Peter Irvine first came to my attention in March 2008 when he made some disparaging remarks about some clients that had used the Mercy Ministries service he was a director of.
Mercy Ministries director Peter Irvine said the allegations made against the organisation were untrue.
‘‘They said we lock girls in rooms – we don’t have locks on the doors,’’ Mr Irvine told The Advertiser in a visit to Bendigo yesterday.
‘‘We don’t do exorcisms, we don’t do any of those things.
‘‘A couple of the girls (reported in the media) do have psychological issues… they make a lot of things up.’’
When the story turned out to have some legs and more media interest was stirred up an apology was forthcoming, though how much of an apology it was you can decide for yourself. This was issued in the same paper in August of last year:
WHEN interviewed last March, I did not accurately represent Mercy Ministries’ position on the concerns raised in the media by former residents, and I apologies.
Although I am no longer affiliated with Mercy Ministries Australia, I assure you the organisation has and always will take very seriously concerns and grievances of former residents. I deeply regret it if my comments led to any other impression.
He also apologised to a number of women with a letter which I commented on here. It was akin to having teeth pulled – clearly a letter that he was strongly advised to write.
Contrast this behavior with his most recent hand waving comments in the Journal regarding Mercy’s actions:
"The whole attack was totally unfair. There were no locked doors, no exorcisms. There’s nothing sinister about it at all."
In the Journal article Irvine is presented as a successful Businessman, a man who while withdrawing from day to day running of Gloria Jeans, still has a keen eye and a penchant for dealing out biblical business advice. He wants to get rid of the rear view mirror mentality:
Having stepped back from the day-to-day running of the company, Mr Irvine enjoys travelling from his Sydney base to pass on the lessons he has learnt over his successful 45-year business career.
Such as getting rid of what he calls the "rear vision mirror" mentality.
"So often you look in the mirror and it’s small and distorts the past. But the windscreen is wide and everything is out there."
I think this is interesting contrasted against his actions and words noted above. While I note that looking forward and not dwelling on past failures is probably good advice (provided of course you learn from your mistakes) I can’t help but think that Peter Irvine doesn’t like to look back because to quote rock god Meatloaf, "objects in your review mirror may appear closer than they are".
Does the rear view mirror distort your perceptions? Or is it simply that you can see what’s gone on behind you and If you don’t like what you see, it’s a painful reminder.
Personally I try to learn from my mistakes, I try to be sincere in my apologies, Peter on the other hand just wants to hit the highway.
Oh and as to his business success, built on biblical principles, have a listen to Cameron Rielly’s interview with ex-Gloria Jeans Franchisees – here.
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