The reputation playbook – A winning formula to help CEOs protect corporate reputation in the digital economy

Author: Jennifer Janson

Publisher: Harriman House

Reviewer: Nicky Smith, co-founder, Twelve PR 

The reputation playbook took me by surprise. The cover didn’t appeal to me at all, for some reason. But trust me, if you’re wondering or worrying about the reputation – or incoming sales leads, or staff recruitment or successful marketing – of your business, then this is a great book to read.

While it’s written by someone who clearly understands the pressures faced by CEOs of large PLCs or multinationals, it would still be extremely useful to the owner or MD of a small business, or indeed any organisation at all.

Reputation can be a nebulous subject, but the author, Jennifer Janson, manages to pin down every aspect of it clearly – how to define it; identify how and where yours could be at risk, and steps you can take to protect it. 

If you skipped all the details and just went to the end of each chapter, and posed the questions that are summarised under the pithy title of ‘Ask your team’ or ‘Ask yourself’, you’d be doing yourself and your business a favour.

I did however, read all the details, and very useful they are too. Some of the facts of reputation which Janson describes, such as ‘reputational risk is a measure of how a company’s reputation can be irreparably damaged by a single action or decision by almost anyone in the business, or anyone outside the business’, have always been true.

However, what is new and urgent, and which every business should prepare for, is the speed and damage amplification, or ‘digital wildfire’ as Janson calls it, which can be wreaked by social media.

The book is based around the view that ‘reputation can be irreparably damaged in a matter of hours, or even minutes as a direct result of the dramatic increase in the use of social media’. 

If you loathe social media, or love it, this book is a ‘must read.’  With plenty of real-life case studies; anecdotes which ring true, and step-by-step guides to complete the process of developing and delivering an effective reputation strategy, I think time spent reading this book would be a good business investment.

Star Rating: 4/5

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