Anthony McClellan has an interesting piece on how AWB fluffed an early opp at making amends, implicating lawyers and exec pride. Anthony’s piece flags a couple of key points: a) PR in Oz just isnt held in as high regard as legal advice, tho as the people are increasingly judged in the (citizen media) court of public opinion, the message might eventually get thru. As a Scottish football coach once remarked to a lawyer-turned-CEO who was trying to influence onfield selection; “I’ve watched a couple of episodes of Ironside, but I wouldn’t think I could represent someone in court”, and b) Sandman’s ‘very sorry’ advice would have probably seemed insincere and incongruous if we’re to believe the portrayal of AWB’s corporate culture; like those ‘sorry’s’ when sports stars read the pre-prepared contrition after off-field incidents.
(Source The Australian)