Video Transcript: Dan Cathy - Conversation with Muhtar Kent

Muhtar Kent -  Well, I think it doesn't really matter if you run a what size company you run. I think if you really want to make a mark on the world today in business, and you want to grow and I think in life, in business, in also national politics, growth is a key everybody. People have to grow. Businesses have to grow sustainably. And I think also countries have to grow and find a way to grow sustainably. And if you want to do that in business, to grow sustainably. You have to really understand what's happening in the world, not just by reading only by seeing only on screen, but you have to also touch and breathe and create relationships so that you can actually double click, triple click, and go deeper, have deeper discussions with people, all the stakeholders that touch your business, and in different parts of the world, all the stakeholders. And so it is an absolute must to see, to breathe, to touch, to double click, and also to be seen. Because, in a way, when you sort of peel the fruit then, and you look inside and say, what are the real basic things that that a leader needs to do today in business, you've got to essentially paint a picture of how you would like to see your business in a number of years, not tomorrow. But so call it a vision. Paint a picture that is simple, graspable, understandable, talkable, clarity and simplicity, key two words. But also you've got to find a compelling way to continue to communicate that, and you need to make sure that people are inspired by it. And to do that, you have to go, you have to touch, you have to be with people. 

Dan Cathy -  Talk to us about the importance of clarity and simplicity in the role that you have. Well, 

Muhtar Kent -  it's, it's you've got to touch a number of different points. But first about a brand, again, just going back a little bit higher up in altitude, just the same as the Chick fil A brand Coca Cola is a promise. We just make a brand is a promise. And if I say it often, a good brand is a promise kept. So you've got to always ask yourself the question, what are the promises? Are we keeping them? Are we ahead of those promises? And so when you frame it like that today, then what you have is consumers no longer voting for products simply and only because how great they taste, just like your great food. But it's the social license. It's the moral I call it the moral contract, and it's about the character of us that produce those brands, produce all those stock keeping units, produce those packages are do the values and the character of the companies match those that the consumers want to see. It's all about the environment. What are you doing? It's all about community. What are you doing? So in our case, the Sustainability Program is a very important piece of this and how we what we do, how we're measured, not by us. By the way, you don't want to measure yourself. Let others measure you. You take you stick your hand out and put your goals out if you're bold enough, put bold goals, and then get somebody else to measure you, how you're doing against those goals. In our case, in the case of Coca Cola, it's we've had. We've selected four pillars, critical pillars, one is water, one is recycling and packaging. The other one is growing our business, but not our carbon. And the fourth, not, not, certainly the least, is community. All about you know, how we empower women? All. About how we can create sustainable communities, all about entrepreneurship, all about job creation, all about education, all about creating better communities, active lifestyle programs, which you're involved in as well. I know I 

Dan Cathy -  want to take a little departure here, and I'd like to hear your thoughts about the incredible changes we see taking place here in the Middle East. The last time you and I were together with a group, we were with a group of students, teenagers who were, you know, and this was the change taking place in Egypt. We see revolution taking place in Syria, Lebanon, of course, Afghanistan, Libya, as well as Pakistan. You know, as you look across the landscape of that, does that give you hope or optimism, or how do you think about those incredible changes we see taking place in the Middle East today? 

Muhtar Kent -  Without a question, it gives me, I think, and it should give everyone tremendous hope. Everyone who believes that the Democratic framework, freedom of press, the rights, checks and balances, lead to better a better architecture for the world, then you have to be hopeful. You have to it has to give you hope. It has to give you a good feeling. Now the challenge is, in the short term, there's going to be more disruptions. There's going to be more suffering, but in the end, just when you look at look back and see what it took for democracy to take hold in Europe, you know, from the 1700s how many wars, how much suffering, and here in the United States, what it took democracy, the Civil War, the civil rights movement, all of those. So it is a long process. Once we understand and accept that it is not a short process. You have to create a middle class. You have to create human rights framework for human rights. You've got to create checks and balances, you've got to create a free press, you've got to create a better education, you've got to create some kind of social framework in the country. These things take time, but the great news is the genie is out of the bottle and never will go back into the bottle. And the basic reason for all of this happening is the incredible technological changes taking place. The cell phone. 5 billion cell phones every most of the cell phones now are smartphones. People can see everything simultaneously, whatever important thing that happens, communication. No one can stop that anymore. It was basically television was the reason. Satellite television was the reason why the communism collapsed. Many people had little little dishes on top of their homes, and they could watch satellite television without the control of the Russian Soviet government at that time, or the or other other totalitarian governments in East and Central Europe, like Poland, the Czech Republic, Czechoslovakia at that time, and Romania and so forth. That's what brought this communism to its knees. And now, of course, technology has developed so governments can stop satellite television from going into homes, but they can't stop the cell phone. 

Dan Cathy -  Well, Tar, I want to, I want to thank you for your leadership role, because Coke, as we see these revolutionary changes, is that affordable, accessible moment of refreshment. While we may disagree on so many different things, globally, we can all acknowledge the fact that a wonderful occasion to enjoy a Coke Zero is a positive refreshment, is an asset of unity for our 

Muhtar Kent -  globe, it's a great connection, and it's a great pride for us on our 125th anniversary to serve our dear partners, like yourselves, in even better and more meaningful and creative ways. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.