Managing Corporate Reputation In Tough Times

15/12/2009

By Andrew Lester

In tough times we all focus on the critical issue: cash flow. We all have to take tough decisions and balance survival with longer term aspirations. There is no point in holding on to your principles the view goes, if you go bust.

However, just because the business needs to survive does not mean that the company needs to materially impact its values and long term reputation. It takes years to build a great reputation and mere minutes to destroy it. How we manage our company reputations during the tough times is therefore critical to ensuring that...

...when the recession ends and our thoughts and actions return to growth that we do not have to fix reputation issues as part of the rebuilding.

We have recently reviewed a number of businesses that have been affected by the recession. We checked out how they managed their reputations whilst still meeting their cash needs. Whilst some businesses sensibly manage both cash and reputation, there are some who make a real hash of it and others that are brilliant. Managing reputation in tough times therefore can be based on the lessons learned from both good and the bad experiences. (If you want to sign up to the full report of our review please email us at info@carr-michael.com quoting reference "FBT December 09 - Iconic Report" it is free and due to be published in early 2010.)


What not to do:

Some company reputations have been badly damaged by the recession through poor management practices - in no particualr order they include the following. Treating your suppliers badly, dragging out payments by underhand means. Keeping employees in the dark over the future of the company, summarily dismissing them with no empathy or consideration. Cutting the service... continued on page two >

 

 

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