The Monroe Street Journal

Issue date: 11/12/01 Section: Corporate

Media Credit: MSJ

"Be who you say you are, and people know you're for real." This was the message that Sandy Douglas, President of The Coca-Cola Company, North American Division, shared with over two hundred University of Michigan MBA students on October 29. Mr. Douglas was referring to the world's largest concentrate producer's corporate mission statement: "to benefit and refresh everyone who is touched by our business."

The passionate pursuit of the commitment that created the company is critical to its success, although Coca-Cola has not always followed this line of reasoning, said Mr. Douglas. "The mistakes that we have made were because we lost focus on our relationship with our customers," he said, citing decisions such as Coca-Cola's acquisition of unrelated businesses such as Columbia Pictures Entertainment in the eighties and competitive practices that ran afoul of regulation authorities in Europe last summer. Activities made solely in the pursuit of shareholder value can come at an expense to the customer relationship, he added.

The current strategy of Coca-Cola appears to be on target with the mantra of its CEO and Chairman, Doug Daft: "Think Local. Act Local," a tweaking of former chief Roberto Goizueta's often quoted "Think global. Act local" philosophy. Rather than place power in global decision makers, Mr. Daft has taken aggressive and sometimes controversial steps since taking office to decentralize the company's marketing and operations, putting faith in the idea that decisions are best made by individuals within small customer communities. "Today, successful companies meet consumers on their home ground – to talk, gain insight, tailor products, and build upon the brand," Mr. Douglas said.

"Successful marketers don't define communities – they open their eyes to the communities that people create for themselves. That's not always a physical place. A community might be a five-block neighborhood in East L.A.; it might be a workplace, it might be a digital meeting-ground. It might be a coast-to-coast horde of avid, young Harry Potter readers."

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