Instituting a company‐wide strategic conversation at Procter & Gamble

Purpose – The paper aims to explain how Procter & Gamble's new strategy review meeting structure and new inquiry culture established a new norm for communication between leaders and their teams throughout the organization. Design/methodology/approach – The authors, one a former P&G CEO and the other a long‐time consultant to the firm, describe how the firm instituted a robust process for creating, reviewing and communicating about strategy. Findings – The P&G process was designed to open a dialog between top management and the leaders of each business to discuss five strategic choices. What is your winning aspiration? Where will you play? How will you win? What capabilities must be in place? What management systems are required? Practical implications – At P&G the Objectives, Goals, Strategy, Measures (OGSM) statement for a brand, category, or company was the framework for articulating a clear and explicit expression of where to play and how to win, choices that connected with the aspirations of the business and the measures of success indicated. Originality/value – The paper explains the learning and communication techniques P&G used to foster an authentic, effective company‐wide dialog about strategy.