-Few very sharp people at the very top (VPs and above). Rest mostly mediocre undergrads from mediocre mid west universities who appear good on the job just because they have done the same thing for donkey years. Lot of poor talent at Associate Director and Director level with many of them never having left Cincinnati yet try to act like global leaders
-Very slow promotions with strong bias towards white males or women as minority versus merit measures. Probably can be even considered active discrimination which is generally hidden by well crafted stories of inclusion and diversity for the outside world.If you are very smart, sharp, or a person of color (not white male) you will be frustrated very soon and leave at some point as you can always do better somewhere else.
-Absolutely asinine processes of drafting tons of pages for low IQ Associate Directors and Directors who need to be spoon fed about everything so that they can appear knowledgeable in front of their bosses. Glib talkers with little real merit (after all it is a marketing company). Death by meetings yet they produce little.
Company has done well over the years due to institutionalized nature of brands (means even a joker can run it now), few stellar leaders like AG Lafley, and plain serendipity of pushing health and wellness at the right time. However, it is faltering with serious cost pressures, private label push, and with big retailers asking for their margin share.
I will recommend working here to anyone who is not that well educated as that is the best thing that can happen to you and the company rarely fires anyone. So you can make a decent living here. If you are smart or very talented, either look somewhere else or work here for few years and leave to make your calling.
