The Ten Commandments for Business Failure

by Donald R. Keough

Don Keough—a former top executive at Coca-Cola and now chairman of the elite investment banking firm Allen & Company—has witnessed plenty of failures in his sixty-year career (including New Coke). He has also been friends with some of the most successful people in business history, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Rupert Murdoch, and Peter Drucker.

Now this elder statesman reveals how great enterprises get into trouble. Even the smartest executives can fall into the trap of believing in their own infallibility. When that happens, more bad decisions are sure to follow.

This light-hearted “how-not-to” book includes anecdotes from Keough's long career as well as other infamous failures. His commandments for failure include: Quit Taking Risks; Be Inflexible; Assume Infallibility; Put All Your Faith in Experts; Send Mixed Messages; and Be Afraid of the Future.

As he writes, “After a lifetime in business I've never been able to develop a step-by-step formula that will guarantee success. What I could do, however, was talk about how to lose. I guarantee that anyone who follows my formula will be a highly successful loser.”

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Management, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Economics, Buisness

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 24, 2008

Reviews

[Michael Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are countless business books on how to succeed. There are virtually none on how to fail.

This book has timeless advice.

If you want to fail, or if you truly don't: Start here.

[Sarah Cupitt]

WIP - TBA BT

Notes:
- Even the most savvy executives can stumble into traps that seem obvious in hindsight. All of this begs the question, why is it that intelligent, experienced leaders steer their companies into disaster?
- commandments like quit taking risks and assume infallibility. His approach is engagingly counterintuitive, providing a roadmap of missteps to avoid for anyone looking to navigate the world of business without crashing into common hazards. `
- insulated leaders create toxic workplaces and fail businesses. Isolating yourself is a surprisingly tempting approach in business, yet it's a direct path to failure. The allure of creating an executive bubble is strong, where a leader can shut out the daily grind and avoid the riffraff
- This CEO's office becomes less of a workspace and more of a personal shrine, imposing and intimidating to any underling brave enough to bring bad news. Isolation doesn't stop at the physical setup. It extends to daily interactions or the lack thereof. Leaders who choose isolation never step out of their offices to engage with their teams. They avoid answering their own phones and remain blissfully ignorant of the simplest operations within their own offices, like the location of the copy machine. This kind of behavior doesn't just create distance.
- In these isolated bubbles, executives surround themselves with a small circle of senior staff members, often sharing catered lunches away from the general workforce. This physical and metaphorical separation from the broader team ensures that only filtered, polished information reaches their ears. As a result, these leaders are shielded from the realities of their company, only hearing what their closest advisors choose to share, which invariably paints a rosier picture than reality. This mode of operation can alienate not just employees, but also customers and stockholders.
- Ultimately, embracing isolation is choosing to fail. It's a strategy that prioritizes ego and convenience over effective leadership and corporate health.
- The most successful leaders understand the importance of staying connected with their workforce and the marketplace. They step out into their operations, learn from direct interactions, and are open to the unvarnished truth about their company's performance and challenges. This openness and accessibility are essential for fostering a corporate culture that thrives on mutual respect, transparency, and shared goals
- The best way to alienate your customers? Assume you're always right. If you're keen on steering your business towards failure, embracing a mindset of infallibility is an excellent place to start. Cultivating an attitude where mistakes are never acknowledged and problems are consistently externalized ensures a trajectory toward disaster.
- Effective leadership, by contrast, involves clear, consistent communication that aligns with a company's strategic goals and operational realities. Leaders must ensure that their messages, both internally and externally, are coherent and support the overall mission of the organization. This clarity enhances operational efficiency and builds trust among all stakeholders. So, if your goal is to avoid failure, prioritize clear and consistent messaging throughout all levels of your organization. This approach fosters alignment, enhances strategic execution, and maintains a strong, unified brand presence in the market.
- This commitment translates into understanding and meeting the diverse needs and expectations of customers, whether they seek products, services, experiences, or a mix of these. Forging an emotional connection with both customers and brands is a powerful strategy to ensure business longevity and effectiveness. Visualizing customers as individuals rather than abstract segments can dramatically enhance the relevance and impact of your offerings.

[Lokesh Joshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a startup, I managed that for 5 years before getting acquired. This book is really good !

[Luis Coelho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gostei muito. O importante não é só saber o que fazer, também é muito importante saber o que não fazer.
É um bocado nesta óptica que o livro é escrito... "o que não fazer". E a verdade é que concordo com todos os mandamentos que estão no livro.
Livro muito simples, direto ao assunto e bem organizado.

[Prince Ebenezer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warren Buffet, Don Keough, and Charlie Munger are the three giants and knowledge houses who’ve established great businesses, so much that it’s a status quo to be called you are from Omaha.

He talks about how the book got it’s name. It so happens that when Warren Buffet was invited to deliver a speech on How to win - he believed that it wasn’t something he could really talk about as it’s a highly uncertain topic to talk about, he decided to talk about how to fail, which was aired in the TV then and then evolved to this book 10 commandments for business failure.

He talks about his humble beginnings where he worked different jobs in different places and when he moved on to Coca-Cola - he believes it was a great businesses that touched and impacted so many different people all around the globe in every nook and corner where the name is very well known.

the Ten Commandments to failure has been devised by him and if you follow one or more of these commandments - you are not only going down, but are also taking your company with you. This is not a breakthrough mantra but just common sense.

1. QUIT TAKING RISKS - he that is over cautious will accomplish very little. He traces back the history of human kind that settled down for mediocrity with so many reasons that were fair enough, however with no risk comes nothing new in life. He traces back to his origin and how his forefathers did eventually take risk and fared really well. He talks about how coco-cola’s multi-million dollar risk benefitted in surging sales and the creation of a cheerful fat Santa. He discusses in detail how Xerox 914 is a piece of monumental history and the very name Xerox become a household name in the place of photocopying as a verb. He says Xerox failed because it stopped taking risks when computer was launched and Xerox with a five year headstart over it’s future competitors, failed to take risks which is one of the major diseases of success. The other two are complacency and arrogance. Xerox, finally in the 2000’s was blamed of credit fraud in all levels, and is now reinventing itself with it’s new management. Short-term innovations are often necessary for Long term winning, even if there are any failures, it’s really important to stay in business. Sometimes the failures give way to new ideas and unexpected wins. If you have a product that is winning, you simply can’t bank on it, but have to constantly think about opportunities that evolve. 

2. BE INFLEXIBLE - he talks how coca-cola met a crisis and would have caused a corporate suicide. The time when Pepsi created an amazing jingle to sell a two ounce bottle for 2 nickels became a huge hit, coca-cola had entered into a contract with bottlers from round the world to bottle the concoction. The bottle was a trademark symbol which connected with people in the way it looked, felt and was perceived, but when Pepsi sales soared, bottlers in Coca-Cola didn’t like the corporate fooling around them with the contract. You can’t be inflexible when the conditions around you is changing. You will surely fail if you don’t change when circumstances around you change. He talks about Digital equipment corporation - a company with 100,000 employees - a pioneer in so many ways - search engines, internal emails, mp3, etc. they weren’t adapting to the change and were inflexible. henry Ford wanted to change the perspective af a motor car from simply being a plaything for the rich to also serve as a transportation for the masses. He kept redoing the profit per car to increase the sales volume. When an average pay was lesser, he paid more than double. Pro-sumers. He got his own workers to buy and use his product with the raise in money he was so inflexible but failed eventually. He wasn’t okay with changing colours, but the modelty was going to be only black color. He, however changed but created a competitive edge by Chevrolet and Toyota. The major studios wasn’t flexible and prevented growth. Flexibility / adaption is the key idea about Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest. 

3. ISOLATE YOURSELF: if you are trying to create a Taj Mahal for yourselves and try to isolate yourselves from your company, and people who work for you, you are isolating yourselves, some people are too cool to know the names of those who work for you. Being isolated alienates, created rumours, and even causes revolts. Some bosses from round the world often tend to create an isolated environment for themselves with a bunker mentally and look at things from their desk, some want to hear only good news. Some even hire people to nod their heads to everything he’d say. You may be a CEO at office, but you have to have the mind to take your own garbage at home. You always have to surround yourselves with people who challenge your idea and let you think beyond your limitations. Don’t hire dim bulbs to appear bright. Some of the associates he hired to work with him often walked up and said what they thought and he often listened to them.

4. ASSUME INFALLIBILITY: A good name is rather to be chosen than riches. When children started to fall sick because of Coke, when the beer company cut down on it’s ingredients and then the consumers were angry. General Motors - incalculable loss of public goodwill. When he went to East Germany to buy several plants after his initial reluctance, then accepted that the plant caused amazing turnarounds. The source of information is from your own team. Pose as an infallible leader if you want to fail.

5. PLAY THE GAME CLOSE TO THE FOUL LINE: trust is important. Consumers trust that the brand will deliver what is says it would, likewise everyone banks on trust - investors, management & employees. The corruption in Kmart leading to its fall- The court calling it - played close to the line, and crossed it. The obsession with celebrities has always been there. Doing things right and doing the right thing. You can never pass enough laws to make men ethical. there should be an absolutely necessity of doing the right thing. It’s ethics. 

6. DON’T TAKE TIME TO THINK: taking time to think really matters. Less is more. If you want to fail, don’t take time to think. If you want success, take lots of time to think. Thinking is the best investment you can ever make. Success is not about moving faster, but fair is. The example of Intuit - think smart & act fast. Gandhi mentioned - there’s more to life than increasing it’s speed. Data unprocessed can mask reality. The uncertainty principle is a great example. The things we think we don’t know aren’t the problem. The things we think we know usually get us into trouble - Mark Twain. Confrontation trap - they want to see what they’d like to see. Don’t fail to ask obvious questions. Don’t fool yourselves with your measure of quality and own standards. Stop measuring wrong variables, and don’t have the wrong people doing it. The example of Coca Cola 6 ounce bottles and Pepsi 12 ounce bottles. It’s plain foolish and dangerous. It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Once the ball is rolling, it’s difficult to stop. 

7. PUT ALL YOUR FAITH IN EXPERTS AND OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS: the brand is defined by what each person (consumer) feels about it. The example of the come back of Coca-Cola Classic was a clear indication of what your customers think than the market research professionals. The expertise of so many experts has been proved wrong, as opposed to popular opinion. Statistical figures are sometimes validated by external experts, and have been consisting. 

8. LOVE YOUR BUREAUCRACY: sometimes the rules and routines become more important and end up as an obstacle. They keep you busy, but no productive progress has been made. You don’t need to have five levels of approval, but just streamline your process. Some times there can be major choke points, and internal impediments, that becomes a personal battle. Your success is my failure. bureaucracy impedes performance and creates tension. The greater the number of cooks, the greater the bureaucracy and confusion.

9. SEND MIXED MESSAGES: the problem with communication is the illusion that it’s been accomplished. Sometimes the communication is misleading and sends mixed messages. 

10. BE AFRAID OF THE FUTURE: the ability gives you responsibility to demonstrate your faith in the future. One optimist in a sea of pessimist can make a difference. Sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch - the ability to sense the mood - a great habit that most successful people have it. 


11. ADDED BONUS - LOSE YOUR PASSION FOR WORK FOR LIFE: there should be a genuine passion for something, and be a little crazy about it. Without a brand, it’s just a commodity. A brand is magic, and will thrive in the hands of those you want it. Make an emotional connection with your people.


[Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donald Keough’s "The Ten Commandments for Business Failure" offers a refreshing, counterintuitive guide to business management by highlighting some of the most common but often overlooked pitfalls. Keough, a seasoned executive with deep insights from his time at Coca-Cola, turns conventional business wisdom on its head, outlining actions that are likely to drive a company toward failure. He draws from real-life examples, demonstrating that even experienced, knowledgeable leaders can make damaging mistakes when they fall into certain behavioral patterns. With his list of commandments, he brings a playful yet insightful look into how simple missteps can spiral into a corporate downfall. The 10 commandments offer guidance for navigating business challenges and fostering sustainable success by encouraging adaptability, integrity, and proactive thinking. The 10 commandments from the book are summarized below:

01. Keep Taking Risks: Don't settle into comfort; adapt and innovate to survive in a rapidly changing environment.
02. Stay Flexible: Rigid approaches fail. Adapt strategies when evidence shows a change is needed.
03. Avoid Isolation: Don't insulate yourself with "yes people"; actively seek feedback and different perspectives.
04. Acknowledge Fallibility: Recognize and learn from mistakes rather than blaming external factors.
05. Prioritize Integrity: Build trust by playing fair and fostering a culture of win-win relationships.
06. Make Time to Think: Avoid rash decisions. Thoughtful reflection can prevent costly errors.
07. Be Skeptical of Experts: Outside consultants and experts can be biased or overconfident; rely on internal insights too.
08. Streamline Bureaucracy: Avoid excessive red tape and focus on activities that directly serve customers.
09. Send Clear Messages: Align employee actions with core values and goals to avoid confusion and misdirection.
10. Embrace the Future: Approach upcoming challenges with optimism rather than fear for greater success.

A key takeaway is the danger of isolation, especially for those in leadership positions. Leaders who wall themselves off from their teams, both literally and metaphorically, set the stage for toxic work environments and ultimately failing organizations. When leaders cocoon themselves in private offices, shielded by senior staff and exclusive settings, they create a “bubble effect.” In this bubble, only select, polished information makes its way to them, distorting the reality of their company’s struggles and successes. Keough emphasizes the necessity of open communication and daily interaction with all levels of staff. A disconnect with the workforce, however small, can compound over time, building a wall between management and the operational heartbeat of the company. Such isolation fosters resentment, damages morale, and distorts the company’s actual performance picture. Leaders who step out of their offices, engage authentically with staff, and encourage open dialogue create a healthier corporate environment that fosters transparency, collaboration, and trust.

Another of Keough’s commandments warns against the allure of infallibility. In a business landscape rife with competition and change, leaders who believe they can do no wrong are setting themselves up for failure. This attitude discourages feedback and prevents learning from mistakes, which are essential to long-term success. Keough illustrates this with the Coca-Cola contamination scare in Belgium, where the company’s initial response was one of deflection and denial. Instead of addressing the public’s concerns and recognizing the negative perception of the brand, Coca-Cola’s leaders dismissed these fears, leading to a major loss in consumer trust and a costly recall. Keough’s message is clear: leaders must remain humble, admit to errors, and treat criticism as an opportunity for improvement rather than a threat. Businesses that show respect and empathy for their customers and employees, acknowledging and addressing their concerns openly, are those that earn loyalty and maintain a strong brand reputation.

Mixed messaging, another key issue Keough explores, is a surefire way to create confusion and weaken trust. When corporate messaging is inconsistent, it creates a perception of instability, leaving employees and customers uncertain about the company’s values and future direction. Keough uses Coca-Cola’s challenges with pricing policies as an example. For years, the company adhered to a rigid pricing model for its syrup, fearing that any increase would alienate customers and hurt market share. This unwillingness to adapt to rising production costs led to financial strain. When new leadership finally adjusted prices, not only did competitors follow suit, but the change also brought the company’s pricing model in line with economic realities. Keough shows that clear, consistent communication aligned with corporate goals is essential for building trust and establishing a stable, reliable reputation.

Keough’s discussion of fear is especially relevant in the context of modern business. In a time when global challenges and economic instability make long-term success uncertain, it’s tempting for leaders to embrace fear-based decision-making. However, Keough warns that fear stifles innovation and encourages risk aversion, which is often detrimental to growth. He likens it to a sports team that stops playing aggressively after gaining an initial lead, only to lose momentum and ultimately the game. Keough argues that companies must balance caution with calculated risk-taking. A willingness to adapt and face uncertainty with optimism can be the key to enduring success, as illustrated by historical figures like Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose words “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” underscored the necessity of courage in overcoming the unknown.

Finally, Keough concludes with a reminder that passion is a critical component of effective leadership. Leaders who genuinely care about their work, brands, and customers create lasting connections that propel a company forward. He notes that developing an emotional bond with customers—not just focusing on sales or metrics—can make a profound difference. This customer-centric approach involves seeing consumers as individuals with unique needs and preferences. Direct engagement with customers provides valuable insights that data alone cannot capture, fostering brand loyalty and improving product relevance. Additionally, Keough emphasizes the power of branding, sharing studies that demonstrate how consumers’ perceptions of quality are influenced by brand recognition. Leaders who cultivate strong brands build competitive advantages that can weather market challenges, giving their companies resilience and a solid foundation for growth.

In sum, "The Ten Commandments for Business Failure" provides a fascinating roadmap of the common missteps that can sabotage a company. Keough’s perspective underscores that successful leadership is not about avoiding mistakes entirely but about staying connected, listening to feedback, and nurturing a strong sense of purpose. His cautionary commandments remind readers that success in business hinges on humility, consistency, courage, and passion—qualities that can steer organizations through even the most challenging times. Keough’s insights resonate well beyond the business world, offering valuable lessons on personal integrity, relationship-building, and the importance of resilience in the face of uncertainty.

[Nazrul Buang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading "The Ten Commandments for Business Failure" (2008) by Donald R. Keough. To be honest, I only bought this book as a wild card for my second Amazon book purchases, and I wasn't really hoping for a lot from it. It turned out to be a dark horse of a business book.

What caught my attention about Keough's book is that it goes against the common patterns of most business books. While most business books would be about ways to succeed (and being very adamant about the ways), Keough belongs to the same school of business thought such as Phil Rosenzweig and Warren Buffett. He admits to not know the formula to success but insteads offers the recipe of success. Like how Rozenzweig took on the unfamiliar path of dispelling most business books, Keough does it by announcing what most business books don't do: tell people what NOT to do for business.

The Ten Commandments are very simple, but Keough's wealth in sharing his knowledge proves invaluable. From sharing Drucker's philosophies to even pointing out the common psychological tendencies in business, his no-nonsense classic approach is one that stands firm in an industry where people to churn out new fancy terms for practices that never seem to guarantee success. As an added bonus, he also offers an optimistic eleventh commandment not just for business people but basically to anyone who reads the book.

Lastly, as a huge favour, he theoretically applies his commandments to the 2008 financial crisis and understands that somebody out there is certainly committing one of his commandments right now, which he wishes would not bear heavy consequences.

NEXT BOOK: "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions" (2008) by Dan Ariely.

[D Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arguably one of the best books I've ever read! A Cult Classic!

I haven't read a business book in a very long time.

This book was recommended to me by an old friend years ago.

I absolutely love the book and enjoy what it stands for.

I've learned so much from these business principles and I will carry them with me for the rest of my life.

This book has touched me deeply and I am grateful to have benefited. It's a wake up call for executives and anyone with a responsibility of shaping and executing a spirit of Excellence in corporate culture.

This is one of those books that's a cult classic.

I was a Business major in College and I wished they gave us a copy of this.

This should be required reading for every entrepreneur and aspiring business person. Knowing these commandments and avoiding the disaster of repeating the mistakes is invaluable for success.

This is a must read. So grateful I invested my time in this treasure.

[Sy. C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice, short book - it won't teach you how to market your product, raise capital, or the other "skills" covered in typical business books, but it will give you some sense of the temperament required to lead and build a business. Keough peppers the book with lively examples both from Coca-Cola and other businesses. He ends with the important, even though obvious, reminder that loss of optimism and passion are a certain recipe for failure, and that the term "American Dream" was actually coined in the depths of the Great Depression. It's a nice book to keep on the shelf and gift others. Keough keeps the book squeaky clean and doesn't go into some of the activities necessary for any large business, which are covered in depth either in Pendergrast's or Allen's company histories of Coca-Cola.

[van.derwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

อัตราความสำเร็จ 100% เป็นสัญญาณอันตราย ไม่ใช่เกียรติยศ หากทุกความคิดริเริ่มของทีมประสบความสำเร็จ นั่นหมายความว่าคุณกำลังเล่นอย่างปลอดภัยมากเกินไป

"เราทำได้ดีเกินไปแล้ว หาปัญหามาให้ผมหน่อย"

เรียนรู้จากความยากลำบาก พาผู้บริหารไปเยี่ยมชมตลาดที่ธุรกิจกำลังประสบปัญหา เพื่อให้พวกเขาเห็นโดยตรงว่ารสนิยมของผู้บริโภคกำลังเปลี่ยนแปลงไปอย่างไร

เมื่อผู้บริหารแยกตัวเองออกจากความจริงที่ไม่สบายใจ โดยเฉพาะข่าวร้าย การแยกตัวนี้มักเกิดขึ้นอย่างละเอียดอ่อนผ่านกลไกต่างๆ เช่น ห้องทำงานมุมตึก ทางเข้าแยก หรือลิฟต์ผู้บริหาร ซึ่งลดการพบปะ และพนักงานยังระมัดระวังมากขึ้นในการพูดความจริงกับผู้บริหาร โดยกรองหรือทำให้คำวิจารณ์อ่อนลง สิ่งนี้นำไปสู่การตัดสินใจที่แย่ลงเรื่อยๆ

Winston Churchill สร้างหน่วยงานอิสระเพื่อรับข้อมูลที่ไม่ถูกกรองโดยตรงจากเขา แม้จะเป็นข่าวร้ายก็ตาม ตรงกันข้ามกับ Adolf Hitler ที่สร้างบรรยากาศแห่งความกลัว จนไม่มีใครกล้าส่งข่าวร้าย ทำให้เขาหลงอยู่ในจินตนาการ

[Deepak Shah]

Business leaders turned writers tend to take a more politically correct tone instead of presenting uncomfortable truths. So, I did expect some of it from a former president of Coca-Cola.

But, here's where the problem lies: excessive optimism is no solution to pessimism. There lies a fine balance, but perhaps, with good intentions, Don wanted to make it look simple.

This robs readers from uncomfortable truths. I am pretty sure that many great business leaders like Elon Musk flaunt multiple of "Donald's commandments of failure".

In nutshell, while I am convinced that these surely are commandments for business failure I disagree that all of these rules apply to 100% of cases as Donald insists?

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can we learn more from, failure or success? The truth of the matter is that it 's hard to know what makes a venture or someone successful. It is easier to know why something failed. I came across this book, the ten commandments of business failure by Don Keough, and that got me curious. He reveals how great enterprises get into trouble.

“After a lifetime in business, I’ve never been able to develop a set of rules or a step-by-step formula that will guarantee success in anything, much less in a field as dynamic and changing as business. What I can do, however, is talk about how to lose. I guarantee that anyone who follows my formula will be a highly successful loser.”

Don Keough is a former top executive at Coca-Cola. He has witnessed plenty of failures in his sixty-year career (including New Coke). He has also been friends with some of the most successful people in business history, including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Rupert Murdoch, and Peter Drucker.

According to an article in Fortune talking about him: "If you could line up all the senior executives of Fortune 500 companies over the years and rate them by power and influence, one guy would stand ahead of most of the CEOs—and outrank every other executive."

Here are some takeaways from his ten failure commandments:

1) Stop taking risks. “It’s human nature. I’ve got something. Why risk it? Who knows what’s on the other side of the mountain? Don’t go there!” As our lives get softer and comfortable the temptation to take less risk is stronger, some people are content with the status quo. When things run too good, it is not so good. Oscar Wild said: The world belongs to the discontented. Companies must take risks at critical times. Remember that only 16 of the largest 100 companies of 1930 are still with us. Praise making mistakes.

2) Be inflexible. Warren Buffett recalls the moment 30 years ago when Coca-Cola made one of the worst blunders in marketing history—by replacing flagship Coke with a new formula, calling it New Coke, and resisting a firestorm of consumer anger. Roberto Goizueta was CEO back then, and Keough was his president. "Roberto just didn't want to admit that they were wrong," recalls Buffett about management's standoff vs. the public derision. Keough saved the situation and told the consumers that they were the real boss of the brand.

3) Isolate yourself. Some CEOs make it tough for their employees to speak to them. It is crucial for leaders to talk to workers directly so that they can quickly take steps to solve and face the problems. Churchill had a bad news office. He gave credit to others for bringing the bad news and took all the blame. Surround yourselves with smart people who will argue with you and challenge your views.

4) Be overconfident. Leaders must listen to everyone before taking decisions, and admit their mistakes. “Einstein said he needed in his office: a desk or a table, a chair, some pencils, paper, and a very large ware basket “for all the mistakes I will make.” “

5) Play close to the border line. When corporate leaders find themselves no longer asking "Is it right?" but "Is it legal?” It is just a short leap to "Can we get away with it? Best to play center field. A reputation takes years to build and 5 min to ruin.

6) Don’t take time to think. Mark Twain said: "it is not the things we know that gets us in trouble but the things we think we know that are not so". We tend to look for confirming evidence, while we should be looking for disconfirming evidence. Best to pause and slow down. Too much data is dangerous because it gives the illusion of rationality. Ask the right questions first. Action is easy, thought is hard.

7) Put all your faith in experts and consultants. Here is a story he tells from his youth that is worth remembering “In my teens, while working during the summer at the city stockyards, I got an offer to become a bull buyer. A bull buyer was supposed to choose appropriate bull for slaughter from the bulls scattered all over the yard. After my first day on the job, someone came by and asked to see what I’d bought. It turned out I’d paid too much for quite a few of the bulls. He reminded me that I was among salesmen and because of my young age, they would try to flatter me, be nice to me, distract me, but he pulled out a chart and said here’s exactly what you are looking for in a bull. No matter what anyone says, never deviate from these basic requirements of conformation. He said, “Watch the bull, not the man. That simple advice has stuck with me through my years in business even to this day”. Don’t let yourself be charmed by man.

8) Love your bureaucracy. “If you want to get nothing done, make sure that administrative concerns take precedence over all others. Love your bureaucracy. Meetings are the religious service of a great bureaucracy and the bureaucrats are fervently religious. These meetings generate more paperwork, more e-mails, more calls, more meetings. In fact, most often there are meetings to plan meetings.” The bureaucracy game is one where the first who does something looses. Bureaucracy annihilates initiative and imagination. Best to stay nimble and simple. Don’t micromanage employees.

9) Send mixed messages. For example, give bonus not matter the performance.

10) Be afraid of the future. The only ones who succeed are natural born optimists; they emulate energies.

Bonus: Lose your passion. Passion is everything.

I enjoyed his conversation with Charlie Rose here back in 2008 https://charlierose.com/videos/16810

[Mender · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. Strange that a book with so many praises sung on its front cover ends up with no-one reading and reviewing it. I picked it up in the free library outside work.

The commandments in this book are probably true. That said, the part where you have to really believe in your product - and they believed that what they were selling was the 'spirit' of coke rather than an actual drink... I dunno. How much can you believe in an addictive drink that has so much sugar in it it's actively bad for you?

It's like getting to read the lawyer from Thank You For Smoking's biography. Glib, but feels a bit off.

[Tirath · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's by Don Keough - - so I assumed there would be some very good insights.
And they are great.

I liked the negative template - and while a lot of these things seem simple, people regularly fall for these mistakes.

Best takeaways:
watch the bull, not the man
fight bureaucracy with all your might - its one of the greatest dissatisfaction inducers for your people
shut the noise - - odds are that certain countries have a lot of progress ahead in store
culture can be contagious
2 men looked out of prison bars - one saw mud, the other saw stars

The bits on New Coke, Coke's bureaucracy, and continuous need to change stuff within the company - - were great learnings.

[Sjors · Rating 3 out of 5]

This slim volume reads like an elaborate speech given by a highly successful business aristocrat - and this is exactly what it is. Sadly, not a lot to learn here for me - although I liked the approach of giving a recipe for business failure, rather than success.

The dust jacket made me laugh when I did a double take of it and read that on it were words of praise from the likes of Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Rupert Murdoch, former president GHW Bush, etc etc. Oh and it notes that Warren Buffet wrote the introduction. This has to be the highest praised slender volume I have yet encountered. Mr. Keough has an enviable set of friends.

[Ashwin Doke]

Good read, but gets obvious by the end

Book is about good insights shares by Don Keough, whom Warren Buffet trusted enough to invest heavily in Coca Cola , and also take him on Berkshire Hathaway's board.

Though these are simple, but if you are someone who is in corporate world, you ll realize these pitfalls are inevitable. And takes concious efforts to not fall for.

These simple things if done well will help improve and grow in life.

Book eventually gets very obvious and hence doesn't hold the interest. But that's understandable for a topic like this.

Thanks for sharing ur insights Don

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given the endorsements from Warren Buffett and Jack Welch as well as other good things I had heard over the years, I truly expected to enjoy this book. The author has their respect and seems well-regarded by his peers.

But I found the book to be shallow and full of platitudes and cliches. Most of the commandments were obvious and there was lots of overlap. Be humble, ethical, think independently, question yourself, be passionate about your work. That covers most of it. The examples were also very surface level.

[Vũ Phạm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read with the leader in every segment. This book was short, however, was the most profound advice I have ever read from the leader of many companies. It impressed me with the first commandment (Quit taking risks) with persuasive examples about America and Africa land and then, every word didn't make me disappointed. A great lesson from Donald (The Soul of Coke). A book must be read again and again for a long time.

[Kittichet Chuenchoom · Rating 5 out of 5]

ได้ไอเดียกระตุกความคิดตัวเอง
สิ่งนึงที่แนะนำชัดมากๆคือfocus รักในสิ่งที่รับผิดชอบเพื่อให้ผลลัพธ์ออกมาดีที่สุด แน่วแน่ในสิ่งที่ทำ แต่ไม่ใช่จนไม่ฟังหรือไม่ดูอะไร
Fact not feeling

การleverage รวมถึงการเลือกที่จะไม่ทำอะไร

คนที่มองโลกในแง่ร้ายจะเจอของใหม่ยากมากๆ
และความกล้าหาญที่จะทำทุกอย่างอย่างที่มันควรจะเป็น

หนังสือผบห.โค้กยุคที่บัฟเฟตมาถือหุ้น จุดเปลี่ยนหลายจุดที่ทำให้โค้กเป็นทุกวันนี้ได้เกิดจากคนกล้าตัดสินใจ

[Mir Shahzad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:

The isolation, infallibility, mixed messages, fear of the future, and lack of passion are pathways to business failure. Successful leaders engage with their teams, acknowledge mistakes, communicate clearly, face the future with optimism, and foster deep connections with customers and brands. Building genuine relationships and managing brands with care cultivates trust and loyalty, setting a strong foundation for enduring business success.

[Amit Trivedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book coming from one of the most successful corporate chiefs of one of the most successful companies in the world. The style of writing is amazingly simple. The book is full of lessons that anyone can apply - not just the CXOs, but also anyone in any leadership position. A must read for alll leaders and aspiring leaders.

[Gerard G · Rating 4 out of 5]

The goal of this book is to give sound advice about what not to do in business if you ever want to succeed in your company / market as both leader and businessman.

What really got me thinking was how awesome the Coca Cola history and how heavy the burden of having such an unique product is. If we were ti follow our ideas to the very end by any means, we would conquer the world.

[Vinay Gadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Keough talks about multiple attitudes one must possess to be a business winner. He boils down to the capacity to connect with people, seeing the reality for what it is, and being an optimist to take challenges in business.

[Harsh Thaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book on the “modern” Ten Commandments to follow in business, career and life. The author through his own experiences tells on what things to avoid in life to avoid the misery which come with it.

[Nataliia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good practical advises given, describing how to take care of co-workers better and create an atmosphere of enjoying the work, that directly influences on increasing work productivity and efficiency. Recommending.

P.S. Great in parallel with non-violent communication principles.

[Alwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life lessons from Don's time with Coca Cola. Some very good reminders on staying the course and career excellence.

"Hope has two daughters. Their names are Anger and Courage. Anger that things are the way they are. Courage to make them the way they ought to be"

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to re-read this already, it's much shorter than you'd expect, very succinct. It flew by too quickly for me. Compared to richest man in Babylon which covers like 4 rules, this covers 10 things in half the time.

[Ted Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read.

[Nihar Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and a breezy read. Many will be able to draw parallels with the organizations they know or have worked in.

[Timo Uustal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, bringing together essential steps to bear in mind when wishing to either fail or succeed and sharing how this worked in Coca Cola Company and elsewhere.