Roberto Goizueta Quotes
100 Roberto Goizueta Quotes
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[In 1996 at the age of 65 on continual learning] I am proud to say that I learned more in 1995 than any year before, but not as much as I will this year [1996].
Roberto Goizueta
Our behavior will produce leaders, good managers, and – most importantly – entrepreneurs. It is my desire that we take initiatives as opposed to being only reactive and that we encourage intelligent individual risk-taking.
Roberto Goizueta
[On the fall of the former soviet union] The collapse was driven by that government’s insistence on running businesses and other functions of society that should have remained outside the domain of government.
Roberto Goizueta
Think about it. If a company wanted merely to create shareowner value right now, its leaders could suddenly make hundreds of decisions that would deliver a staggering short-term windfall. They could gouge their customers and suppliers. They could stop investing in their brands or stop behaving like good corporate citizens. They could slash salaries and benefits. They could put their business up for auction to the highest bidder. But that type of behavior has nothing to do with sustaining value creation over time.
Roberto Goizueta
[In the 1980s on Cokes enemy not being Pepsi, but being coffee, milk, tea and water] What’s our market share of the stomach?
Roberto Goizueta
[On his school days] I could memorize whole pages of history books.
Roberto Goizueta
You can think through a problem so hard, you can develop a sweat.
Roberto Goizueta
One’s personal commitments are much more important than the truth or falsehood of one’s position.
Roberto Goizueta
It is a good sign that human beings almost always act in their own interest.
Roberto Goizueta
[On the New Coke] The best just got better.
Roberto Goizueta
[On speeches] I am also reminded of my wife’s frequent observation that no one ever comes away from listening to a speech saying, ‘That was great… but I wish it had been longer.’ So, in acknowledgement of the… insightfulness of Mrs. Goizueta – my message to you will be brief and to the point.
Roberto Goizueta
[On the United States] I must start by recognizing the vision and determination of those of you who are to be naturalized today as citizen of this great country… It is your vision of a better place that has brought you to this place today. And it is your decisiveness… as the masters of your own destiny… that has made this moment a reality.
Roberto Goizueta
[On immigrating to the United States] We share a truly magical gift… the magical gift of freedom… and with it, its corollary we refer to as ‘opportunity.’
Roberto Goizueta
[On immigrating from Cuba to the United States] When my family and I came to this country, we had to leave everything behind. Back in Havana, our family photographs hung on the walls. Our wedding gifts sat on the shelves. Every material property we owned… overnight became government property. But amid that turmoil, two treasured possessions remained mine because they simply could not be taken away by the newly arrived Cuban rulers. Firstly, even though I had to leave behind my diploma from Yale… I still had my education. And secondly… I still had a job. And it wasn’t just any job. It was a job with The Coca-Cola Company.
Roberto Goizueta
[On being an immigrant who went on the lead The Coca-Cola Company] My story - boils down to a single, inspiring reality… the reality that a young immigrant could come to this country, be given a chance to work hard and apply his skills, and ultimately earn the opportunity to lead not only a large corporation, but an institution that actually symbolizes the very essence of America and American ideals.
Roberto Goizueta
Opportunity always comes accompanies by obligations.
Roberto Goizueta
In my life, I have found that every opportunity I have ever encountered has implied three fundamental obligations. The first obligation implied in opportunity is that you must seize it… You must reach out to the opportunity… take it in your hands… and mold it into a work that brings value to your society. The second obligation that naturally follows opportunity is that you must live it… you must carry it on your back all day long… you must sense the opportunity in your nostrils with every breath, and you must see it in your dreams when you are asleep… Finally, the third obligation that inherently comes with opportunity is that you must defend it.
Roberto Goizueta
Squandering what the rest of the world covets is not only foolish… it is immoral.
Roberto Goizueta
Without action, opportunity and freedom soon shrivel and fade to a slow death.
Roberto Goizueta
Opportunity… ours to seize… ours to live… and ours to defend. Or otherwise – ultimately – ours to lose.
Roberto Goizueta
I didn’t know enough English to get into college in the United States.
Roberto Goizueta
[On being begged to consider by his wife a job offer that was double his then $18,000/year salary] Are you kidding? I love working at Coca-Cola so much I’d do it for free if I had to.
Roberto Goizueta
I consider my biggest task not to get ahead of others but to surpass myself, and to make the ideal in my mind become a reality in my everyday life of work for the Company [Coca-Cola].
Roberto Goizueta
[On Coca-Cola advertising] I don’t care if they like the people, I don’t care if they like the cast we use. At the end of the day, the consumer has to say, ‘I want to go out and buy a Coke.’
Roberto Goizueta
[To a key financial executive] I don’t want you to be a yes man. I don’t object that you fight with me. I don’t object that you shout at me, but always with the door
closed. You and me alone.
Roberto Goizueta
[To Coke division heads] I want you to tell me what you need to do to expand your business, what kind of capital you need to do it, and what kind of net return you’re going to get.
Roberto Goizueta
Facts are facts.
Roberto Goizueta
[On budget planning figures] People have got to believe they are living or dying by these numbers.
Roberto Goizueta
[On cokes problems when he took over] We’re liquidating our business, borrowing money at 16 [percent] and investing it at 8 [percent]. You can’t do that forever.
Roberto Goizueta
[On cokes problems when he took over] The company has no sense of direction whatsoever. None.
Roberto Goizueta
Don’t even come to us with a project that doesn’t yield more money than the cost of money.
Roberto Goizueta
There’s a perception… that you’re better off if you’re in two lousy businesses than if you’re in one good one – that you’re spreading your risk. It’s crazy.
Roberto Goizueta
The name of the game isn’t to increase market share, but to grow the market, to take share from juices, milk, coffee, tea, and beer. Share of stomach.
Roberto Goizueta
[On going into Eastern Germany] We’re got to move quickly. We don’t need to put a Coke sign up in front of all the plants, but it’s essential to be flexible and be in first.
Roberto Goizueta
Russia never knew capitalism.
Roberto Goizueta
[On Pepsi’s strategy of investing in snack foods and restaurants] They tend to think with their mouths open and they don’t always do what they say… It’s wonderful to have a good competitor. But I just hope they don’t get too distracted with potato chips.
Roberto Goizueta
Pepsi has made a huge mistake calling it Pepsi Clear. I doubt there is a clear cola category, and we don’t want to put the Coke name on it.
Roberto Goizueta
To be successful, we’ve got to make it impossible for the consumer to escape The Coca-Cola Company.
Roberto Goizueta
[On being asked if he ever drank Pepsi] Only when I’ve eaten something I don’t like and I want to throw up.
Roberto Goizueta
[In 1996 on operations in China] We want to put in ten new plants every three years for as long as we can.
Roberto Goizueta
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