Picture as it appeared in Examiner.com 'The High Price of Resume Padding'

What is it about senior executives and ‘not-entirely-truthful’ academic claims on some of their CVs?

Yahoo!’s CE, Scott Thompson, is the latest to find his career bent out of shape following revelations that the bachelor’s degree in computer science noted in his bio didn’t actually exist.

That in itself is cause for concern over his integrity and credibility but the fact that he apparently tried to blame a recruitment firm for adding it to his bio years ago only dug him into an even bigger hole, metaphorically speaking, and his fate was sealed.

Blaming others, especially when that blame is allegedly untrue, is an ugly trait to associate with senior executives. If Thompson thought the recruitment company might sit back and do nothing when faced with this claim, he thought wrong. (more…)

Testimonials, or endorsements, are arguably one of the most powerful promotional tools we can have in our armoury, especially since recommendations are around eight times more powerful than anything we can say about ourselves.

When all other things appear to be equal, or at least largely similar, positive support from an independent third party can swing the odds in our favour. When a prospective employer offers a position to their preferred candidate they usually do so ‘subject to references’. Whilst we accept what the person themselves says, we look for independent comment to support their application.

The same is true for businesses. Feedback and testimonials from past clients are often sought when trying to decide which provider to choose. The one that has most positive, current testimonials will often be the one that’s selected. (more…)

The ease and speed with which social media/networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook can spread information is in the news again as Barak Obama’s unheralded low-key visit to Afghanistan was almost blown by tweets from the region.

Presidential aides rebutted the tweets in an effort not to damage security arrangements but their efforts ultimately proved futile as the visit got underway.

Controlling a message has gone out of the window given the mass use of smartphones and sites such as Twitter. Rumours abound and tweets can be spread, literally like wild-fire.

Apparently ‘random’ tweets can set of a chain of events that can see cricketers having to defend themselves against allegations of match-fixing, celebrities commenting on relationship issues, and politicians’ whereabouts made public.

Whilst some tweets might be deliberate and malicious, many more will simply be innocent commentary on what the tweeter is seeing or hearing around them. If we don’t want that to be commented on, best we keep it behind firmly shut closed doors.

In Reputationz News each month I highlight what I consider to be recent reputation winners and losers. They can be people, companies or even abstract ideas. Some are fairly obvious. Others are off-beat or quirky. You may or may not agree! The lists are purely my opinion.

Check out the lists below for my pick of recent reputation winners and losers and feel free to leave a comment with nominations for the next issue if you think someone or something should be included.

Reputation Winners

US company Terrafugia for developing a folding car-plane that will allow commuters with both a driver’s and pilot’s licence to take to the skies when it enters production next year.

NZ company Booktrack for developing movie-quality background music for ebooks that’s attracted interest from global publishers. (more…)

If you’re in business it’s highly likely that at some point you will have been asked whether you follow a B2B (business to business) or B2C (business to consumer) model. The question is usually asked to help clarify what kind of marketing, positioning and processes and systems you might need as these can vary depending on the type of business you operate.

Making distinctions of this kind can be useful in some cases, however what’s more important is understanding that every business needs to be P2P – Person to Person. People do business with people. More importantly people do business with people they like and trust.

The more personally engaged and focused you are the more likely you are attract and retain loyal clients and raving fans. That means focusing on the individuals you deal with at a truly personal level and not considering them as a homogeneous mass. (more…)

It makes a refreshing change to see a customer service response go viral because of how well it’s been handled, rather than how badly.

Three-and-a-half year old Lily Robinson wrote to UK supermarket giant Sainsbury to point out that Tiger bread really should be called Giraffe bread (which I happen to agree with).

Her letter could have been handled perfectly well using the normal channels of communication and ensuring adherence to the supermarket’s rules and protocols around responding to such requests.

Fortunately it was handled a little differently to normal by Customer Manager at the time, Chris King, who chose to respond to Lily in a heartfelt, human and totally present way. (more…)

Change is inevitable. It’s something we can guarantee will happen. Of course that doesn’t make it any easier, especially when change is forced upon us, or when we feel the change is unwarranted or inappropriate.

Managing the pre-change process effectively is essential if you want customers to welcome and support the change rather than challenge it.

If there’s any inkling that the change might disadvantage the customer, or be handled in a way the customer considers to be inappropriate, then not only will you find your reputation severely dented, you might also lose the goodwill and customer loyalty you’d previously earned and find yourself watching part of your customer base disappear.

So what should a provider do to help minimise the risk of alienating clients as you go about making the changes needed? (more…)

The libel case brought by former New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns being heard at the High Court in London demonstrates how brutal trying to defend one’s reputation can be.

Even if Cairn’s wins the case, the damage caused by having his personal and professional life laid bare in the process is likely to make it something of a hollow victory, this in spite of previously settling out of court for undisclosed damages when the allegation was picked up by a cricketing website.

The courtroom drama has seen both the defence and prosecution teams rip into the complainant and defendant in ways that does nothing for either of them in terms of reputation. In fact, in trying to defend his reputation against the allegation made in Tweet by Lalit Modi, Cairn’s has risked not only his reputation as a sportsman, but also his reputation as a husband, partner, father and business man. (more…)

The irony of common sense is that it’s anything but. In my experience ‘common sense’ isn’t very common. In fact, it seems like it may even be heading towards extinction.

One reason for this may be that we’ve become accustomed to relying on what other people ‘feed’ us in terms of information. Our access to knowledge is virtually unlimited now that so many of us instant access to the internet.

However, our ability to question and ‘play around with’ the knowledge and information we now have may be diminishing. It seems increasing numbers of us are willing to accept information that’s provided without questioning its relevance, validity or value to us. The saying ‘knowledge is power’ may have been true before the internet age, but it’s not true today. ‘Knowledge that enables us to make informed decisions’ is power.

What’s more important than knowledge is how we apply it. How we interpret its meaning and relevance in any given set of circumstances, and how we choose to behave as a consequence. (more…)

I spend a fair amount of time working with young people particularly in terms of helping them prepare for and present well at interviews, and getting that all important first ‘proper’ job.

Along with helping them develop relevant skills, and giving them tips and insights into what employers look for in a young person, we reiterate again and again the importance of having a positive attitude and attractive personality.

The same is true for all of us – online and off. Our attitude and personality will either draw people in or push them away.

It’s important for most young people to emphasise these qualities or traits as, often, they may have very limited skills and experience to draw on. And whilst the same should be true for all of us, no matter what age we may be, as we become more skilled, experienced and self-assured, some adults lose sight of how important a positive attitude and positive personality is. We can lose our sense of ‘being’ and focus more on our sense of ‘having’ (or having achieved). (more…)