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July 17, 2007
Mackey Apology Not on Wires?
While John Mackey's apology about posting anonymously on message boards is plain and abject and all, why didn't a release go out on the wires? Sure, there are Reuters stories about the website post at WFMI, but I can't find the unadulterated apology on any of the usual wires.Whole Foods Market today released the following statement from Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, John Mackey: "I sincerely apologize to all Whole Foods Market stakeholders for my error in judgment in anonymously participating on online financial message boards. I am very sorry and I ask our stakeholders to please forgive me."Was it posted anonymously on some message board instead? I kid! I kid!
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Mr. Mackey’s predilection for anonymous rantings is far from unique in the corridors of power. So much so that at least one startup has stepped into the void to assist acronym-challened CEOs. Check it out at: http://sneakybusiness.typepad.com/sneaky/2007/07/ceos-yearn-for-.html
The New York Times did quite an article on this on Monday http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/technology/16blog.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin
In fact, the mention of your blog in that article is what brought me here.
The thing I don't get is why Mackey, who has worked so long and hard to build the perception that Whole Foods is highly ethical, would absolutely kill his reputation (and probably his takeover bid) over something this stupid!
I've spent the last five years showing that ethical businesses actually function better (including an award-wining book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First) and have tracked many articles before this scandal broke positioning Mackey as the ethical white knight.
I've written two blog posts of my own on this.
Shel Horowitz, award-wining author of seven books, founder of the Business Ethics Pledge, http://www.business-ethics-pledge.org
Same release went over PRNewswire -- http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-17-2007/0004627473&EDATE=