Spring Break
Former PepsiCo CEO Speaks on Faith, Family, and Work
Steve Reinemund Kicks-Off HBS Christian Fellowship Speaker Series
By Krista Brenberg, Partner OA
Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: News
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Reinemund began the evening by giving a summary of his career, focusing on some of the major decisions he made along the way. He explained that many of his career decisions were based on conversations he and his wife had while still in graduate school. At that time, the two of them decided that "faith, family, and vocational calling," in that order, were the things that they valued the most. That explains why seven years into his career at Marriott, when asked to move to California, Reinemund made a surprising decision to leave the company without a back-up plan. His reason: the move wasn't right for his family.
Because many of the decisions that guided Reinemund's life choices were based on the values he and his wife agreed to while still in college, he recommended that students use their two years in school to "learn about yourself and set the priorities for what you want to achieve in life." He also stressed that, while balance can never be achieved one-hundred percent of the time, making adjustments to achieve balance will always be worthwhile.
When Reinemund finished his career summary, he fielded a series of questions. Many of the questions focused on his personal values and how they came into play on the job. He started out by saying that, in his experience, value-based leaders are more effective than those without strong guiding principles. He also explained that many of his career and life decisions were guided by a three-part model in which one's "head, heart, and hands" are given special consideration. The "head" part of the model focuses on whether or not a person has the intellectual ability and experience to carry out a given task. The "heart" part of the model involves evaluating how a particular decision aligns with one's moral values. The "hands" part of the model deals with assessing whether or not one has the capacity to get the job done. Reinemund believes the "heart" aspect of the model is most important and that an "uncompromising commitment to your moral values" is crucial to making good decisions.
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