Risky Business – protecting your Reputation.

Penny's Expert Media Tips

Have you ever reflected on your reputation? How do people see you? Are you trustworthy, a good friend, reliable, friendly, quick to anger, always late…all these attributes go into the mix as people reflect on you as a person. We make similar judgments about local businesses, charities, multi national corporations, churches, governments. The question is how much of those subjective opinions affect the bottom line of the organization?

Corporate reputation cannot be taken for granted. It needs to be understood, nurtured and protected. People’s perceptions of your organisation affect their preparedness to do business with you. All decisions you make impact your reputation. For example, the decision by the Australian Treasurer, Peter Costello, to go public on the leadership row is particularly intriguing. His statement in direct contradiction to his Prime Minister clearly impacts his reputation. He is a political animal. Why has he chosen now to speak out? What does he hope to gain? Will the gains outweigh the losses? He is playing for very high stakes.

What about other individuals and organisations currently in the Australian news. For example, Mr Eddie Everywhere. What do you think when you think of Eddie McGuire? The nickname suggests a man who is busy, who has many balls in the air. We all know Eddie is passionate about the Magpies. We know he is a consummate media operator. We know he is a major player in the corporate world. We know he has moved from Melbourne where he presented numerous television shows as well as chairing Collingwood Football Club, to Sydney where he has taken on the role of CEO of the Nine Network.

Is he reliable, consistent, transparent, accountable, authentic? (These are the five attributes often used as reputation measuring sticks.) Like him or hate him, previously we probably would have given him a tick for most of those qualities. Have those views changed in recent weeks and does he carry his personal reputation into the helm of Channel Nine? Are our views of the station coloured by our views of Eddie?

What about P&O Cruises? I’ll guarantee that whatever your previous opinion of the company was, it has taken a significant dive if you have been even vaguely following the Inquest being conducted into the death of Brisbane woman, Dianne Brimble, on board the passenger ship Pacific Sky in 2002. The ultimate issue for P&O is what impact will this public airing of its dirty laundry have on its bottom line? Will the numbers of passengers fall? To try and counter that impact, P&O has been issuing statements about onboard behaviour to try and reassure potential clients that it is indeed safe to travel with their company.

Did P&O employees’ actions at the time of Mrs Brimbles’ death consider the reputation of the organisation? Did they have a policy in place which covered ‘worst case scenarios’? And one assumes the wrongful death of a passenger would come into that category! Given their subsequent actions, it would appear not. Did they understand their reputation prior to Mrs Brimbles’ death? It might depend on how they perceived their reputation.

Was it as a swinging, anything goes holiday where drugs, alcohol and potential abuse of women was acceptable and to be encouraged? Or was it a safe, enjoyable, magical holiday, different from any other, sailing the seven seas, where the world outside was momentarily switched off as you slipped into a cocoon of food, entertainment, and friendship?

P&O’s reputation has been shattered. Only time will tell whether it is redeemable. Eddie’s reputation has been damaged. His future behaviour will to some degree determine the impact of that damage. I suspect it is probably only minimal at the moment. I am entirely baffled by Peter Costello’s actions. Is he an astute politician or has he shot himself in the foot?

It is only by understanding how your reputation has been formed, that you can actually seek to honour, protect and build on it. Develop a keen eye as these stories unfold in the media, and you will start to appreciate the value of developing strategies which insure against reputational damage!

If you would like to know more about corporate reputation, contact penny@positivemedia.com.au or visit our website www.positivemedia.com.au