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从可口可乐学生意经OneofmyfavoritepartsofmyjobattheGatesFoundationisthatIgettotraveltothedevelopingworld,andIdothatquiteregularly.AndwhenImeetthemothersinsomanyoftheseremoteplaces,I'mreallystruckbythethingsthatwehaveincommon.Theywantwhatwewantforourchildrenandthatisfortheirchildrentogrowupsuccessful,tobehealthy,andtohaveasuccessfullife.ButIalsoseelotsofpoverty,andit'squitejarring,bothinthescaleandthescopeofit.MyfirsttripinIndia,Iwasinaperson'shomewheretheyhaddirtfloors,norunningwater,noelectricity,andthat'sreallywhatIseeallovertheworld.Soinshort,I'mstartledbyallthethingsthattheydon'thave.ButIamsurprisedbyonethingthattheydohave:Coca-Cola.Cokeiseverywhere.Infact,whenItraveltothedevelopingworld,Cokefeelsubiquitous.AndsowhenIcomebackfromthesetrips,andI'mthinkingaboutdevelopment,andI'mflyinghomeandI'mthinking,We'retryingtodelivercondomstopeopleorvaccinations,youknow,Coke'ssuccesskindofstopsandmakesyouwonder:howisitthattheycangetCoketothesefar-flungplaces?Iftheycandothat,whycan'tgovernmentsandNGOsdothesamething?AndI'mnotthefirstpersontoaskthisquestion.ButIthink,asacommunity,westillhavealottolearn.It'sstaggering,ifyouthinkaboutCoca-Cola.Theysell1.5billionservingseverysingleday.That'slikeeveryman,womanandchildontheplanethavingaservingofCokeeveryweek.Sowhydoesthismatter?Well,ifwe'regoingtospeeduptheprogressandgoevenfasteronthesetofMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsthatwe'resetasaworld,weneedtolearnfromtheinnovators,andthoseinnovatorscomefromeverysinglesector.Ifeelthat,ifwecanunderstandwhatmakessomethinglikeCoca-Colaubiquitous,wecanapplythoselessonsthenforthepublicgood.Coke'ssuccessisrelevant,becauseifwecananalyzeit,learnfromit,thenwecansavelives.Sothat'swhyItookabitoftimetostudyCoke.AndIthinktherearereallythreethingswecantakeawayfromCoca-Cola.Theytakereal-timedataandimmediatelyfeeditbackintotheproduct.Theytapintolocalentrepreneurialtalent,andtheydoincrediblemarketing.Solet'sstartwiththedata.NowCokehasaveryclearbottomline--theyreporttoasetofshareholders,theyhavetoturnaprofit.Sotheytakethedata,andtheyuseittomeasureprogress.Theyhavethisverycontinuousfeedbackloop.Theylearnsomething,theyputitbackintotheproduct,theyputitbackintothemarket.TheyhaveawholeteamcalledKnowledgeandInsight.It'salotlikeotherconsumercompanies.Soifyou'rerunningNamibiaforCoca-Cola,andyouhavea107constituencies,youknowwhereeverycanversusbottleofSprite,FantaorCokewassold,whetheritwasacornerstore,asupermarketorapushcart.Soifsalesstarttodrop,thenthepersoncanidentifytheproblemandaddresstheissue.Let'scontrastthatforaminutetodevelopment.Indevelopment,theevaluationcomesattheveryendoftheproject.I'vesatinalotofthosemeetings,andbythen,itiswaytoolatetousethedata.IhadsomebodyfromanNGOoncedescribeittomeasbowlinginthedark.Theysaid,Yourolltheball,youhearsomepinsgodown.It'sdark,youcan'tseewhichonegoesdownuntilthelightscomeon,andthenyouanseeyourimpact.Real-timedataturnsonthelights.Sowhat'sthesecondthingthatCoke'sgoodat?They'regoodattappingintothatlocalentrepreneurialtalent.Coke'sbeeninAfricasince1928,butmostofthetimetheycouldn'treachthedistantmarkets,becausetheyhadasystemthatwasalotlikeinthedevelopedworld,whichwasalargetruckrollingdownthestreet.AndinAfrica,theremoteplaces,it'shardtofindagoodroad.ButCokenoticedsomething--theynoticedthatlocalpeopleweretakingtheproduct,buyingitinbulkandthenresellingitinthesehard-to-reachplaces.Andsotheytookabitoftimetolearnaboutthat.Andtheydecidedin1990thattheywantedtostarttrainingthelocalentrepreneurs,givingthemsmallloans.Theysetthemupaswhattheycalledmicro-distributioncenters,andthoselocalentrepreneursthenhiresalespeople,whogooutwithbicyclesandpushcartsandwheelbarrowstoselltheproduct.Therearenowsome3,000ofthesecentersemployingabout15,000peopleinAfrica.InTanzaniaandUganda,theyrepresent90percentofCoke'ssales.Let'slookatthedevelopmentside.WhatisitthatgovernmentsandNGOscanlearnfromCoke?GovernmentsandNGOsneedtotapintothatlocalentrepreneurialtalentaswell,becausethelocalsknowhowtoreachtheveryhard-to-serveplaces,theirneighbors,andtheyknowwhatmotivatesthemtomakechange.IthinkagreatexampleofthisisEthiopia'snewhealthextensionprogram.ThegovernmentnoticedinEthiopiathatmanyofthepeopleweresofarawayfromahealthclinic,theywereoveraday'stravelawayfromahealthclinic.Soifyou'reinanemergencysituation--orifyou'reamomabouttodeliverababy--forgetit,togettothehealthcarecenter.Theydecidedthatwasn'tgoodenough,sotheywenttoIndiaandstudiedtheIndianstateofKeralathatalsohadasystemlikethis,andtheyadapteditforEthiopia.Andin2003,thegovernmentofEthiopiastartedthisnewsystemintheirowncountry.Theytrained35,000healthextensionworkerstodelivercaredirectlytothepeople.Injustfiveyears,theirratiowentfromoneworkerforevery30,000peopletooneworkerforevery2,500people.Now,thinkabouthowthiscanchangepeople'slives.Healthextensionworkerscanhelpwithsomanythings,whetherit'sfamilyplanning,prenatalcare,immunizationsforthechildren,oradvisingthewomantogettothefacilityontimeforanon-timedelivery.ThatishavingrealimpactinacountrylikeEthiopia,andit'swhyyouseetheirchildmortalitynumberscomingdown25percentfrom2000to2008.InEthiop