Dranning admits target pressure triggered misconduct at SC Johnson Indonesia
Christian Dranning disclosed that pushing his team to meet growth targets during a downturn in Indonesia led to unethical business practices. He now advocates for earlier crisis recognition and flexible planning over rigid adherence to original goals.
During his tenure at SC Johnson, Christian Dranning managed a significant business breakdown in Indonesia following an initial year of rapid growth. Despite foreseeing a downturn, Dranning pushed the local team to stick to committed growth targets, which he admits triggered bad business practices and wrongdoing by individuals. These actions included excessive inventory buildup at distributors without sell-out plans, overspending budgets, and intentional wrong invoicing and payments. Dranning intervened by letting some people go and conducting education on right and wrong practices, resulting in the failure to meet annual targets. He identified the pressure to deliver as a partial trigger for the misconduct and learned the importance of calling out business crises earlier to allow time for alternative planning rather than forcing original targets. He implemented a zero-tolerance policy for such behavior and emphasized the need for transparency and team education to prevent recurrence.