The Reputation Game: The Art of Changing How People See You

Description

You're already playing the game, whether you like it or not. You can try to ignore what others say about you or you can choose to learn the rules and discover that the potential benefits are unlimited. Reputation can't be owned or managed - not by an individual, an organization or the media professionals they employ. Instead, it is a gift of trust bestowed upon us by customers, colleagues, fans or friends. So how is it that VW suffered a huge blow in the wake of emissions scandal, but their cars are still hugely popular? How has Pope Francis begun to rebuild the name of the Catholic Church after a series of damaging scandals? Through pioneering research and interviews with a host of major figures ranging from Jay Z and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman to Bernie Madoff and Booker Prize-winner Hilary Mantel, the authors reveal the key mechanisms that make and remake our reputations, providing the essential guide to the most important game in business and in life.

David Waller is a partner in a global consulting firm where he specialises in developing and executing strategic communications programmes for international companies, financial institutions and governments. A former journalist with the Financial Times, he has also written a number of well-reviewed business and history books. Rupert Younger is founder director of the University of Oxford's Centre for Corporate Reputation, where he researches how reputations are created, sustained, destroyed and rebuilt. He is also co-founder of the Finsbury Group, the global strategic communications firm headquartered in London.

'Trust is the foundation of friendship, society, business, and brand. A must-read for those who intend to build a reputation of authenticity and enduring value.' -- Biz Stone, Co-founder, Twitter 'From the soft power of nation states to the brand popularity of commercial products, reputation is supremely important. This interesting book places the issue in its rigorously argued context - an important matter for every senior executive in the public and private sectors.' -- Lord Patten, Chancellor, University of Oxford 'The insights in The Reputation Game are a masterclass of pattern recognition. This book shows us that no matter who you are, your industry or hustle, reputational capital is at the centre of success or failure. Waller and Younger use as examples the rise and fall of great companies, countries, gangsters, and pop-culture icons to show us the moments and choices that are truly the "art of changing how people see us all".' -- Steve Stoute, CEO of Translation LLC 'An insightful and really rather fascinating study of what one might argue is the issue of our age: the creation and management of a reputation. The authors have clearly managed to get great access to a huge number of people and the results make for very compelling reading. It's well-written, too. In fact, it's required reading for anyone who truly wants to understand the modern media age.' -- Tom Bradby, Presenter, ITV News at Ten 'In life and in business a good reputation is probably our most prized possession, hard won and easily lost. This book provides insight into the sources of reputation, illustrates by case study the impact of loss and charts the route to recovery. It is a valuable contribution to this increasingly important topic.' -- Sir Roger Carr, chairman of BAE Systems 'You'll learn why reputations are more valuable than money; you'll learn how they're built and tended and enriched; and how, if neglected, they can catastrophically implode. It might have been called, "How to ensure that everybody knows just how good you know you are really."' -- Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP