For a long time, the saying was: "No press is good press." But today we live in another time. Everything can and will be discussed, judged and, if need be, condemned online. Every CEO , Managing Director, Director or CEO is currently almost under permanent surveillance. If an "unfortunate" statement made, you will quickly find them in the social media channels, on news portals or even in the print media again. The result: the reputation of the CEO suffers, and with it, that of the entire company. It's high time to look at and manage the CEO's reputation .
But what has changed? The fact is: our society has become a "co-signing society". Increasing socialization in the network means that people who do not otherwise meet communicate via social media . So if I do not agree with a company, a product, a service, or just the statement of a CEO, I can "discuss" it on the social media channels with a thousand other people. And in the meantime terrifying everyday life: the more damaged the reputation is already, the faster will be the more people will find to bang on the company or its CEO verbally.
Who is behind the company?
Another fact that has changed in recent years is the strong personalization . Today, you want to know who is behind a company. You want to communicate with people and not neutral with "the company". Everything becomes more transparent and personal. If a customer is not satisfied today, he can get help from Googlespecifically research information. So if someone is looking for us, they will not only find our website, but also comments from (hopefully) satisfied customers. Special platforms such as kununu.com even make it possible to evaluate companies even more in detail. These circumstances cause many companies great difficulties because they have to completely change their communication (internal and external). And there is no alternative! No company today can afford to renounce reputation management in its corporate strategy and to not specifically manage the reputation of its own CEO.
Effect beats performance
You can put it on a simple formula:
Effect + Behavior + Communication = Reputation
It is often said that a CEO should provide some performance. Of course, his performance must be right. What it really is, however, is the effect that he and his behavior have on the company and thus on the customers. However, if one asks oneself the question in this context: "What are we being trimmed in education and training?", The answer is, astonishingly still: on achievement and knowledge! How we present the resulting, hopefully positive effect, but in the best possible way, is usually not subject matter.
Keep an eye on the reputation
Reputation maintenance is work and has to do with one's own behavior and one's own communication. Of course, the communications department can provide targeted support, but the main initiative comes from the CEO himself. In addition, the CEO must constantly take the view of customers and employees and wonder what their expectations of him? He must also "manage" these expectations. If the legitimate question arises: Does a CEO only have to be image for the company ?keep an eye? No certainly not. He also does it for himself. After all, he takes his reputation with him - in other companies as well as in his private life. Both areas, private as well as business, can not be separated today. Certainly not when it comes to the reputation and reputation of a person. By the way: bad perception of CEOs is more dangerous for them than a bad performance. According to a study by Roland Berger , a bad impact in 71 percent of cases was the cause for a CEO's resignation and not his performance.
Emotion beats facts
Our valuesmeet our beliefs. That's what we stand for, that's what we stand for. Customers, but above all employees, want to know today what a CEO stands for. They want to know what motivates him, how he works and what he works for. Communicating this on the basis of a common values mission statement is rarely promising. Authenticity and integrity are in demand and must be demonstrated and communicated in such a way that they arrive in the truest sense of the word. Reputation management is about making our personal beliefs, attitudes and values tangible. The clearer our environment can be, the more credible, reliable and trustworthy we are, which in turn strengthens our reputation. The fact is: without clear, communicated and experienced values, there is no stable, positive reputation. And beat hereEmotions once more the pure facts communication. A CEO is a human and not a neutral machine.
Long term suggests short term
While image is a snapshot people have of a business ("the image I make myself"), and that can be built up through active communication at short notice, reputation is the reputation that the CEO hasand its companies generally have in the environment. That is, it is the totality of impressions and images, of experiences and relationships. Therefore, it is also one of the biggest mistakes to believe that short-term actions can "polish up" a CEO's reputation. Of course, everything has an effect, but people usually forget very quickly. The reverse is true: once an opinion has been taken, it will take longer for people to revise it again. This effect can be observed especially in the run-up to elections. Many politicians then rely on precisely such short-term measures. Once the person has been elected, the communication and reputation work is usually stopped very quickly. A mistake that often takes its toll at the next election.
Strategy beats show
CEO reputation is not an ego show, but a strategic factor that must be planned. Logically, first the personality of the CEO and the personality of the company should be analyzed in order to create a communication strategy. It should be noted that absolute authenticity is decisive. Anyone who tries to stage a show, and sets more on desire than on authenticity, will soon realize that the community usually sees through this sooner than later and, of course, sets it accordingly publicly.
Yield beats investment
Granted, CEO reputation costs time and money. But what if the CEO and / or the whole company suddenly becomes content of a shitstorm on Facebook ? Or many smaller ones: What if someone searches for the name of the CEO and reads two very negative comments about the company in Google? Any potential new customer will then think twice about really contacting the person or company. By the way, in times of increasing shortage of skilled workers, however, a decisive and important aspect: The good reputation of the CEO also has an effect on the recruitment of new employees. A good reputation is therefore in the truest sense of the word gold - pardon money worth.
Out of the shadows to the light
Especially in SME companies are often found owners who were once very good skilled workers. Of course, this is welcome because once you have learned everything from scratch, you can often fall back on your experience. A small side effect has the whole thing: skilled workers want to convince by their good work or the good product. They usually do not put themselves in the spotlight and tell no stories of how this product or service was created. But it's exactly these stories that customers want to hear. And when a company does not tell this story, others tell it (whether it's true or not). CEO reputation is always a certain protection against crises. But it is like so often in life, before it does not really hurt, you rarely go to the doctor. And sometimes only mitigation will help. In case of cases we invest in other areas all in insurance. So why not here? Positive reputation building is not only helpful in times of crisis, but also when no crisis is foreseeable.
Many entrepreneurs think they are too small for reputation. Especially SMEs can benefit enormously from the positive reputation of a CEO. A single tweet today can damage the reputation of a CEO and thus of the entire company. Therefore, it is a strategically important decision to invest in the reputation of your own CEO and thus the company. Because only when the CEO's long-term reputation shines, the corporate capital shines.
