Think about all the products that line the shelves at your neighborhood grocery store and you get an idea as to the scope of Gladson’s business.
You want to be innovative, but you have to also be selective to ensure your work leads to something you can be successful at and results in something that helps your customer.
“It comes down to being very careful about allocating of our resources,” Sentell says. “Resources are people, time and expenses — operating or capital. It’s really important and challenging that you find a way to meet the demand without getting too spread out. Keep your priorities in focus.”
Slow down to speed up
The Gladson Nutrition Database includes hundreds of thousands of consumer packaged goods products and captures more than 150 attributes per product, including nutrition facts, ingredients and warnings.
It helps marketers assess trends and competitive activity for product development.
Keeping up with such a wide range of products takes effort and Sentell works hard to help her team do it the right way.
“I use the phrase a lot with my team, ‘Slow down to speed up,’” Sentell says. “That means you need to take the time to know where you’re going. Things are going to change around you, whether it’s customer needs, technology, competitive climate or something internal. You want to make sure you have a process in place for continuous adjustment so you can stay aligned as an organization.”
A three-year outlook is reviewed every 12 to 18 months, helping Gladson with its long-term planning. But Sentell often gets more immediate value from her 30-minute weekly meetings with her direct reports.
“We just go around the table and talk about everybody’s priorities,” Sentell says. “Are we aligned? What’s the most important thing? The goal is to make sure we’re achieving our plan. It keeps us in touch with each other and aligned. I really believe in living that plan and this has helped us execute it.”
It can often feel daunting to stay focused on those internal discussions when things are constantly happening with your customers. But Sentell says you just have to make the time.
“If we don’t have that road map to adjust, I have found that our organization can get distracted and become not aligned,” Sentell says. “If it’s not something you can do yourself, there is probably someone on your management team who just loves that kind of thing and can be a facilitator for you.”
