Synopsis
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.”
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
A former president of the Coca-Cola
Company, Keough has assembled an enviable Rolodex in his 81 years, and
his book counts Bill Gates, Jack Welch and Warren Buffett among its
champions. His lessons draw upon his long and varied career—from his
early days as a philosophy major to his first job as a TV sports
announcer and employment at Butternut Coffee and Coca-Cola—and comprise
a list of tongue-in-cheek rules guaranteed to make the follower a true
loser in business: from quit taking risks and be inflexible to don't
take time to think and be afraid of the future. Keough supports his
commandments with stories of business mistakes and failures, both his
own—the roll-out of New Coke, for example—and those of others—namely,
Schlitz beer and IBM. While the author's clear and encouraging tone and
renown within the business community will likely garner his effort
publicity, the unoriginality of the material—all standard business-book
fare simply phrased in the negative—keeps this well-meaning book from
standing out or offering original advice to business leaders in the
market for a little self-improvement. (Aug.) ""
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved."
Review
"Don possesses a special combination
of experience, wisdom, self- confidence, and self-awareness. His
commandments for failure will teach you more about business success
than a whole shelf full of books."
— Bill Gates
“This is a great book, filled with terrific advice from a management
icon, and brought alive by real stories from business history. It is a
must-read for every leader.”
— Jack Welch
“Don’s
best ability is to cut to the chase on an issue, to cut through the
bureaucratic fog. Keep it simple is his principle and mine too.”
— Warren Buffett (from the foreword)
"Don Keough, with his sixty years of business experience, is well
equipped to comment about business leadership. He is an outstanding
man, and I am proud to call him friend."
— Former President George H. W. Bush
“I would rather listen to Don Keough on almost any subject – his
empathetic wit and wisdom are a cure all for what ails on any day. He's
now written it down and if you want to learn about life and work, learn
from this master.”
— Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO, IAC/InterActive Corp.
“Only Don Keough could outdistance Moses and his commandments. Don's
self-deprecating style adds great credibility to a well done book. It's
a roadmap for winners and must reading for everybody. It's proof that
integrity never takes a holiday.”
— Andy McKenna, Chairman, McDonald's
"I have found no one better than Don Keough at giving counsel that is
clear, unpretentious, grounded in experience, full of useful insight,
and exhibiting profoundly good judgment."
— Fr. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., President, University of Notre Dame
“Anybody who can write a book about the subtleties of high level
business management -- including what you do with all those little
cubicles and all -- and not only keep a guy like me interested but keep
me laughing out loud deserves a medal.”
— Sydney Pollack, Academy Award-winning director
"While this profound and highly readable book is likely to become
required reading in management circles, it will reward anyone who wants
to be a more successful and better person.”
— Kevin M. Cahill, M.D., President-General, The American Irish Historical Society
About the Authors
Donald R. Keough is chairman of the board of the investment banking
firm Allen & Company. He served as president, chief operating
officer, and a director of The Coca-Cola Company from 1981 to 1993. He
was reelected a director of the company in 2004. He has served on many
prominent boards of directors including those of Berkshire Hathaway,
McDonald’s, The Washington Post Company, Home Depot, H. J. Heinz
Company, and The University of Notre Dame.
Product Details
Hardcover: 190 pages
Carton Size: 12 books
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover (Penguin Group) (July 24, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1591842344
ISBN-13: 978-1591842347
Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.64 x 0.82 inches
Shipping Weight: 0.66 pounds
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