#008 - I was a lion once

I love Aesop's fables, and read one I particularly like the other day.

There was a lion, in the jungle, laying on the ground close to death. All the animals of the land we’re crowded around, taunting and poking fun at him. A mouse scurried atop the lion, and while dancing on his nose said ‘He can’t do anything to us now!’. The animal crowd laughed and continued to make fun of the lion.

With all the energy left in his body, the lion lifted his head and said ‘Mock me now, but, I was a lion once.

A nice tale, so let's keep it in mind when considering this disaster hero of a bloke who I've been writing about in a PR essay today. He's called Gerald Ratner, and at the end of the 80's he was chief executive of a huge jewelry company called Ratners.
One day he gave a speech to an internal board of directors, and told a a couple of jokes referring to the low quality of his products, such as saying some of the earrings were "cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn't last as long".

And then boom. Overnight media storm.

It that one speech Ratner wiped 500 million from the value of the company and eventually lost his job. The company was forced to change its name to Signet.

That might be a miserable ending, but don't worry. He's worth a few million again now (with a new jewelry company), and remember, he was a lion once.