The international best-selling book by Stephen R Covey, ‘First Things First’, has as its subtitle ‘To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy’. Whitney Houston’s untimely death this week made me think about her reputation legacy.

How we are remembered when we are no longer living is the ultimate test of our reputation. Our reputation outlives us, in some cases by hundreds or even thousands of years.

The words inscribed on monuments and headstones in cemeteries the world over bear testament to how we live our lives and will be remembered. Some of us may write our own epitaph but many of us do not, leaving it to others to make a final public statement about us.

And today, the words we and others leave on the internet will be added to those inscribed in stone as part of our reputation legacy. (more…)

In my recent post about Trendwatching.com’s ‘Flawsome’ trend I explained what being ‘flawsome’ means but didn’t expand on what I believe some of its characteristics might be. So here they are.

Remember, as an organiastion or individual, being ‘flawsome’ is delivering an authentic mixture of being honest about your flaws, being willing to be held accountable and doing so in a way that’s empathetic, generous, humble, flexible, mature and good-natured.

Clients and consumers in 2012 won’t expect brands or companies to be flawless – they know it’s just a matter of time before something goes wrong and they fail in some way. Rather than flawless, they will want to engage with organisations that are clearly ‘flawsome’.

Trendwatching will be providing a trend briefing in March focusing on Flawsome and Human Brands. In the meantime I’d hazard a guess characteristics of being flawsome are likely to include: (more…)

Photo: Russ Frushtick

Although articles and blog posts in January lend themselves well to the ‘New Year resolutions’ or ‘predictions’ type pieces for the year ahead this year being ‘flawsome’ is a trend I think will come to the fore.

‘Flawsome’ came in at number 8 on Trendwatching.com’s top 12 crucial consumer trends for 2012 and means the more humanly a brand or company behaves – admitting and even showing their flaws – the more awesome they’ll be perceived. Trendwatching notes:

“consumers won’t expect brands to be flawless; they will even embrace brands that are FLAWSOME*, and at large (or at least somewhat) human. Brands that are honest about their flaws, that show some empathy, generosity, humility, flexibility, maturity, humor and dare we say it, some character and humanity. (more…)

Given my expanding family of dogs this year – we’re now at 3 – I thought it apt to give TrustBite’s last word for the year to the animals again.

Alfie, a Miniature Schnauzer/Jack Russell terrier cross who’s now 18 months old joined us late April after being put up for adoption in need of a new home and in spite of having defecting hearing when it comes to responding to ‘Alfie, come!’ he’s won our hearts and been a joy to get to know and live with.

My other two dogs, Max (14) and Lucy (13) show no sign of slowing down. In fact, it seems Alfie’s arrival has given both of them a new lease of life and 2011 was a good year for all of them.

The fact that almost every companion animal gives unconditional love to their humans, irrespective of their circumstances, continually inspires me. If you have a few dollars left over this Christmas, or perhaps receive money from Santa this year, please consider supporting an animal rescue centre near you. They sorely need the funds and too many pups or kittens as presents will find themselves needing new homes once the novelty of owning a bundle of energy wears off. (more…)

The discussion on National Radio’s ‘Afternoons‘ programme with Jim Mora yesterday regarding celebrity endorsements was interesting.

Panellists Scott Yorke and Michael Deaker had differing opinions as to the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) might pursue former news anchor, Richard Long, over his involvement as ‘frontman’ for failed finance company Hanover Finance in terms of lending his reputation and name to the campaign.

Might the FMA have to pursue the copywriter, the ad agency, a voice-over artist as well as Long, for example? And might the perceived risk in terms of loss mitigate involvement if it’s low?

Not only did Yorke feel anyone investing in financial products probably wouldn’t be swayed by a celebrity endorsement, he also noted that even if Long had undertaken extensive ‘due-diligence’ to satisfy himself as to the robustness of the company’s financial performance and status, it’s likely financial advisers at the time may indeed have advised him that it was sound. Fair comment. (more…)

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:

John Lewis department store’s Christmas ad. for challenging viewers’ perceptions and judgements in a heartwarming way whilst brilliantly underscoring the ad’s key message. Enjoy!

‘This Is Why I’m Broke‘ website for providing a seemingly endless range of innovative, quirky and just plain ‘out-there’ products designed to part rational, reasonable people from their money! (more…)

This year’s Christmas advert from UK high-street retailer John Lewis is an out and out reputation winner, which is more than can be said for Littlewoods – another UK retailer.

Both are cute, featuring children under 5 and a focus on presents, but where the Lewis ad hits the nail on the head in terms of positive emotion, and has received more than 3 million views, the Littlewoods’ ad does quite the reverse.

International speaker and confidence coach Eilidh Milnes says “I’d offer that John Lewis truly knows and understands it’s clients, matches the company ethics and ethos to its target market then dares to be different. The company holds its ground and maintains its standards – no questionable implications dubious morals or poor taste; with the advert … focusing on generosity not greed.” Here, here!

Littlewoods’ blatant commercialism and insensitivity won’t have won it many fans – adult or child. The obvious message is unnecessary and the ad’s ability to dispel the supposed myth that Mum, rather than Santa, provides gifts at Christmas will, no doubt, be the cause of tears before bedtime for many a littlie enraptured with Santa and his helpers. (more…)

Christmas is traditionally the season of goodwill. It’s also the season of the spectacular social and professional blunder, when too much of a good time – alcohol, relaxation and momentary flippancy – can have disastrous, and long-lasting, consequences, both personally and professionally.

The festive season is a reputation minefield that can leave you nursing more than a sore head come the New Year.

What you consider to be ‘harmless fun’ may put you offside with family, colleagues or clients, or inadvertently leave a bad impression where you didn’t intend to. Stories of embarrassing, career-limiting behaviour abound and a significant number of them will find their way onto YouTube without the so-called ’star of the show’ even knowing.

So take a moment to think ahead before hitting ‘party-central’. It could save your reputation and any embarrassment that might come back to haunt you when the party’s over. (more…)

Pic: 3news.co.nz

NZ Prime Minister John Key is in hot water and it’s not cooling off. The ‘Teapot Tape’ remains a hot topic of conversation, both in the media and amongst the public, given New Zealand is just one week away from a general election.

So why is it still dominating headlines? The apparently inadvertent recording of a supposedly private conversation between Prime Minister John Key and ACT candidate John Banks continues to be a hot topic because of doubts about whether voters are ‘being played‘.

Instead of fronting up and simply saying ‘we look forward to working with ACT as a coalition partner’ National again staged managed the so-called ‘Cup of Tea’ ritual to surreptitiously direct voters in Epsom to vote for Banks, as ACT’s candidate, rather than their own man. (more…)

When was the last time you used your phone to actually speak to someone? Chances are it won’t be anything like it used to be even just a few years ago, which is a shame because voice-to-voice, in-person communication is one of the most powerful tools we can use to build trust and rapport, and enhance our reputation.

We’re supposedly more connected than we’ve ever been and spend hours using social networks and sending emails, text and instant messages. And yet the constant availability of instant communication tools can make us more disconnected from in-person interactions than ever.

Far be it for me to decry electronic communications. Used effectively they can help us reach more people more cost-and-time-effectively and work in a way that suits us. They don’t, however, have the same power that can be generated from picking up the phone and actually speaking with someone in person.

So why is physically speaking with someone so powerful rather than sending them an email or text message instead? (more…)