A No-Jerks Policy Ignited Morale at the Company Behind Yankee Candle

Soon after Ravi Saligram took charge of the company that makes Sharpie markers and Graco strollers, he offered his new workforce a blunt message: “no assholes,” read a slide shown to about 30,000 employees around the world.

It was 2019, and Newell Brands Inc. was debt-laden, losing sales and struggling through yet another restructuring. In a town-hall style meeting at the company’s Atlanta headquarters, he laid out his management philosophy. It was typical fare until Mr. Saligram, the former CEO of OfficeMax and Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc., flipped to a bullet-point list of his key tenets—starting with his PG-13 edict.

“I was taken aback,” recalls Lisa McCarthy, an executive who was in attendance. “I thought, ‘Wow, this is a different way of doing things.’ ” Mr. Saligram, 65 years old, says the mandate is as serious as slashing debt and boosting sales, which have improved dramatically during his tenure. The company’s share price is up about 33% since he became CEO, more than other consumer-products companies over the same period.

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