’m a firm believer that when you have this job you have the privilege and responsibility of influence – influence to every constituent, to your associates, to your community, influence to your consumer. And that influence can be translated into passion in the work. It gets you through all the tough parts of the job – the extraordinary ability to change women’s lives through the work,” said Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO of Avon Products Inc. during her luncheon keynote dialogue with Ilene Lang, President of Catalyst at the recent Catalyst Awards Conference on March 30th.

When asked of how she felt about the purported dwindling number of young women going for MBAs because the perceived lack of social utility in business, Jung responded, “It’s killing me that the CEO role is being perceived as it is at this moment. [The job has] got huge responsibility and privilege but these are critically important jobs for the continued growth of America and the world. So I’m proud to be a CEO. I’m proud–I think we can make a difference. It’s not just my company but all of our companies can make a difference in the community and in this country which needs it.”

And if anyone can do it, Andrea Jung at the helm of Avon can. CEO of AVON since 1999 and Chairman since 2001, Jung holds the title as the longest-tenured CEO of the 15 women currently serving as CEOs in the Fortune 500, an interesting point in light of the fact that it is never a position she went into business with the intention to reach. “I never…set out to be CEO. I think you have to want to be in a role where you can make a difference. For me I realized…that I wanted to be a leader and make a difference in the future of the company and that really was the important thing for me.”

It was that perspective that allowed her to stay on at Avon when she was first passed over for the CEO role in 1997. With all the media hype around it–a New York Times article called extra attention to it as yet another example of a woman being passed over for promotion to C-suite–Jung began to get offers from many outside companies to become CEO. She was torn as to whether to stay with Avon and possibly never become a CEO or to leave to take advantage of the various advancement opportunities.

“Ann Moore, CEO of Time and my mentor for many years…said something that changed my life. She said, ‘Follow your compass, not your clock. Make this decision from your heart, not your head.’…And I made a decision… I felt that it was a tough moment for the company and that the company needed me…It really was a moment [where I thought] I can add value in the role as [number 2]. And I decided in that moment even if it meant [never] being CEO that I would do that because I love the company. It was the best decision I ever made.”She ended up getting promoted to CEO 18 months later but she says she wouldn’t have regretted the decision even if that hadn’t happened. “You really learn that….you have to have a passion for the company – a deep love affair for the work you do or it doesn’t matter what will happen.”

For the first five years of her tenure as CEO, Avon saw, in Jung’s words, “5 years of major double digit earnings.” And then, in 2005, “they hit the wall” and Jung was faced with a potential crisis of confidence. “We had missed earnings guidance twice – the pressure was on. Ram Charan came into my office late one Friday night…and said, ‘Look, they love you. Everyone wants you to win but if you can’t fire yourself [on Friday]…and come back in on Monday morning as if [you were just] put in the job to do a turnaround and do all the objective things that somebody with fresh eyes can…If you can’t do that, this is going to be a tough haul.”

Jung took that advice, returning to the office on the following Monday morning ready to revisit all teams, programs, perspectives in place at the time “as if they weren’t hers.” This fresh point of view allowed her to implement changes resulting in the “delayering” of the organization through the removal of several superfluous levels of management. This reorganization resulted in an elimination of 28% of the management team and, ultimately, a savings of over $250 million to the company. “It’s not even about the money,” she added, “We’re more efficient. We make decisions more quickly. We were actually able to cut the time a decision gets up to me to…a few three days, a few hours.”

Despite the business case for it, the implementation of the decision was, in her words, “excruciating.” She continued, “The great thing about having been with this company for so long is that I knew these people. [It is tough] having those painful conversations you don’t want to have with people who have been extraordinarily loyal and have been with you for years and years.”

To lay the groundwork for the “delayering”, she traveled around the world, talking to the Avon employees en masse in meetings to explain the reasons behind the restructuring, even before it started. “I would tell them ‘one out of three of you will be gone because this was going to be about [making the company more efficient]…and this is why. City after city. I had walking pneumonia at the time it was so much stress. [But] I wanted to be face to face.” That honesty paid off, as evidenced by the emails she received thanking her for her forthrightness. “[They would say,] ‘I hope it isn’t me [being let go] but if it is, I understand why.’ Those were tough meetings and there were some extraordinary people who left the company at that time.”

The current economic crisis presents challenges of its own. Jung’s advice is this: “Be bold. Be courageous. Find the work that you love.” She continued, “In these moments, people will define themselves on how bold they are. People who are breaking through, delivering results right now [really do shine]. You really notice them so much more right now.” And she herself is focusing on boldness as well. “At the end of the day, these times require you to do things more boldly and more quickly that you yourself imagine they can be done. And I think that’s what this environment is all about. The killer is when you are doing the right things but not enough and a year too late. You can get into a situation you don’t want to find yourself in and ask yourself why didn’t I [do more, faster]… So I have my own mantra right now – which is [to avoid the] “too little, too late.”

In response to a question on work-life balance, Jung said, “I have found simply this formula (if people can do it all at once bless them) – ‘You can’t have it all–not in a single day. You have to make a choice.’ I believe very much that there are days where my children don’t win and Avon wins, but there are also days where my children win and Avon doesn’t win and I don’t feel guilty about it either way, otherwise you’ll be guilty on both sides of the equation…[But] I’ve never missed the most important things on either side.”

When asked if she has faced any challenges as the result of being a woman of color, she spoke of the impact her Chinese upbringing had on her and her leadership style. “I grew up in a very traditional Asian family – conflict was avoided. Fast forward to this role. I have had to evolve. I don’t think I’m aggressive but I’m far more assertive than I was brought up…. [but] I am the same person. I’m proud that I still have the values that were beaten over my head about humility.” Jung shared a story about a letter she had received from her father at the beginning of her tenure as CEO, in which he counseled her not to change, writing ‘we raised you to be tolerant and humble. The world and the job could change you [to be otherwise] so hang onto it and don’t forget that we are not going to value at the end of your life whether you were a rough and tumble CEO but whether you were able to be successful in maintaining your humility.’ Jung added, “And I try to counsel [Asian Americans executive mentees] not to change who they are – it can be done.”

And of the reports of late that the number of women on boards and in C-suites remains flat, Jung said, “I’m a realist but I would still call myself an optimist on this subject matter. The numbers would say that there is still somewhat of a gap. [But] if I look even 5 years ago (let alone 10 years ago) at women in seniors ranks of a company, top operating jobs and CFOs versus other staff roles, it is fundamentally [better] so I think there is no question that the pipeline is significantly different…There is clearly progress on that front and I am optimistic and hopeful that you‘ll see more women taking on CEO roles at huge companies. (My company is small compared to some of the recent CEO appointments of women.) My attitude is that if 10 years later I’m leading the smallest market capital company among all the women who are leading Fortune 500 companies, how great!”