Looking
after your health and becoming fit, is very closely linked to looking after
your reputation. You need good health to get you through life, and you need a
good reputation to support you through your company’s journey. Regine le
Roux, founder and managing director of Reputation Matters shares four lessons for
building your reputation that can be learnt from physical fitness.
1. You
look and feel great!
When you are fit and healthy, you feel better about yourself and you are more
confident. Isn’t it great when you can fit into those pair of jeans that you’ve
been struggling to get into for a while? Your energy levels are better and your
outlook on life is generally more positive. There’s nothing that clears your
head quite like a good run, cycle or even gym session. You’ll also find that
you attract likeminded people with positive mindsets and attitudes.
The same
goes for your reputation. When you have a good healthy reputation, you will
find that people will want to be associated with your brand and do business
with your company. People are willing to spend their hard-earned cash on
products and services produced by a company whose values they resonate with.
2. Being
healthy protects you from injury. The fitter you are, the faster you will be able to recuperate from an
injury or illness. Being fit doesn’t mean that you won’t ever get hurt or sick,
it just speeds up the recovery time.
When it
comes to a reputation, the healthier your company’s reputation is, the more
likely it is to protect you during a crisis. You can’t only start thinking
about your health once you are sick or injured; the same goes with your
reputation. You can’t start thinking about it only once there is a crisis that
needs to be managed. If you’ve put in the work, be it for your own fitness or
looking after your company’s reputation you are safeguarding and equipping
yourself from serious injuries and major damage during a crisis.
3. There
is no quick fix. If
you want to run that marathon or finish your first cycling race, you need to put
in the practice. No magic potion will get you fit. You need to be consistent in
your training habits; it’s all about discipline. You are not going to attempt to
run a marathon if you’ve not put in the training. The things that we know we
need to do are often neglected, and then we wonder how we managed to get so
unfit so quickly, or where those few extra kilograms came from.
There is
also no quick fix to building your reputation, especially after a crisis. ‘I
was once approached by a company who had been in the media for all the wrong
reasons and their reputation had been in absolute tatters. They asked my advice
and in the same breath said that they have a marketing budget available to deal
with the said crisis,’ shares le Roux. ‘Unfortunately, there were so many other
issues at play (lack of values, questionable leadership, and non-existent
corporate governance), that no amount of marketing would be able to fix their
predicament. They would need to restructure the whole board of directors, introduce
ethics as a non-negotiable core value throughout the organisation, and take a
long hard look in the mirror before doing any type of external communication,’
adds le Roux. There is no quick fix. You need to put in the work, usually internally
first.
4. Measurement
is key; you need to measure your progress. As you get fitter, you invest in the right
equipment, perhaps by downloading an app or two, and you push yourself to go
further and faster each time. You work
on numbers, be it kilometres or kilograms, to track your progress.
It is just
as important to measure your reputation. What is the current perception of your
organisation by your different stakeholders? Different things will be important
to different people. Knowing your reputation score will definitely give you the
upper hand around the boardroom table and help you to come up with solutions to
take your reputation to the next level.
At
Reputation Matters we believe, ‘If you treasure it, you will measure it,’. How
healthy is your reputation?
Not sure
where to start? Reputation Matters’ Repudometer® research provides organisations
with quantified reputation scores that show exactly what is building and
breaking down organisations’ reputations. The Reputation Matters mentorship
programme also gives organisations access to a team of reputation specialists
to help you become the business that people want to do business with.
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Released by Reputation Matters
Media contact:
Regine le Roux
Mobile Number: 083 302 1528
About Reputation Matters
Reputation Matters has been providing customised
reputation research and management solutions since its inception in 2005. The
company is 100% woman-owned and a Level 4 exempted micro-enterprise BBBEE
contributor.
Reputation Matters believes that if you treasure your
reputation, you will measure it and are very proud of their proprietary
reputation research tool, the Repudometer®. The model scientifically measures
and quantifies organisations’ reputations based on an assessment of ten
elements. The Repudometer® assists organisations in understanding who their
stakeholders are, what perceptions each stakeholder group has of the
organisation, and how to implement results-oriented, research-based
communication solutions that help take their reputations to the next level.
Reputation Matters’ vision is to be Africa’s go-to
reputation specialists, building businesses that people want to do business
with. The values that drive this vision are excellence always in all ways,
empowerment thought research and mentorship, expertise and ecstatic clients!
Reputation Matters have offices in Gauteng and the
Western Cape.
For more information about Reputation Matters, visit
www.reputationmatters.co.za or call 021 790 0208. Reputation Matters is also on
Facebook (www.facebook.com/yourreputationmatters) and Twitter
(@ReputationIsKey).
