Reputation

Employees voicing thoughts and opinions about their companies online can be a great source of information and create opportunity for dialogue, but it is also an important reputation management channel that requires monitoring and engagement.

Recently, a heated, expletive-laden altercation between David Portnoy and Charlie Redd, the owner of Dragon Pizza in Somerville, Massachusetts, took the internet by storm. Portnoy’s “no bad press” mantra appears to have had an unforeseen positive impact on the pizzeria – despite the embarrassing behavior of both men involved.

Today, between the speed of the news cycle, the polarization of the populace on big issues, and a generation of consumers who, thanks to social media, are much more aware of environmental and human right abuses, trying to fix a bad reputation with a good charm offensive won’t work.

There is a real need to be more thoughtful about thought leadership. Here, our author discusses three things you can do to increase your position.

In order to regain student trust, colleges need to take steps to ensure that the admissions process is fair and transparent.

Successful companies understand the value of connecting purpose with reputation, and in doing so, bigger corporations have streamlined their CSR and philanthropic efforts to concentrate on areas they believe are aligned to their corporate mission, brand values and employee/consumer interest.

For celebrities and public figures like Lizzo, the USWNT and Paul Reubens (Pee-wee) it’s not always about how you fall, but how you get back up again.

Synchrony recently promoted Sue Bishop to EVP, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer. In this position, she will establish a new Corporate Affairs office, “to address growing opportunities and complex issues shaping today’s global business environment.”

The dramatic fall of the Blackberry is now being showcased as a feature film. The narrative invites a broader conversation about the strategic decisions that all businesses must make to capitalize on opportunities, and the measures they must take to avoid a fate similar to Blackberry.

Almost every company has been there: a partner, otherwise completely unknown to your end consumer, plays a critical role in the trust, reputation and relationship cultivated with that client or customer. But what happens when that unseen, and most likely unfamiliar, third party entity faces its own crisis that precludes it from meeting the expectations of your stakeholders?