Travel allows me to catch up on my reading. Gillian and I subscribe to way too many magazines and papers. They stack up faster than we can read them. So when work calls for a trip, I load up my briefcase and chill out on the plane reading. I found this almost ten days ago, cut it out, and mentally stored it away for commentary at a later date.

Proctor & Gamble is perhaps one of my top five companies that I would like to work for in corporate America. Why? Because they have repeatedly convinced me that great people want to work there. P&G is a leader in collaboration. P&G embraces openess and sharing. P&G believes for every subject matter expert inside the company there are at least 200 outside the company. P&G thinks globally. They adjust quickly, because they know that the best time to change is when you are on top. When you are the leader.

I admire the philosophy that P&G practices. And perhaps best of all, CEO A.G Lafley has the right focus. Del Jones, USA Today management reporter recently interviewed Lafley and asked, "What makes you one of our best leaders?" Here was Lafley's response:

One of my most important jobs is to build an outstanding team. I've been a change agent. I'm pretty courageous. I'm a builder and I think a lot about the greater good, the long term and whether what we're building will last 10, 20, 50 years. I'm a thinker, but I'm action- and results-oriented. Finally, I'm a low-ego guy. I don't have problems putting the greater good of the company or the P&G brands way ahead of any personal aspirations or achievements.

It's no wonder both Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and U.S. News & World Report recently honored Lafley as one of America's best leaders.

And I love his point on being a thinker. IBM's credo is - Think.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive