to trust you. It is critical to understand the
‘big picture’ and to focus on the long term.”
And he has found that achieving true
collaboration takes discipline. “There are so
many different points of view and ways to
analyze situations that it is important to be
open, to listen, to trust, if you want to hope
to progress,” he says. “If people understand
and believe that you will listen and evaluate
their positions, it will serve you well.” He
adds that both in business and in today’s
ever-gridlocked political climate, it would be
far easier to find common ground and come
to agreement if “we would all discipline
ourselves to first try to agree to a clear goal
and then work out how to get there.”
“I feel like I’m the opposite of a zero-
sum person,” he says. “It’s really about
doing things that help everybody. Help
within the company, outside the company.
And being very open to collaborating and
working with people.”
“I always want to feel that I am
contributing to something according to
my abilities,” he says. “Whether it is
discovering something new, such as a better
insect repellent or new fragrance ingredient,
helping a non-profit; contributing to the
success of our employees or customers;
or working to help our industry through
its associations, I find those things very
satisfying.” He wonders if this way of
thinking can be traced all the way back
“
8 | FRAGRANCENOTES.ORG | Issue 2, 2018
Our products are about making
people feel better and helping
them lead happier, healthier lives.
Caring about their wellbeing is an
integral part of this mission.
to his grandmother, who helped out at
an orphanage in Canada for Armenian
orphans shortly after arriving there as a
refugee herself, and to his father’s many
contributions to the industry. “We all want
to know that we made at least a small,
positive difference for being here.”
FIGHTING MISINFORMATION
“It’s so easy to inspire fear.... and so
hard to alleviate that fear.”
That notion is what steered Bob toward
the industry’s advocacy efforts, a desire to
protect and promote the work that he holds
dear. “One big misunderstanding [about
Left to right: Bob’s son Matt, daughters-
in-law Kristin and Annissa, son David,
wife Gail, Bob, son Phil, and grandsons
Cole, Max, and Blake
“
FEATURE
our industry is] that we aren’t properly
concerned about the wellbeing of our
customers,” he says. “Our products are
about making people feel better and helping
them lead happier, healthier lives. Caring
about their wellbeing is an integral part of
this mission. I’ve been involved with our
safety programs for almost 30 years and I
have never seen business prioritized over
safety.”
Even still, fear is a powerful tool. “It’s so
easy to inspire fear in people,” he says, “and
so hard to alleviate that fear… So, any time
there is a scary message about fragrance, it
will take a lot of repetition to make that fear
go away, and facts alone don’t do it.”
That’s why Bob stresses the importance
of making information about our safety
accessible. “We need to make our story
very simple,” he says. “We know that we
approach safety properly, by evaluating
‘risk.’ This takes both the physical hazards
of materials and exposure to them into
account. One factor alone is meaningless.
But it is so much easier to look only at
hazard, so we need to find a very short,
simple way to explain how risk assessment
works.” And then just keep repeating that
message over and over again.
As an organization, we also have to be
able to connect at an emotional level with
stakeholders, legislators, and the general
public. “We need to be sure the public
understands the benefit of our products to
get a holistic view of who we are,” he says.
“We understand this, but sometimes it is
hard to put into words.”
“You need the facts; you need the
science; and I think we just need to
constantly remind people of what we’re
doing,” he says.