Reputation is nothing like a bank account
The old saying that reputation is bank couldn’t be more wrong, says Tony Jaques. Often what goes in as red in the ledger can never be ‘bought out’ with black.
Is reputation really like a bank account?
Just about every communication professional has heard the expression that reputation is like a bank account. The idea is that you build it up in good times and draw from it when things go wrong. But is this attractive notion really as valid as it seems?
Risk guru Peter Sandman says it’s simplistic to accept that events which improve your reputation are deposits, events that damage your reputation are withdrawals, and that the objective is to maintain a healthy balance of ‘reputational capital.’
A good question to raise on this topic is whether we will end up with companies who provide “reputation-management” or “reputation-repair” services for individuals, whether they are in the public limelight or not, rather than companies.
This situation has come to my mind even with situations that have affected people whom I know but aren’t in the public spotlight but were also subjects of various backbiting campaigns by people they know or once knew. What I was thinking of was situations where a person may not just be pilloried in conversation but a situation could get out of control thanks to Facebook or Twitter.