February 2, 2017 2 min read

What we accomplish today is, in part, due to our upbringings. Parents, mentors and guardians play major roles in our success -- that’s what PepsiCo CEO Indrani Nooyi believes.

After becoming Pepsi’s CEO, people began complimenting Nooyi’s mother on how she raised her. That made Nooyi realize the large role parents played in the success of their children. As a result, Nooyi got out some pen and paper and began writing personal letters to hundreds of employees’ parents to express her gratitude.

Related: The Four A's of Expressing Gratitude

"I was a product of my upbringing. ... It occurred to me that I had never thanked the parents of my executives for the gift of their child to PepsiCo,” Nooyi said in a video with Bloomberg's David Rubenstein.

Nooyi herself attributes much of her success to her mother and how she was raised. To continue expressing gratitude to parents, Nooyi takes it upon herself to not only make sure these parents are appreciated, but to make sure employees keep their parents updated.

"If I felt that our employees were not calling their parents often enough," she said, "I'd write a letter to them on why it was important to call parents."