The CEO and Reputation: Building a resilient brand and managing threats call for a new leadership style
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett
John Garvey, President of GCAi presenting at a Mass Bankers Conference
The Oracle of Omaha’s advice on protecting the most valuable commodity an individual or organization possesses is spot on. In business, however, it helps to know what “do things differently” means, in advance of the next crisis.
As a business leader, what not to do is well known. If you are unsure, just Google “Travis Kalanick” or “Oscar Munoz” and the word “crisis.” Don’t be those guys. Essentially, they and most business leaders get in trouble or impact negatively on their organization’s reputation by not thinking enough about reputation – their company’s and even their own. Reputation is not only worth worrying about, it should be regarded as a market advantage.
Reputation is your sustainable differentiator. It’s why a lot of customers come to your door, why influencers send you referrals, and perhaps why parents tell their children to do business with you. Most businesses invest quite heavily in enhancing their reputation, an effort that conveys to their audience, “we are here to help you with our products and services.” Anything that threatens or damages that message is a reputational threat. It’s that simple.
The complicated part of reputation management is that threats have changed and responses have not. Today’s threats are fueled by algorithms. You’d recognize those computer programs as the Internet, primarily search engines like Google, and Social Media. Algorithms add fire to smoke, and that fire spreads quick across audiences and sometimes into traditional media. Then your phone rings.
For the full article, please visit: https://businesswest.com/blog/building-a-brand-managing-threats-call-for-a-new-leadership-style/
[Based John J. Garvey’s keynote presentation “Managing the Media and Your Reputation in a Crisis” at the Massachusetts Bankers Association’s 2017 Executive Officers Conference.]
