Boeing crisis is prime example of fatal error of failing to act quickly

Despite their legions of lawyers and spindoctors, large corporations tend to struggle when a scandal engulfs them

Boeing 737 Max aeroplanes parked at Grant County International Airport in Washington state last month

Beware the football club chairman’s dreaded vote of confidence in his manager. The under-pressure Boeing chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, was on the receiving end of such a vote of confidence last week. This occurred in the wake of the ongoing crisis over how two Boeing 737 Max jets crashed – in the space of just a few months – killing almost 350 people.

The pressure on Muilenburg has increased in the last couple ...