Corporate Reputation and The CEO

published 2004

The importance of corporate reputation, the role of the CEO and the link between them and the bottom line should now be on the agenda of CEO’s of major organisations and those who provide them with public relations and communications advice.

Some quotes on Reputation

"Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked, and never well mended."

Benjamin Franklin

"On average... it takes seven years to get to the point where a company shifts from good to great."

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great:Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't

"If you lose money for the firm, I will be understanding. If you lose reputation I will be ruthless."

Warren Buffet

"It takes a lifetime to build a reputation, and only a short time to lose it all."

Joseph Neubauer, CEO, Aramark Worldwide

"How skilfully companies manage key non-financial areas of performance and then communicate related assets to outside constituents - shareholders, investors - will have a powerful effect on how they are valued."

Ernst & Young, Measures That Matter

Quotes on The Importance of the CEO

"On average, a CEO accounts for about 14% of a company's financial performance".

The Economist, 25/10/2003

"50% of a company's reputation is attributable to the CEO's reputation".

Burson-Marsteller, CEO Reputation 2003

"A CEO is ultimately responsible for the growth of a company as evidenced by its financial performance, its capacity for self-renewal, and its character. The only way you can measure character is by reputation."

Roberto Goizueta, former CEO, Coca-Cola

"Any CEO who cannot clearly articulate the intangible assets of his brand and understand its connection to customers is in trouble."

Charlotte Beers

"Despite the size and complexity of modern corporations, the person in charge still sets the tone, defines the style, becomes the company's public face."

Fortune, 18/11/2002

"A charismatic CEO can win every argument regardless of the facts. A non-charismatic CEO has to win on the merits of the argument."

Jim Collins, author of Good to Great:Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't

"I think the CEO today has to be far more hands-on than he has had to be in previous eras. He has to be far more communicative in terms of the various constituencies the company serves. And I think he has to be far more nimble."

Larry Bossidy, former CEO, AlliedSignal

"As a global company, Convergys has several offices worldwide, but only one CEO and one corporate reputation."

Cheryl Campbell, VP Corporate Communications, Convergys Corporation, 10/03/2003

"If you want to analyze a corporation, read its financial statements. If you want to plumb its soul, talk to its chief executive."

Fortune, 18/11/2002

"Despite the size and complexity of modern corporations, the person in charge still sets the tone, defines the style, becomes the company's public face."

Fortune, 18/11/2002

Quotes on The Importance of the First 100 Days

"My first 100 days are all about listening and learning. The last thing you'll get from me is a grand vision in the first 100 days. You need to give yourself time to be a sponge."

Paul Pressler, CEO, The Gap, Fortune, 18/11/2002

"I tell these guys: you’re going to be defined by your first 90 days… You’ve got to act."

Jack Welch, former CEO, General Electric

"If you don’t do it in the first 100 days, you won’t do it in 100 years."

Lord Sheppard, Former Chairman and CEO, Grand Metropolitan

Some Recent Resources…

Davos Leaders Rate Reputation No 1 Measure of Success

Who would have thought that a bunch of hard-nosed world business leaders and economists would have rated an ‘intangible’ such as corporate reputation above financial factors?

Well, according to a survey of leading CEO’s and others from throughout the world who attended the World Economic Forum in Davos in late 2003:

• corporate reputation is a more important measure of success than profitability, return on investment and stock market performance

• the only measure of corporate success that is higher is the quality of products and services that an organisation provides

Click here to see the results of the survey.

Five Stage ‘Survival’ Tool for CEO’s

Dr Lesie Gaines-Ross, a US researcher who specialises in CEO and corporate reputation, has developed a five-stage CEO Capital model that is claimed to be both the ultimate survival tool and a realistic program for today’s CEO.

The five stages are:

• Countdown
• The First Hundred Days
• The First Year
• The Turning Point
• Revision and Reinvention

This model needs to be viewed from the perspective that Dr Gaines’ research indicates CEO’s have only an average of 15-18 months in which to prove themselves.

Click here for more information.

Sources: Australian Institute of Company Directors, World Economic Forum, cego.com

Network Communications, the publishers of PR Influences, can assist you in many areas of reputation, including reputation management programs. Click here if you would like to learn more about this topic.

For additional reading see:

Corporate reputation - what is it and how will my organisation benefit?

ROI link between PR and corporate reputation established