What can this Cuban and Coca-Cola teach us about success?
J.P. Montalvan • May 22, 2023
“If you think you are going to be successful running your business in the next ten years the way you did in the last ten years, you’re out of your mind. To succeed, you have to disturb the present.”
-- Roberto
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What can this Cuban and Coca-Cola teach us about success?
Roberto was born in Havana, Cuba in 1931. He grew up in a close-knit family amid the vibrant culture of the island. His parents instilled in him strong values of hard work, determination, and perseverance.
Roberto’s early years were marked by both the joys of childhood and the challenges brought on by political unrest as a young man. His family’s peaceful life was disrupted by the political climate in Cuba, forcing them to make a difficult decision.
Roberto was working for a Coca-Cola subsidiary in Cuba when Fidel Castro seized power in 1959. The Castro government seized land and private businesses. Two months before Castro seized control of Coca-Cola’s Cuban operations, Roberto, his wife, Olguita, and their three children fled the country, arriving in Miami with $40 and 100 shares of Coca-Cola stock. The sudden displacement created immense challenges for the young Roberto and his family.
As refugees, Roberto and his family had to rebuild. He had earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering at Yale – he doubled down and earned a master's degree in engineering from the University of Miami.
Roberto Goizueta eventually became the CEO of The Coca-Cola Company.
This month, my Leadership Circle is talking about what I call the “3 C’s of Success” – competence, confidence and connectivity. These interconnected qualities form a powerful triad that propels people toward success. Whether you want to excel in your career, build meaningful relationships, or tackle new challenges, nurturing your competence, confidence, and connectivity will pave the way for you to succeed.
In Cuba, Roberto had developed some special habits, but no special knowledge. He had to build his competence.
How did he do that?
Roberto started by identifying what he needed to learn.
“I didn’t know enough English to get into college in the United States.” Roberto taught himself English. He prioritized his education and pursued a degree in chemical engineering. He developed a strong foundation of technical knowledge and problem-solving skills.
His approach to competence didn’t stop there. “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.” How did he do that?
Roberto was committed to continuously learning.
According to Goizueta biographer David Greising, “As soon he became president, Goizueta began a detailed study of every aspect of Coke’s business. Although proud and confident in his abilities, Goizueta had enough self-confidence to admit his limitations. He even exposed his lack of knowledge to subordinates by asking dozens of questions ranging from simple queries about market size to complex calculations of rates of return and the present value of invested capital.” He realized that the path toward competence didn’t have an ultimate destination. It was a continuing journey.
Finally, Roberto understood the need to adapt to a changing world and reinvent what his company did.
He said that the world we live in is constantly changing. “If we don’t change with the times, if we aren’t reinventing ourselves every few years, we will become stagnant. And when that happens, growth, profitability and pride gradually erode,” he said. Goizueta, facing the increased competition from Pepsi and changing consumer preferences, risked the enormously successful, long-established bedrock of a company to create New Coke, which quickly failed. But he also led his teams to develop Diet Coke, which has been phenomenally successful and is still among the top 3 carbonated soft drinks in the United States today.
As you evaluate where you are against where you want to be, you might consider these questions about competence…
- What do you and your teams need to learn right now to be more successful?
- How can you build or strengthen a habit of continuous learning for yourself and your teams?
- How will you and your teams need to adapt and reinvent yourselves?
Roberto’s competence was a long journey of ongoing self-evaluation, self-improvement, and adaptability. His commitment to education, continuously learning, and adapting and reinventing himself and Coca-Cola played a vital role in his success. Under his leadership, the market value of Coca-Cola stock rose from $4 billion in 1981 to $145 billion in 1997.
What are your next steps toward growing your competence? I’d love to hear from you.
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