So you fail, so what... Now, bounce back!

"So you fail, so what... Now, bounce back!" was the title of one of my favorite articles in the 90s. It tells the story of Sergio Zyman, marketing Director of Coca Cola who introduced New Coke. Do you remember?

The cover story in Fortune Magazine from May 1, 1995 starts with "if ever there were a failure destined to kill a career, New Coke was it." Sergio was then the marketing man behind one of the most disastrous product launches in the 20th century. After leading successfully the introduction of diet Coke, he proposed to replace the classic Coke with a better-tasting cola, label it "New Coke," and, probably his greatest error,  not leave the old Coke on the market. Alter this project, he left the company. 

Nevertheless, seven years later he came back with a promotion. Goizueta, Coca Cola´s CEO at the time, argued that: "We became uncompetitive by not being tolerant of mistakes." The article mentions other historic failures, like Walt Disney being fired at the beginning of his career for "lack of drawing ability" or Henry Ford who went bankrupt with early ventures before his career success. Bill Gates is also mentioned saying he likes to hire people who have made mistakes as it shows that they take risks.

Failing spectacularly can just be the motivation to fight and bounce back. 

This story comes to my mind now that in recent years Spain has failed in confronting his economic challenges, specially unemployment that is at record high levels. But no doubt, Spain will bounce back.

I hope 2013 brings a better economic environment for everybody, and in particular, good news in the Spanish labor market. 

Merry Christmas for you and your family,
Carlos

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