Reputation Gurus

Old Rule: Corporate reputation is defined by external stakeholders.

New Rule: The most important element of corporate reputation comes from within the company. While it’s important to understand how the company is viewed externally, reputations are built or lost by internal stakeholders. It’s the internal stakeholders who need to live and breathe the company’s values – and to make decisions on a daily basis using those values as the guide. One company I admire in this area is Darden Restaurants, which makes daily decisions based on its core values. Whenever in doubt, Darden uses its values as a filter to help make the right decision for the company.