The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation: Creating, Protecting, and Repairing Your Most Valuable Asset (Wal Street Journal Book)

I love lists. I have 10 Steps of Crisis Communications and 5 Tenets of Crisis Management. When I'm asked why there are 10 of this or 5 of that, my answer is, "because I'm the author and I say so!" Ronald J. Alsop is the author of The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation, which benefits from his years of experience as a news editor and senior writer at The Wall Street Journal. He knows that his fellow journalists like lists, and I suspect he gambled that an off-beat number like "18" would tweak his peers' attention. "Immutable," says my Merriam-Webster, means "not capable of or susceptible to change." I have to agree, in that Mr. Alsop has selected some of the most timeless truths of reputation management and backed them up with solid case histories. He also challenges the credibility of some very popular "best of" lists, such as "the best companies to work for" and "the most visionary companies." One of his most important messages is how quickly circumstances can destroy reputations that took decades to develop. As with much of the book, this is not an idea new to any reader of this newsletter and other books on the market, but he has packaged it very nicely. It's the kind of publication you could give to your CEO or client and say "see, here's more proof that we have work to do." Jonathan Bernstein Author, Keeping the Wolves at Bay: A Media Training Manual Version 3.0 President, Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. [...] From Enron and WorldCom to the Catholic Church and Major League Baseball, reputation crises have never been more widespread. Now Ronald J. Alsop, a veteran Wall Street Journal authority on branding and reputation management, explains the dangers -- and gives organizations the eighteen crucial laws to follow in developing and protecting their reputations. Consider this example of a simple decision made by a low-ranking employee: When rescue workers at the site of the World Trade Center disaster sought bottled water from a nearby Starbucks outlet, they complained that an employee charged them for it. In a matter of hours, the Internet had picked up the story and Starbucks' carefully cultivated worldwide reputation was quickly besmirched. This is just one instance among many of how the business world, ever more global and competitive, has become increasingly difficult to navigate. Studies have demonstrated the powerful impact of reputation on profits and stock prices, and yet less than half of all companies have a formal system for measuring reputation. Clearly, companies in every industry -- from Dow Chemical to Disney to DaimlerChrystler -- have much more to learn. It is still the rare company that realizes the full value of its reputation: how corporate reputation can enhance business in good times, become a protective halo in turbulent times, and be destroyed in an instant by people at the lowest or highest levels of the corporate ladder. Mr. Alsop provides eighteen thoroughly documented lessons based on years of experience covering every aspect of corporate reputation, with a clear distillation of the complex principles at the heart of a reputation. He explains: How to protect your reputation when the inevitable crisis hits How to cope with the many hazards in cyberspace How to create a reputation for vision and industry leadership How to establish a culture of ethical behavior How to measure and monitor your ever-changing public image How to make employees your reputation champions How to decide when it's time to change your name The result is a book that is important not only for business executives, consultants, and advertising, public relations, and marketing professionals but also for anyone eager to learn more about the companies they work for, buy from, and invest in. "Veteran journalist Ron Alsop recounts numerous tales from household names such as Starbucks, McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Microsoft in this study of that vital element of doing business - corporate reputation. With 85 per cent of companies interviewed believing that reputation can have a major impact on business performance, this book shows you the benefits of a good reputation and the consequences of a bad one as well as how to measure reputation and nurture a good one. Alsop provides 18 laws, drawn from years of experience, covering every aspect of corporate reputation." "This book is not only ideal for business executives, but also for anyone eager to know more about the companies they deal with, or whose products they buy. Including comments and advice from industry figures and peppered with real-life case studies, this is a fascinating read."--Jacket Identifies typical areas of vulnerability that threaten any company's image, offering guidelines on how to create or build on a system for reputation management, use the Internet as a tool to control perceptions, and strike a compromise between gratuitous publicity and advertising good deeds. 25,000 first printing. As Bill Margaritis drove back to FedEx Corporation's headquarters after lunch, his stomach grew queasy.