Page 32 - Sept-2020-Issue

ARTICLE

Roberto Goizueta, the Chairman the American dream. He believed right- cleanliness, honesty, decen-
and Chief Executive of the Coca- that in America, all things are cy, respect for other people, po-
Cola Company is always regard- possible. He lived that dream. liteness, good manners, integrity-
ed as one of the finest business And because of his extraordi- they will never be old-fashioned.’
leaders in the world. Making nary leadership skills, he helped As leadership is all about
Coca-Cola the best company in thousands of others realize their Anticipation, Communication,
the world was his lifelong quest. dreams as well.' Motivation and Action, hence
In a speech delivered a few In the book ‘Developing the more than ever before, business
months before he died, he said: Leader Within You’, John C. leaders have to be ahead of the
'A billion hours ago, human life Maxwell states that a leader’s curve in anticipating threats and
appeared on Earth. A billion min- history of successes and fail- opportunities. Winston Churchill
utes ago, Christianity emerged. ures makes a big difference in once stated 'There is nothing
A billion seconds ago, the Beatles his credibility. Steve Jobs once wrong with change, it is in the
performed on ‘The Ed Sullivan stated: 'Your work is going to fill right direction'. Dr. J. J. Irani
Show’. A billion Coca-Colas ago a large part of your life, and the rightly observed that we have to
was yesterday morning. And only way to be truly satisfied is go global in every respect: in your
the question we are asking our- to do what you believe is great ambitions, in our commitment to
selves now is, ‘What must we do work.' The old-fashioned busi- business ethics, in our corporate
to make a billion Coca-Colas ago ness virtues like hard work still governance, in our benchmarks
this morning?' With this leader- continue to be the sine qua non for value creation, in our com-
ship motto, the legacy left by is of business leadership. As a wit munication practices-in every-
incredible. When he took over said, luck is infatuated with ef- thing. The unforgettable lessons
Coca-Cola in 1981, the company’s fort. In Autobiography of Charles from business leaders who made
value was $4 billion. Under his Forte- the Italian immigrant who their imprints on the sand of time
leadership, it rose to $150 bil- set up his first milk bar in Regent will always inspire future lead-
lion. That’s an increase in value Street, London, in May 1930, and ers to achieve glorious heights.
of more than 3,500 percent! Coca- then went on to create one of the Longfellow once stated:
Cola became the second most biggest catering companies in the
valuable corporation in America, world advice to his son, Rocco,
ahead of the car makers, the oil who accused him of being too “Lives of great men all remind us,
companies, Microsoft, Wal-Mart, old-fashioned is worth recalling:
and all the rest. Upon his death, ‘Remember this’ he told his son We can make our lives sublime,
former President Jimmy Carter angrily ‘five thousand years ago, And departing, leave behind us,
observed 'Perhaps no other cor- what I am saying was right. In
porate leader in modern times five thousand years’ time, what Footprints on the sands of time.”
has so beautifully exemplified I am saying now will still be

Contd from ...# 27
planning and performance evalu- effectively. Specific gaps in skill/ framework is also necessary to
ation of directors which are cor- competencies on board and those ensure that the board should con-
nerstone of good governance, of directors identified through tinually have required skills &
and will also ensure true compli- skill assessment exercise need to expertise and all directors make
ance with SEBI requirement of be filled through proper training, quality contribution towards suc-
disclosing core skills, expertise skill updation and appointment of cess of organisation.
or competencies as required by new directors. A periodic review
the Board of directors to function of skill/competency assessment

32 KaleidOscope September, 2020