
Very Short But Amazing Speech by Coca Cola CEO Bryan Dyson - bluebit
http://www.startupceo.co.za/2010/03/01/amazing-speech-bryan-dyson/
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viae
Anyone have a verifiable citation on this credit to Dyson? Initially my spider
sense tingled when something so perfunctory was attributed to a CEO of Coca
Cola (a common theme to chain emails).

Some quick Googling credits a 1996 Commencement Address at Georgia Tech.
However, another source says it's from the book, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas.

Does anyone have a source at Georgia Tech that can confirm/deny 1996's
commencement address?

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codebaobab
The oldest use of the quote that I can find is from a 1998 WHO document:
[http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section1257/Section2181/Section2...](http://www.searo.who.int/en/Section1257/Section2181/Section2211/Section2219_11481.htm)

“Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas" is a 2001 novel by James Patterson, so I don't
think that can be the origin of the story.

Also, note that Brian Dyson was CEO of Coca Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) not
CEO of The Coca Cola Company (NYSE: KO). (When people say "Coke" or "Coca
Cola" they almost always mean the latter, not the former.)
[http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=5949&fuse...](http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=5949&fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=477942)

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byrneseyeview
I doubt that this is true. Realistically, your loved ones will be more loyal
to you than your boss. Which is more common: lying, embezzling employee keeps
getting rehired by the same boss, or lying, cheating husband keeps being
forgiven by his wife?

You'd have to be a pretty shitty human being to exploit this, but it is true.
The transactional nature of business means it's the least amenable to long-
term relationships, and requires the most aggressive maintenance if you want
to optimize it. Most people naturally behave in a way that counteracts this:
they _could_ abuse the trust of their loved ones, but they don't.

So perhaps he should have said something like "business is a glass ball. The
others are all hamster-balls, with little hamsters in them. If you drop the
hamster-ball, it's not going to kill the hamster; it might not even seriously
hurt it. But don't be an asshole; if you're going to drop something, drop
something that won't be hurt."

~~~
Timothee
I didn't read it in the same light. I don't think it's about being an ass to
anybody, or abusing the trust of others (your boss, or your family).

I would sum it up as in "your job is not the most important thing in your
life". When you're juggling with your 5 balls and you reach a point where you
can't handle it anymore and need to drop a ball, dropping the work part is not
as big of a deal as the rest. E.g. if you do something just to keep your job
but that hurts other people or your health, don't do it, it's not worth it:
don't stay late every night, when it's forbidding you to kiss your kids to
bed; don't accept to be dropped off in a war zone just to keep your job, etc.

~~~
byrneseyeview
I chose extreme examples to illustrate it. But look at it this way: your boss
is the least likely person to forgive you for a given offense, because the
relationship is more transactional.

The opposite hypothesis seems pretty absurd. You wouldn't argue that, e.g., if
you have to disappoint your boss or your spouse, your boss is more likely to
remain unconditionally faithful to you.

People don't exploit this, and that's a good thing. But if I were trying to
avoid harm in both my professional and personal life, I'd know that personal
connections are more loyal, and thus I can more afford to let them suffer in
the short term.

I guess health is an exception there. I'm not sure what "spirit" means, but it
seems hard to change.

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chr15
Bryan Dyson is not Coke's current CEO. Muhtar Kent holds that position now
(since 2008). IIRC, Dyson was CEO in the mid 80s. Title should read ex-CEO to
not confuse users.

Edit: after some Googling, Dyson was President & CEO of Coca-Cola North
America in 1983. Then became CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises in 1986. BTW, there
is a HUGE difference between The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola Enterprises,
and they are often confused with each other. They are two separate, publicly
traded companies. CCC produces the Coke syrup. CCE actually takes the syrup,
mixes it with water and CO2, bottles it, then distributes it to stores.

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joe_the_user
Uh,

Odd person to imagine as an advocate of health.

The circumstantial evidence for the health-damaging effects of high-fructose
corn syrup in particular are still fuzzy but the correlation of sodas and
obesity is pretty established. Where is Coke on that question?

\-- I wouldn't advocate imagining your health as a glass ball. There's
something to the point that your body responds to the imagines of yourself
that you give it. I'm a rubber ball but not one whose going to put Coke into
my system.

~~~
pedalpete
First off, only some parts of the world use high-fructose corn syrup in their
coke. If you get a coke from mexico (and I imagine much of south america) it
uses cane sugar.

More importantly though, I am currently drinking an amazing Odwalla juice
which is a distributed by minute maid which is owned by coke. Though they have
a highly successful, and not so healthy product, they also have a diverse
number of companies which focus on health.

~~~
stephen
Sugar is just as bad as HFCS, according to this video lecture that came across
HN:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM>

It also asserts that pretty much any juice is not a good idea because you're
losing the fiber that helps your body deal with the fructose. I need to learn
more about it though.

~~~
pedalpete
Well, lots of things are bad for you, but taken in moderation. I don't have
1.5 hours to sit through the video.

I just checked out the juice/smoothies I have, and was VERY surprised to see
that you are correct, they have 0 fiber. Just goes to show that their really
is no substitute for the real thing.

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sumeeta
I don’t know about amazing; this just seems depressing.

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eru
What's `spirit'?

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sliverstorm
Morale?

Spunk?

Whatever you call the thing that fights back psychological depression?

I highly doubt he's talking about spirit(uality).

