I'd Like the World to Buy a Coke: The Life and Leadership of Roberto Goizueta

This is a good business biography. The author has an eye for the interesting detail - such as the fact that the future chairman of Coca-Cola and the future Yankee-hating Communist leader Fidel Castro went to the same elite Cuban private school. He also has a good understanding of the business issues that Roberto Goizueta addressed during his remarkably successful career. This is not a hagiography or an "authorized" biography. In fact, author David Griesing reports that Goizueta opposed the book project and directed his friends and the public relations department of Coca-Cola not to cooperate. Remarkably, in the face of that opposition, the author not only persevered but also produced a book that seems scrupulously objective. If it is not a paen, neither is it a hatchet job. It's the real thing, and we find it well worth reading and recommending.

Roberto Goizueta was the manager in Cuba when Castro took over and nationalized all private businesses. (That little fact is rarely mentioned in all the praises to the "worker's paradise".) It so happened that he memorized the entire range of equipment and capacity and was able to recite this back when it came time to compute how much Castro had looted.This is an insider's story of the corporate world, the tensions and alliances, the rewards and penalties for both hard work and luck, the demonstration of the idea that if you work hard enough you can make it. Goizuela's rise occurred amid an upheaval in the soft drink industry. There was the disastrous "New Coke", the challenge by Pepsi, the much-heralded secret formula, the introduction of juices and water....all are featured in detail.A great book about a great man - reading about his funeral had me grinning and whistling along.

I highly recommend this book to all students especially those who are thinking in majoring in business, and or have just emigrated from a country and need motivation. Roberto Goizueta was a young man who emigrated from Cuba. Despite his hardship in his country and living in the United States he was able to overcome all of his obstacles and become one of the most powerful man in the Coca-Cola Company. He was able to use his tragedies and make the Coca-Cola Company one of the most successful companies in the United States. Roberto was known as the Big Man in the business world. Goizueta's successful tips are revealed in this book, in order to find out you must read this outstanding book.

Fascinating account of how things are done in a foreign (i.e., big) business environment. As with any traveling, there is much to learn.

An intriquing, informing look behind the man behind the madness of Coke. 322 page book reads more like a story book than a corporate business book. Author David Greising does a good job of detailing the life of Goizueta from an independent standpoint and show's how Goizueta's dream of buying a coke and having a smile made him and many others around him millions. A MUST READ!