Coke Plan Leaves Some Dry

But while he approves of the plan. Pabrai says it's not a remedy for what ails Coca-Cola. In fact, he says the company's problem may be getting its management to stand up to its board of directors, which includes such luminaries as investment banker Herbert Allen, Internet mogul Barry Diller and former Olympics organizer Peter Ueberroth.

"The board at Coke is so formidable that it's intimidating for any CEO to lead the company," says Pabrai. "It's a very high-powered board, and the problems of the business partially may have something to do with this power. It's very tough to find a CEO who can effectively stand up to that group."

Not only is it hard to stand up to them, but finding a way to provide any real financial incentives for them could be futile.

"This plan might be an improvement, but it really doesn't matter to them," says Pabrai. "These guys have a very high net worth regardless of what happens at Coke, and they're in any case not really the drivers of performance at the company."