Lately we have been talking to more than a few readers and industry muckety mucks and some have suggested that we’re a bit too cynical and our critical thinking radar needs some fine-tuning. Frankly, while we love pointing out where other people have made decisions that we say are stupid, this time we see that its NBN who needs to shape up a bit.
Case in point was a recent conversation with an industry insider. She pointed out a story about Hain’s purchase of Nspired Foods and noted that we never even had the story confirmed. Yes we tried, although not as hard as we should of, fact is we got present to something bigger than this unconfirmed story (since removed from the site); namely that we have been doing some sloppy work.
Our editorial policy involves questioning conventional wisdom yet we recently saw that when it comes to some folks, notably Hain’s CEO Irwin Simon, we’re too quick to believe the industry gossip mill.
In fiction every good narrative needs a villain. In real life things aren’t that simple. So we’ve rethought some things about Hain and have come to realize that while brand performance outside of personal care hasn’t been so strong, there is another story we haven’t been talking about.
This story is about guts. It’s narrative centers around a resolute CEO named Irwin Simon who is so clear of his vision that detractors don’t matter. This story tells the tale of someone who has the will to pay top dollar for an ever-growing number of entrepreneurial driven companies to add them to his stellar line-up. Like the Yankees, Hain is the big money team that people like to criticize, and berate.
We won’t be doing that so readily anymore. No, not about the Yankess, we hate them. We’re talking about Hain Foods and Simon’s leadership. That story has a lot more merits there than in George Steinbrenner’s board room.
And hey in case you forget folks. We have a place to post comments and frankly are hoping to encourage dialogue. So talk to us, let us know that you love us or hate us and we’ll be glad that you wrote. Either way.
