Coca-Cola's Don Keough on learning from the failure of New Coke

In 2008, the New York Times interviewed former Coke President Don Keough. Keough is also the author of "The Ten Commandments for Business Failure." One piece of the interview:

Q. [In the book] you listed several examples of mistakes that you made at Coca-Cola, chief among them New Coke. But you also wrote that the best way to fail was to quit taking risks. So was New Coke worth the risk?

A. I wouldn't want to do it again. But it was an enormous learning experience, and oddly enough, it turned out to be positive for the Coca-Cola Company. Our sales increased when we brought the original formula back. The reaction from our customers was overwhelming. Once we realized that we had made a mistake, I went on television and simply said that we don't own this brand, you do. You've made it clear that you want the original formula back, and you're getting it back.

You can read more about the New Coke story--at least Coca-Cola's version of the story--here. A fuller version is here.