GROWING TALENT AND SALES AT MCCORMICK

McCormick & Company had a tough year in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina and a collapsing market for vanilla took their toll, but during Bob Lawless’s tenure as chairman and CEO, the spice company’s recovery has been remarkably strong.

Net sales and the gross profit margin both increased in 2006, and the company expects to increase sales by 4 percent in 2007. T+D talked with Lawless about how the company’s learning efforts support its key strategies.

One ambitious growth initiative is a leadership development program known as multiple management boards (MMB). “It’s an action learning program that combines developing talent with achieving actual company goals,” says Lawless. “The people in the MMB group learn how to lead while working on projects for the company around the globe.”

According to Lawless, the company invests “every penny we can” in learning. “There isn’t a benchmark,” he says. “Money is not a restriction. Learning is driven by only one thing: strategy. We do business in China and Europe, and we are going into India. So we have a training and development strategy and a process for that. That’s not a place to cut investment.”