There are several things we can draw from this story. Firstly, that it's not easy for a family-owned business to succeed in Britain today. The establishment is either hostile, or at best indifferent (depending on your politics), but it's certainly not supportive. Equally, the odds also suggest it's far from easy for a woman to succeed in the waste and recycling sector too, so Jacqui O'Donovan deserves maximum respect on both counts. Selecting a policy stance on which to build a successful public relations image is difficult in any business. To find a USP in the politically-charged climate that is London? That's twice as tough. So to select "safety" as your paramount "signature issue", when you're an operator of heavy waste and recycling trucks in one of the most HGV-hostile urban environments for truck operators in the world? In public relations terms, that's either very brave, amazingly clever, or downright foolish. As we don't do "foolish" on Ml/0, let's settle for brave then, or... no, let's settle for brave AND clever. The bottom line? O'Donovan Waste now has a public relations image that many larger waste sector PLCs can only dream of. It's an example to us all.
展开▼
