This morning at Cooper Union, the Guardian’s business correspondent, Andrew Clark, ran into and attempted to engage Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, without much success. Here’s how it went down.
Walking alongside him, I asked: “Mr Blankfein, has your company done anything wrong?”
The Goldman boss was having none of it, striding onward without a sound. I tried again: “Mr Blankfein, what do you think of the SEC’s charges against your company?”
Still no response.
Well no wonder. Clearly, the guy’s game was entirely off. You can’t just come at the CEO of the biggest and most fearsome financial company in the world with an attack. He needs to be coaxed. Maybe with a small treat, or a little scratch behind the ears. Andrew Ross Sorkin knows what we’re talking about. So we thought we’d reach out to Clark, you know, journalist to “journalist,” to suggest that maybe he should have tried a different approach.
Well no wonder. Clearly, the guy’s game was entirely off. You can’t just come at the CEO of the biggest and most fearsome financial company in the world with an attack. He needs to be coaxed. Maybe with a small treat, or a little scratch behind the ears. Andrew Ross Sorkin knows what we’re talking about. So we thought we’d reach out to Clark, you know, journalist to “journalist,” to suggest that maybe he should have tried a different approach.
From: Pressler, Jessica
To: Andrew Clark’
Subject: my question is this
Did it not occur to you to hug Lloyd? To try cracking his hard veneer with love instead of anger? Because I think that might’ve worked.
From: Andrew Clark
To: Pressler, Jessica
Subject: Re: my question is this
Meh, wimp. This kind of thinking is precisely why the British don’t have an empire anymore.
A slightly awkward encounter with Goldman’s boss Lloyd Blankfein [Guardian UK]
