How Leaders Learn

Chapter 7

The Worst Way to Get on SNL

Learn from your failures

I was forty years old and serving as chief marketing officer for PepsiCo’s beverage division and something big was happening: colas were losing ground to what we called “alternative beverages.” Drinks like Snapple and flavored waters were hot, partially because of the focus on healthier living. Clear beverages were the hottest of the hot new market segment. Clear everything was popular then; marketers even refer to the era as the “Clear Craze.”

Clear was winning, so I thought, “Why can’t we do a clear Pepsi?” (I’m a big believer in pattern thinking, which you’ll read more about in part two. It doesn’t always produce genius.)

I thought clear Pepsi—we would call it Crystal Pepsi—was ...