Volatility affected us in 2008, when crude oil prices swung from a high of $140 a barrel to a low of $40. This had massive implications on pricing. In order to ensure our brands remained competitive every time and everywhere, we needed to respond with speed and agility. That meant shorter planning cycles, investment in processes and technology, and initiatives like Sunset, which promote a bias for action. Through Sunset, any unresolved actions are automatically escalated to the management at the highest levels and resolved quickly. People within the organisation feel good when they see their feedback being acted upon promptly.

This is not only energising and empowering but also makes us more competitive. The rapidly changing times put an even higher premium on an organisation's ability to embed consumer and customer centricity in everything that it does. Towards this end, we have encouraged all our employees to spend time engaging with consumers and customers to understand their needs and address their complaints. It is this single-minded focus on the consumer that has helped our brands deliver better consumer value.

SPECIAL: How the top brass turned around HUL fortunes