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thedrifter
01-21-07, 09:24 AM
From Coke to Clorox

January 21, 2007
By CARRIE NAPOLEON Post-Tribune

Don Knauss took no business courses while attending college in the 1970s. A history major, he had an eye on teaching at a small liberal arts college.

But times were tough for liberal arts colleges at the time, so Knauss, a former Highland resident, made a choice that eventually led to a career in business that spanned from marketing to sales to the corporate boardroom of some of the country's largest corporations.

In October, the 56-year-old Highland High School graduate achieved yet another milestone: being named chairman and CEO of Clorox Corp., a $2 billion company with 4,850 employees worldwide.

To what does Knauss attribute his success in business? His 41�2-year stint in the Marines and his roots in Northwest Indiana.

A solid foundation

Knauss grew up middle class, the son of a steelworker. He lived in a neighborhood filled with World War II veterans and their families who projected a can-do attitude. There was the sense hard work was a good thing, not a bad thing, and a respect for people being honest.

"Those core basic values stood me in good stead. When you have that foundation in values you can do anything you want to do. Those values are relevant anywhere you go," he said.

The military opened the doors to a brand marketing position with Procter & Gamble's Paper Products division, a chance he said he likely would not have been given had it not been for his officer training in the U.S. Marine Corps.

"I was in grad school working on a master's degree," Knauss explained. "I thought I would get a Ph.D. and go teach at a small liberal arts college."

Because liberal arts colleges were experiencing tough times at the time, the 1970s, Knauss decided to change gears and head for the military.

"I was a battery commander artillery officer with 200 Marines working for me. It was a real education in leadership. I came out with a profound respect for my own limitations and how much dependent we are on team at the end of the day. We succeed or fail depending on the team involved.

"That includes having a real ability to genuinely listen to those people and what they think in terms of how to get the job done," Knauss said.

Moving into business

When he finished his 41�2-year stint, Procter & Gamble was actively recruiting junior military officers.

He chose to focus on marketing, a decision the company fostered.

"One of the key things is to pick a foundational skill if you want to go into business that you really have a passion for," he advised.

While P&G built his marketing foundation, Frito-Lay gave him the chance to stretch his wings and enter the sales arena. Knauss attributes that transition to a boss he had at the company who was willing to take a chance on him.

"He and a few other senior people gave me an opportunity as a marketing guy to build off that foundation and do other things. All of a sudden, I learned a whole different world," Knauss said.

He tapped his military training to guide the sales force of 3,000.

In 1994, after about 9 years with Frito-Lay, he joined The Coca-Cola Co. as senior vice president of marketing for The Minute Maid Co. In just two years he was promoted to senior vice president and general manager for Minute Maid's U.S. retail operations. Beginning in 1998, he spent almost two years managing Coca-Cola's business in 10 countries in southern Africa.

In 2000, he was named president and CEO of The Minute Maid Co., and in 2004 he became president and CEO of Coca-Cola North America.

In October, Knauss was named Clorox's chairman and CEO. He succeeded Robert W. Matschullat, who had served as Clorox's interim chairman and CEO since March 2006.

"Throughout his career, he has established himself as a change agent," Matschullat said. "Businesses have grown and flourished under his leadership, and he achieves results in a way that engages and brings the entire organization along with him."

Five leadership traits

Knauss said in his observation, leadership is about five traits that are present in people, whether they are running a company or a university -- integrity, curiosity, a sense of optimism, compassion and humility.

In the business context, integrity is having the courage to do the right thing for the business.

"One fundamental thing everybody owes the company they work for is a point of view. Don't check your brain at the door," he said. Having the courage to speak up even if your opinion is different can be vital to a business' success.

Curiosity is important because business is fueled by ideas, regardless of what type of organization it is. Knauss sees strong intellectual curiosity in successful leaders.

"No. 3 is a sense of optimism. You cannot lead from pessimism," Knauss said. "However, that does not mean having a Pollyanna view of the world or your organization."

Compassion is a trait that is getting harder and harder to find in the business context.

The last trait, and probably the most difficult for a lot of leaders, he said, is humility. The real leaders he has seen as effective are those who are approachable and accessible.

Carolyn Carl, who was Knauss' executive assistant and a vice president while he was running the Coca-Cola Co. North American unit, said not only does Knauss talk about those characteristics, he practices them.

"One of the things he was kind of known for was his values-based leadership," Carl said. "It is very important to him that people lead from values."

Carl said the way he would make his set of five values real for people was by talking about them all the time and telling stories from the standpoint of some well -known or a historical figure. He would relay an incident and explain how it demonstrated a certain value.

One of her favorite stories was a tale Knauss shared from his time as a Marine. He had just gotten out of officer school and was in the field. It was time to eat and he went to the front of the line because that is what the officers did. A senior officer tapped his shoulder and told him that in the field the men eat first, and the leaders are there to serve them, she recalled.

"He really took that through everything he did. Because of that … anybody that was part of Coca-Cola felt they could pick up the phone and talk to Don if they needed to. He was a servant leader. He was there to help people succeed," she said.

She recalled another incident in which the company was hosting a leadership meeting. There were 300 of Coca-Cola's top employees at the event and top-notch speakers booked.

"In the middle of it, his secretary's son became ill suddenly … Don left that meeting to see her and be with her while her son was in the hospital. That made a huge impact. He has a very compassionate streak and people picked up on that," Carl said.

Knauss also brought humor to the table, Carl said. She described him as very well read, yet someone who in the midst of all his duties watches some TV.

"We might be in a meeting and he would start quoting 'Everybody Loves Raymond.' " That, she said, carries over to his sense of optimism.

In terms of working for him, Carl said Knauss was very much the type of leader who would let people do their jobs.

"He felt like his role was to help clarify the direction and really get out of the way and be a resource if people needed help," she said.

"I definitely think his roots in Indiana were a part of who he was and he carried that with him. Some people compartmentalized their life so much. He was the real deal," Carl said.

Heading Clorox

Knauss is bringing to Clorox his years of experience and a management technique he has honed over them: FAD -- Focus, Alignment and Discipline.

"Organizations I've been in that have struggled didn't get clarity around what is winning. Getting focus is critical," he said.

Alignment is getting the dozens or hundreds or thousands of people within an organization aligned with the definition of winning. It is inclusion on all levels.

Knauss spent his first 90 days at Clorox listening and learning about the company. Right now he is engaging the company's top 100 plus people to relook at the business's long-term strategy.

"Are we participating in the right product categories? Are we in the right channels in terms of customers? Are we in the right countries?" he said.

As a step toward that direction, in December Knauss oversaw the company's first acquisition during his tenure. Clorox Co. purchased the Colgate-Palmolive Co.'s bleach business in Canada, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela for an aggregate price of $126 million plus inventory.

Biography

Name: Don Knauss

High School: Highland High School Class of 1969

Age: 56

Immediate family: wife, Ellie, and four children, Jack, Mickey, Alec and Kara

Where do you live now? Oakland Hills, Calif.

What is the last good book you read? "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin

What is your favorite movie or TV show? "My favorite movies of all time are the Indiana Jones movies. I've always been kind of an adventure movie person."

What is the worst business advice you ever had? "Nothing pops into my head."

What is the best business advice you were given? "I think the best advice was to find something you love to do and do it well. It's very basic but it's amazing how people get sucked into things they don't like to do."

What is your idea of a fun day? "Sandlot sports with my kids, like baseball or football."

What is your dream vacation? "The South Pacific. I love the islands. I was stationed in Hawaii as a Marine."

Ellie