Contrary to conventional wisdom, reputation isn’t amorphous. It is, in fact, a hard measure – a currency of your organisation – that requires the same attention as the investment of time and money that goes into everything your enterprise does.
Why? Because reputation is the public face of your organisation. It is what your customers see – no matter your size, sector or longevity. Moreover, because of the power of social networking, it’s no longer altogether within your control.
Your organisation’s reputation is the outcome of every operational decision and action taken at every level every day. That makes it a make or break for your organization – from its share value after a disaster (think BP) to the trajectory to the top of its particular tree (think Apple). But it also makes it both manageable and measurable.
As well, because reputation can be measured by looking at both the errors of omission and errors of commission that your organisation has perpetrated and experienced, your background gives you a particularly valuable and insightful tool to help you contribute directly and valuably to your organisation as it strategises its future. Reputation included.
From assisting teams in their Lean activities to feeding information into the executive suite, you have the capability to directly impact your organisation’s reputation. In fact, your contribution to how your organisation is seen by others is now more important – and visible – than ever before.
Reputation opens a door for those with finance and accounting specialisation that is, quite frankly, normally closed. Not because you’re not good at what you do – but because those who are looking at you don’t realise how much you have to offer toward their and the organisation’s success.
It’s time to take that step forward. Use reputation – your own and your organisation’s – as your launching pad to success.
Leslie L. Kossoff is an internationally renowned confidential advisor to executives and entrepreneurs. She is the author of two books, over 100 articles and the CIMA report, “Reputation - Why it matters and how you can manage it” as well as the Leadership Quantified papers (www.kossoff.com/cima).