NO TIME FOR REGRETS, I'M TOO BUSY COUNTING MY MONEY
"I made plenty of mistakes. I didn't maximize the opportunities offered by the chaos. But in the end, it worked out OK."
- Warren Buffett, in an interview with Wall Street Journal, figures he could have swung more deals to do even better than he did out of the financial crisis - but then again, he turned down what would have been some disasters, too.
'MESSING UP ROYALLY' ISN'T QUITE THE IMAGE WE'RE GOING FOR
"For the past six years, Accenture and Tiger Woods have had a very successful sponsorship arrangement and his achievements on the golf course have been a powerful metaphor for business success in Accenture's advertising. However, given the circumstances of the last two weeks, after careful consideration and analysis, the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising."
- Consulting giant Accenture becomes the first sponsor to dump Tiger Woods as its spokesman.
IF WE COULD FIND A WAY TO PUT 10,000 SMOKES IN YOUR POCKET…
"We need an iPod of cigarettes."
- Naresh Sethi, president of tobacco company BAT Japan, figures his firm needs some cool new "innovation" to get the less-smoke-friendly latest generation of young Japanese to gravitate to its products. (Hey, maybe they could sell digital cigarettes to avatars?)
CELLING YOUR SOUL
"They're a partner with Kim Jong-Il. The people bringing competition to Canada seem to have a different perspective than we do."
- Telus CFO Robert McFarlane disses Egypt's Orascom Telecom - the major investor in newly approved Canadian wireless competitor Globalive - for its willingness to provide North Korea's totalitarian regime with cell services.
YOUR FLY IS DOWN - WAAAAY DOWN
"We are ending an Annus Horribilis that brings to a close the 10 challenging years of an aviation Decennis Horribilis."
- Giovanni Bisignani, head of the International Air Transport Association, bemoans the staggering losses the global airline industry has suffered - $11-billion (U.S.) this year and $49-billion (U.S.) since the start of the decade.
David Parkinson