Sample Size of One
People often begin sentences denying their real intent or belief. “I don’t mean to be rude but…”, “It’s not that I don’t like it but..”, “You are an exceptional person but…”.
Then there are CEOs who rule from the top down. Like Bernie Ebbers of Worldcom who secretly replaced the water coolers with non-filtered water to save costs.
And so it is that Jeeves the butler is now six feet under. The WSJ reports that Barry Diller officially announced the change at a Goldman Sachs investor conference yesterday. He had unofficially announced the change as soon as he bought the company.
But you have to keep up the charade. According to a spokeswoman: “A recent round of consumer research concluded that the Jeeves butler, a character originally created by English comic writer P.G. Wodehouse, “inhibits how people view our brand,” said an Ask Jeeves spokeswoman.”
Diller, a very witty individual, was unable to have one last parting shot: “Mr. Diller had hinted in previous public comments that he was inclined to ditch Jeeves, though he suggested on Wednesday that the ousting wasn’t personal. “Not that I don’t like that fat butler,” Mr. Diller said at the conference”
Poor Jeeves! Even after he went on an Atkins-diet-like shedding of pounds last September so that Interactive Corp would even buy him in the first place!
