The first a Coca-Cola CEO tells the remarkable story of the company€™s revivalNeville Isdell was a key player at Coca-Cola for more than 30 years, retiring in 2009 as CEO after regilding the tarnished brand image of the world€™s leading soft-drink company. This first a Coca-Cola CEO tells an extraordinary personal and professional world-wide story, ranging from Northern Ireland to South Africa to Australia, the Philippines, Russia, Germany, India, South Africa and Turkey. Isdell helped put out huge public relations fires (India and Turkey), opened markets(Russia, Eastern Europe, Philippines and Africa), championed Muhtar Kent, the current Turkish-American CEO, all while living the ideal of corporate responsibility. Isdell€™s, and Coke€™s, story is newsy without being gossipy; principled without being preachy. It is filled with stories and lessons appealing to anybody who has ever taken €œthe pause th
Edward Neville Isdell is an Irish businessman, former chair and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
Isdell earned a bachelor's degree in Social Science from the University of Cape Town and graduated from the Harvard Business School program for Management Development. He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from Georgia State University.
This book was my type because it was a biography. Biographies are my favorite genre of books because they describe the story of a person's life and usually there are people that I find interesting that have biographies about them. For example, I really liked the book o Steve Jobs. Also there was a book on Harry Houdini. This book was captivating because I never knew that Coke and Pepsi were in a competition to be the best of the soft drink market. In the book it talked a lot about Coke's competition with Pepsi and how it was hard considering how many celebrities Pepsi used to win over the consumers. All in all, I was happy reading this book mainly because I wanted to know more about how soft drinks came to be and now I have a general idea on what soda is made out of and how it is created. In the book, Coke was having trouble trying to win over pepsi because of the celebrities pepsi had, so coke was in trouble and they had to come up with an idea to get consumers to like coke better.
My first impression of this book is that this must be the most boring book I've ever read. If not because of my assignment, I would not plough through it. However, after I get into the story and all the names, I decided I like this book. The author has tendency to write all the names of the people he encountered. No matter how small this person's role in the story. He named all sorts of people from the lowly driver to the highest CEO. This habit which I hated at the beginning becomes the thing that I admire of him. Instead of expecting a story I decided to take this book like one long list of acknowledgment that Neville Isdell made for these people that built Coca-cola. Coca-cola was and is built not only by the higher ups. Everyone is important. I imagine how one of Neville's Isdell employee (Sorry, I forgot the name) feel when he saw his name inside this book and realize that his sacrifice and hard work was not only seen by his boss but also immortalized in this book.
I've had this book on my shelf for eight years before finally reading it, and I found it surprisingly refreshing.
Neville's experiences growing up and establishing himself in Africa were relatable and insightful. However, while it's fine to have opinions on racial relations, sometimes it's better not to share them publicly. The book was written in 2012, which was a less sensitive time, I guess.
I also feel the ending could have focused more on the wisdom Neville gained from his travels, rather than dedicating an entire chapter to the benefits of capitalism, a topic that's been discussed endlessly and doesn't come across well from someone who clearly benefited from it.
Overall, though, it was a good memoir, making the wait somewhat worthwhile.
Read about the business and career adventures of Neville Isdell, who climbed the career ladder at Coca Cola from a bottling company in Africa to eventually becoming its CEO and Chairman. Be inspired by traveling with him throughout his 40-year journey and observe what you could learn and apply in your life and career.
What a career he had! Travelled more than 200 countries and retired in a best way a human being ever could , in a house by the sea in Barbados. It got me amazed that he refused the opportunity to operate in India (second largest population that time) just becuse he was asked to reveal the recipe of Coca cola by Manmohan singh who was the ministry of finance back in days. Later they established their operation in india. Another highlighting point was rejecting the idea of hiring Sachin Tendulkar as thier brand ambassador becuase Isdell thought Sachin wasn't good enough. Sachin later singed for Pepsi and became all time favourite cricketer that india has ever produced, which may be one of the biggest mistake he has done in promoting thier business in India market.
An average biography that's testament to the privilege and opportunities afforded to Isdell. None the less, enjoyed learning about Coke's success, particularly in South Africa and India and Isdell's view of Connected Capitalism.
The bibliography Inside Coca-Cola is interesting if you enjoy business and want to know how it is to be within a big business like Coca-Cola. I personally enjoyed this story because it offered a great new perspective about businesses and how they operate. The story is also very humbling to read since the main character has started from the bottom of the business to working his way up. The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is because of how stale it can become with all the numbers being spit at you. As I said before this is interesting if you have a interest in business or else you might have a difficult time enjoying the story. There is a lot of business terms inside the book, and it became tedious whenever I needed to look up the term. Still, I found the book to be interesting because you feel like your in the character’s shoes. So, if you want to become a businessman or woman, I strongly recommend you read this book, if you read it and find it boring then I wouldn’t recommend you go into business, and vice versa.
I really enjoyed this book. I'm sure it had plenty to do with the time spent in South Africa, making it quite fascinating, I thought. I mean I never really considered that a business man working here could end up playing on such a global stage for such a well-known brand (although he is not actually a South African, but still). If you like non-fiction life-stories, I'd highly recommend this one.
This book is billed as 'A CEO's life story of building the world's Most popular Brand.' Indeed it is the story of Coke and its growth along with Neville Isdell's rise in the company. However, it is more than that. It talks about the politics in various areas that Isdell served in and the culture in Africa, Asia, and Europe. All in all it makes for interesting reading.
The book is the CEO's memoir but does not seem to provide many lessons or take aways for the reader. It is also densely talking of people and events; which though are obvious for the author; but tough for the reader to keep a track of. It also gets repetitive beyond a point. The best part of the book was the last chapter.
Inspirational one. Travel around the world with the former CEO and watch the unfurling of Coca-Cola's success. You will be inspired by knowing how a normal human can reach the pinnacle of success by just hard work and grit. Also, You will get an idea on how the MNCs operate. Loved it!
- Book Review: "Inside Coca-Cola" by Neville Isdell - 📚🍀🥤
A huge page turner of a book, Neville Isdell's journey as the rugby-loving Irish Executive that went on to become the CEO of @cocacola is one of those stories well worth reading.
Isdell's career with Coca-Cola takes him all around the world, from Africa (Zambia, South Africa) to Oceania (Australia), and from Asia (Philippines, India) to Europe (West Germany, Turkey, Russia.)
Isdell writes about the people and cultural nuances he comes across in each market / country in a highly sensitive and respectful manner. It is above all the author's willingness to go through the process of acculturation that really wins the reader over.
At the center of this journey is of course the Cola Battles between Coke and Pepsi. Isdell doesn't hold back from sharing details about the strategies / tactics he followed to win against Pepsi in his assigned markets. Though common perception is that the Coca-Cola brand is something that sells itself, Isdell sets the record straight by emphatically stating that it is the PEOPLE (i.e. employees and business partners) that lie behind the success of any brand / company.
The book is a hidden gem of a read simply because Isdell is far more low key than many other "celebrity Executives."
The book will be of great interest to a diverse audience - from Business Executives and Entrepreneurs to Cultural Anthropologists and Political Science students alike.
The book was good, in the sense that it gave me an overview of what you can expect from a franchise business on a global scale. I had my own concerns about employee's motivations when all they are doing is aggressively selling a sugary syrup that adds a lot to obesity and other health problems, but I learned that they do have a lot of other reasons for being so focused towards selling the product.
His narrative convinced me the pivotal role large corporations plan in modernizing the world. Coca-cola contributed a lot in setting up the rules in the country at a time when there were no rules and regulations. Understanding the power dynamics and sometimes, even working with religion heads within a country to establish production facilities is an effort worth praising! Their passionate dedication towards providing access to coca cola in every nook and corner of the world is quite inspiring!
In addition to this, the book also gave an overview of dynamics in franchising businesses. I was surprised with the challenges that author had to face with changing environments. Being adept towards different situations is a thing of necessity in this business. And the CEO of Coca-Cola needs to know a lot to ensure best results.
Overall, the book has been quite an interesting read. Must read for someone who wants to know more about Coca-Cola and franchise businesses.
Inside Coca Cola is a memoir written by Neville Isdell with a lot of heart where he writes about his fascinating global career at Coca Cola where he experienced various geopolical, economical and marketing challenges in his career and successfully braved them. Also, he made a point about people taking bets on someone to do a job that makes careers. This reminded me about the same point that one of my previous supervisors made- It's not the companies that make careers, it's the people who bet on you. The book gives a broad overview of the Coke Business model and challenges that it faces globally and highlights how Neville navigated them. Also, the last chapter on connected capitalism was heartening where businesses should feel that their bottomlines are dependent on the resources and communities so it's always good to give back to them for a sustainable symbiotic relationship. Conversely, governments and NGOs should understand that without bottom lines, there won't be anything to give back. A reference to a lot of characters and events, which would be well known to the author is sometimes difficult to follow for the reader. Hence, sometimes, you tend to skip a few lines here and there as the reader loses interest. Overall, a decent read- deserves 4 stars but giving it a 3 because of the above.
Inside Coca Cola is one of those biographies that walk us through the difficult times of a world famous brand. Neville Isdell revived Coca Cola from the failed attempts of two previous CEOs.
The book begins from Zambia, where Neville Isdell worked his first job at a bottler. Then Neville takes us through Eastern Europe, Middle East, Phillipines, India, and back to Africa. A significant aspect of Neville's book is his wife, Pamela. What could've turned out to be a boring business biography, came out to be an equal part of love and care.
The descriptions about international business journeys and market share expansion cover a major part of the book. Honestly, I had predicted this book to turn into a slow read. However, there always used to be something that made me pick up the book again and again. You learn how exactly is Coca Cola made, it's bottling process, the open competition with Pepsi, and MY FAVORITE, it's entry into Indian market when ThumbsUp was an all-India love. Tough competition you see.
An interesting and quite easy read about Coke's former Chairman & CEO - Neville Isdell's journey at one of the world's most popular brand. It was fascinating how he navigated his way, adapted and excelled through all cultures and different ways of doing business. There weren't many business talks, tips or tricks so if you're anticipating anything much business-wise, this book might not be it. My favorite part this book would be in the final chapter, about how corporations, ngos and goverments should work together to create a more effecient, effective and sustainable world for everyone. I understand further how big corporations are not the enemies and the fact that they're trying to generate profits is not exactly a bad thing either. It was also enlightening to know that ngos can operate much better under a business model. I guess the adage never gets old: to do good, you must do well. I completely agree.
Inside CocaCola è un libro che racconta la storia dell'ex Ceo della CocaCola Neville Isdell. Inizia dalle origini dell'autore partendo dal Sud Africa dell'apartheid fino all'apice ad Atlanta, quando si era verificato un forte crollo del valore azionario dell'azienda.
Il libro fa riflettere sull'importanza delle scelte di lungo termine e sul ruolo del capitalismo nella società. La filosofia presente nell'ultimo capitolo è estremamente coerente sul piano teorico, ma applicata da poche corporate sul piano pratico.
E' ricco di punti di riflessione dagli incontri con Putin, all'epoca del KGB per aprire la sede in Russia all'interesse di Melissa Gates nello studiare l'efficacia della rete di distribuzione di Coca-Cola.
Altre sezioni sono personalmente opinabili, come la vita sacrificata del CEO che ha vissuto in molte nazioni non permettendo così alla figlia di creare dei legami con un territorio ed una identità culturale.
Really interesting book, but the title is a little misleading. It teaches nothing business wise, but a mere vague remembrance of his life journey through Coca Cola. It is nice to read, and some excerpt do shine some light on what happened, but nothing really concrete, nothing you can learn for yourself. Learning about the pre fall of Berlin Wall era and how Coca Cola made business in communist countries is really intriguing and enlightening into how the world worked before. This book is precisely like him telling his story as if telling it to his grandchild. Some funny anecdotes, but no real depth to them, but nonetheless interesting to listen to. It is a good read, but not something I would recommend in general. I wouldn't recommend against it either.
This book provides an insight on the life of how to climb the corporate ladder of Coca-cola, which Neville has nailed it from the underdog life in Africa to be the CEO of the most well known brand in the world. It is quite a boring book as this is not writing from a founder perspective, rather than from someone want to continually maintain the legacy of a brand. In the book you can have insight on the following topic:
- B2B customer management: How Coca-cola handle its bottling operation, maximisation of efficiency and internal political war between different parties
- B2C management: Marketing operation, awareness of consumer, how to introduce a new product into a new market
A lovely book with deep insight on culture, history - how nations and businesses have evolved overtime - and business. I enjoyed the aspects of history; colonialism, apartheid and world war that I did not need to learn about through history books 😉. Don’t shoot yet, there is a reason I love biographies. You also learn a lot about how politics, culture and changing trends influence businesses and business decisions but most importantly, the need to be culturally and politically aware while being a Socially Responsible Business entity.
This book takes you through the life of a man who started his career at a bottling plant, even driving trucks to deliver coke bottles to nearby cities, and rising to the post of Chairman and CEO of a company of the stature of CocaCola. Anecdotes ranging from Cola wars to how he managed to stop the theft of coke bottles from its employees at the bottling plant, this book is a must-read for anyone aspiring to know how coke manages to be the brand it is. My favourite quote from the book- "When God created the world, he created coke number one, and Pepsi number two".
It is an interesting read about the life and career (primarily) of Neville Isdell, a former CEO of Coca-Cola. It was interesting to understand the relationship between bottlers and the parent company and the various geographical differences as well as changes over time. The last chapter on "Connected Capitalism" was insightful in terms of re-defining the relationship of Corporates with the society at large. This is a good read, though nowhere comparable to Shoe Dog / Straight from the Gut/ Losing my Virginity.
I initially planned on finishing this book in a month but I ended up finishing it in a week. Start of the book is slow but it’s gets interesting as you keep on reading, along the journey of Mr. Neville.
I’ve also read my life in full by Indra Nooyi. While both the books had similarities in terms of how they started with coke/pepsi and how they eventually evolved into a leader who lead world’s 2 biggest beverage companies, there were also differences in terms of story telling and talking about business. I enjoyed reading both of them.
In his Life story, Isdell explains his beliefs, shows how he lives according to them and acknowledges those with whom he has worked. It's highly personal and, while I don't agree with his assertions at times, his voice is clear and straightforward. All in all, it's the credible story of an honourable, hard working man, supported by his wife, Pamela. It required effort to complete the readinv of this book as sections are highly detailed-perhaps as a result of his attempts to acknowledge his fellow "travellers."
I always find it fascinating to explore the minds of people. How do they think, how did their worldview influence their choices and behaviors. Success is relative, but it is interesting to get into the minds of prominent people and understand how they got to where they are. As my life becomes an echo chamber of self-help and efficiency driving messages, there is a certain groundedness reading this baby-boomer CEO of Coca-Cola.
Story of Coca-Cola that was designed as a hangover and headache remedy by a pharmacist.
Perfectly describes the journey of former CEO Neville Isdell who started his career as a bottler and climbed up the corporate hierarchy.
His impeccable business sense and turnaround strategies in different geographies including Africa, Australia, Phillipines, Germany and India had a focus on cutting down unnecessary costs to fuel marketing.
inside Coca Cola by Edward Neville Isdell with David Beasley is fascinating story of Mr. Edward career and life in Coca-Cola. Having joined the Coca Cola group in 1966 with a local bottling company in Zambia to retiring from the company as the Chairman and CEO in 2009 in Atlanta, illustrating a classic career story of a man in a single company across various countries. #BookLovers #AtoZEntrepreneurship #dntjbookclub
Wow. It was a great journey. From now on, every time I pick up a coke bottle I will be thinking about how I got the coke bottle to my hand. How it passed through thousands of employees in the company. This book is about Neville Isdell.How he became one of the best CEO s of coca cola company. I didn't knew that someone can be that much determined to a goal. This book is about hope, determination, passion and connected capitalism.
Loved it. Redialing, hilarious, sporty, courageous, always on the move, courage to take stand for professional and personal reasons, made the CEO so loved. Amazing read for someone who is starting her journey in sales or corporate world. How one can rise the ladder irrespective of pedigree. Recommended for young professionals and bonsai managers.