A L’Oréal method for mobilising its people and bringing strategy to life

L’Oréal’s ability to constantly reinvent itself in the interests of performance remains a managerial enigma. Various explanations have been put forward: values, operational excellence, strategic vision, the power of research, the creativity of marketing... Yet there may be other, less well-known explanations. Many of the great revolutions seem to be born of an intuition on the part of top management, supported by the Group’s culture and disseminated through a ‘rallying cry’, the concept of which is sometimes elliptical. In a sort of organised chaos, L’Oréal’s people appropriate this concept, set themselves in motion and collectively create the Group's response. Because the social body of L’Oréal brings this concept to life, it becomes the strategy. This is one of the lessons of L’Oréal's recent major transformations, which Rémy Simon was able to observe at close quarters. He describes this original method of mobilisation, which has proved its effectiveness in all parts of the world.