Retain talent, but develop it, Pepsi Bottling chief says

— -- The top nine have an average tenure of 18.4 years. Its next 17 average 21.7 years, and its 1,800 field executives average 14 years. Pepsi Bottling is among the largest 200 U.S. corporations, and CEO Eric Foss joined as a campus hire 25 years ago. Foss, 49, spoke to USA TODAY corporate management reporter Del Jones about the secret of talent retention. Following are excerpts, edited for clarity and space.

Q: Ambitious executives probably don't like that you may be CEO for another 15 years. How do you keep them from jumping ship because you're so young?

A: The key is stretch assignments. Give them a lot of profit-and-loss responsibility, and show them that you care. If you do that, then most of your great people are going to stay.

Q: Might you be erroneously proud of the long tenure? Maybe what you really have is a cushy job-for-life program?

A: We definitely do not offer one job for life. New ideas and fresh thinking are critical, but it is a mistake to equate long tenure with stale thinking. Some of the most innovative minds happen to be the most tenured minds. We don't believe that longevity breeds success. Retain talent, but never lose sight of developing talent.

Q: Companies such as General Electric and Baxter International have trained many who left to become CEOs at other companies. They say they're proud of that. Should they be embarrassed for not retaining top talent?

A: When a company invests in leadership development, it's not their motivation to prepare executives for bigger jobs elsewhere. But any company that really wants to be great at leadership development is going to be a vulnerable recruiting ground. It's one of the prices you pay.

Q: What does Pepsi Bottling learn from exit interviews?

A: That people leave mostly because they feel underappreciated. A culture of recognition needs to be a part of the company DNA.

Q: What can a company do when a top executive is offered another job and a matching raise is not in the budget?