Archive for June, 2009

Our last post on the McKinsey article has generated a great deal of comment and discussion, none more insightful than that of Ed Block, one of the public relations industry’s most respected and revered leaders.  His thoughts follow.

First, the current financial meltdown (and associated scandals) was not the beginning of the destruction of corporate reputations — it was the final nail in the coffin. But I digress.

In your post last week on who should own corporate reputation, I think you are correct in identifying the importance of where responsibility should be delegated in a corporate organization. I’m from the old school (the Arthur Page School) in the conviction that the job belongs to the chief PR officer. That’s how it was in my generation — and guys like Larry Foster (J&J), Ron Rhody (Bank of America) and so many others owned that position. Unfortunately, too many latter day PR executives came to define their jobs as “communications” and lost their authority and skills as councilors. (Communications is overhead, wise counseling is value added.) (more…)

The McKinsey Quarterly has just fired a warning shot across the desks of CCOs.

They – and CMOs and CEOs too – better pay attention.

The article, “Rebuilding Corporate Reputations,” (subscription required) describes the dramatic extent to which the events leading up to the current recession have eroded public confidence in corporations.

And it describes the equally dramatic changes in how corporations need to respond: integrating their communications activities, engaging with digital and social media, genuinely changing business practices, stepping up the quality of their research, listening to and activating constituencies, and engaging the CEO with the community.

Good advice – indeed, it’s what we’ve been counseling clients for some time.

But the kicker comes at the end: (more…)