The Good Fortune of Reputational Equity
Geoff has made quite a name for himself.
Originally, from the small town of Vermillion, South Dakota, Geoff headed east and graduated Harvard with a B.A. in economics and earned his M.B.A. at NYU. Since then, he has authored books that landed on the best-sellers lists of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times and moderated high-level business conferences that have seen him share stages with the likes of Richard Branson, the Prince of Wales, Bill Gates, Colin Powell, Jack Welch, Ted Turner, two Presidents who share the last name Bush and many other leadership luminaries. For more than four decades, Geoff has earned the respect and loyalty of millions of fans through his insightful columns and cover stories for Fortune magazine and his commentary on the CBS Radio Network.
When Geoff speaks, people tend to lean in and listen.
In a nutshell, Geoff equips leaders to confront disruptive change and win.
If you are a leader who is both determined and eager to find new ways to compete and win in the middle of a global pandemic, here is an opportunity to eavesdrop on a conversation with one of business journalism’s most respected commentators on leadership, globalization, economic trends, the infotech revolution, human performance and competitive markets.
It’s a chance for you to explore the Good Fortune of Reputational Equity as we do a deep dive with Fortune magazine Senior Editor-At-Large Geoff Colvin on this segment of Leaders & Legends.
"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.” — HENRY FORD
p.s... Thomas Edison, George Eastman, Henry Ford and many other innovators and industrialists battled through their fair share of uncertain times; no different than the way Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Eric Yuan are doing right now. The CEO of the wildly popular ZOOM video conferencing app, Yuan has cashed in big during the COVID-19 pandemic, generating billions of dollars in revenues while his personal net worth has skyrocketed. No matter if you are a titan at the top or a business leader who is mucking about in the middle, there are three things that have become glaringly apparent:
- Whether they like it or not, every single CEO, entrepreneur or small business owner (as of March 2020) went from being a peacetime leader to a wartime leader.
- Business Leaders need to ensure their marketing efforts are optimized like never before.
- Global events are creating make or break opportunities for how brands are perceived – both on-line and off.
Until you've lost your reputation, you never realize what a burden it was or the freedom it provided. Once broken, reputation may possibly be repaired, but it's now become a priority for business leaders to seal those cracks quickly. As Geoff Colvin mentioned, the CEO of ZOOM, Eric Yuan demonstrated the value of Reputational Equity when he jumped face-first into the media moshpit when the security of the platform was compromised back in April.
The late Wayne Dyer once said, "Your reputation is in the hands of others. That's what the reputation is. You can't control that. The only thing you can control is your character. Through the course of the 2020 pandemic, it's become vividly clear that reputation is something we don’t really think about until it comes time to place our trust in someone. Whether we're casting a ballot or making a purchase, it's at that point when reputation really matters. Not everyone will leave this earth with the reputational footprint of icons such as Helen Keller, Mother Teresa Princess Diana, Nelson Mandela or Terry Fox, but business leaders would be wise to look at these legends as role models for making tough decisions in the face of difficult circumstances. These are difficult times to be sure, however, it's the leaders who can see beyond the urgent matters of the present and position themselves and their brands as trustworthy stewards of the future who will survive with their reputations intact.
Reputation is fragile. It can change in the blink of an eye or with a single, ill-advised tweet.
Reputational Equity is one of the most important aspects of any business, yet it's the most difficult to quantify. But, as Geoff Colvin explained in our earlier conversation, that's no excuse for leaders to ignore what lies beyond metrics and numbers in determining the value of earning and maintaining the public trust.
GOT BRAND?
Maybe you have been thinking and pondering for a while that its time to let everybody else zig while you ZAG and take your business and brand in a new and different direction. If you're feeling now is the perfect time to RE-DEFINE, RE-POSITION and DIFFERENTIATE your company or organization, you might want to saddle up for a metaphorical road trip called THE BRANDING HIGHWAY. Our in-person and virtual "Executive Bootcamps" serve as both journey and destination to help you emerge as an undeniable, undisputed, "Category of One". The journey begins with one click on this video.
For more information: [email protected]
Every week someone asks me a question about our videos and more specifically our media partner responsible for the production and editing. Based in London, Ontario, Defiant Astronaut Media also posts a monthly blog, showcasing a curated selection of story-based videos that inspire others to re-think what's possible with this art form and how it can help build your brand. You can review and dissect the latest from Josh Parlee's Video Lab by clicking here: https://www.defiantastronaut.com/blog/july
If you are curious about what's involved to get the proper gear to support your own video publishing efforts, our media partners @ Defiant Astronaut Media have a few ideas to get your started. Click here: https://kit.co/defiantastronaut
As always we are open to serving small to medium size business owners with an open heart and no strings attached. That's why we always schedule a limited number of 20-Minute Discovery Sessions via ZOOM. If you are facing a business or branding challenge that you are not quite sure how to handle, we’re only a click away.
Get daily updates and continue the DISCUSSION on FACEBOOK or visit www.gairmaxwell.com
"If you choose not to decide you have still made a choice" NEIL PEART