So BP’s CEO, Tony Hayward, is to be sent to Russia. Hardly a career highlight after almost 30 years with the company.

Whilst in no way minimising the loss of lives, livelihoods, environmental and economic consequences, the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion provides a near-perfect case-study of how being ‘out of touch’ with public opinion, and assuming an air of arrogance, can kill reputations, careers and trust.

In spite of the magnitide of the disaster across all fronts, it was essentially small, throw-away comments from Hayward (“I’d like my life back“) and Chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg (caring about ‘the small people’) that put the nail in the coffin of Hayward’s career. The comments demonstrated how out-of-touch Hayward, and therefore BP, was from those affected by the disaster. Taking part in a regatta didn’t help.

One of the biggest reputation-damagers there is is failing to listen, and track trends. Keeping your finger ‘on the pulse’ of public opinion is critical when trying to influence and maintain a positive reputation. BP, and Hayward,  failed miserably.

Thinking we can control our reputation is a myth. We can’t control it because we can’t control what other people think of us, and what others think of us is our reputation.

In terms of reputation-branding perception is reality. No matter how much BP might have wanted to keep him as CEO, public opinion meant it wasn’t possible if it wants any chance of jettisoning the adverse reputational-baggage now attached to Hayward.

If he considers himself the ‘fall-guy’ within BP he may be right. However, as Winston Churchill once said “The price of greatness is responsiblity”, and responsiblity cannot be abdicated.