Advice for Business Failure? Part I

Charlie Rose interviewed Donald Keough last month on PBS. A former executive at Coca Cola, Mr. Keough’s book was released in July. “The Ten Commandments for Business Failure,” a rather provocative title. According to Mr. Keough, the ten things he list-reminds me of the Seven Deadly Sins (Mr. Keough is a Catholic and was on the board of directors of Norte Dame University)-fit right in with what I feel is the problem with the failure to recognize-even talk about-the transition from an industrial to a knowledge economy.

Here is the list: 1. Quit taking risk 2. Be inflexible 3. Isolate yourself 4. Assume infallibility 5. Play game close to foul line 6. Don't take time to think 7. Put faith in consultants 8. Love bureaucracy 9. Send mixed message 10. Be afraid of future 11. Lose passion for work & life. (OK, so he thought of one more at the end of the book.)

I find each and every one of these to be indicative of people with whom I speak-i.e. when they talk-about the transition to the knowledge economy and what that will take. Mr. Keough cites examples from his experience in business to explain the Commandments. He was almost saying; just know what not to do and you will have happiness and longevity in business. He despises the word Success! I suppose Carl Icahn could have written this book just as well.

The one example of failure while at Coca Cola he mentioned was the decision to create a New Coke. All the research and taste groups and years of considering the decision told them people would like the new taste. Wrong! Their revenue did not really suffer, it was the overwhelming opposition expressed by people. They had to hire extra people to handle the phone calls in protest to the change. They were lucky no social networks existed with bloggers at the time. Mr. Keough himself manned phones and took a call from a lady who said she wanted the Real Coke back. He asked her when was the last time she had a Coke and she said, “twenty years ago but that is not the point, you are messing with my childhood” My favorite however, is another example he mentioned to Charlie about going to an out of the way Italian restaurant in Monaco. When he and his party sat down to eat the owner walked over holding a wicker basket covered with a napkin, removed the napkin and told them “we have the real thing-the old Coke”
What a lesson about one of the key elements of the knowledge economy which is grossly ignored-brand superiority-which is really… Valuing Intangibles! (To be continued…)