Michael D. Moberly, Principal, Founder, kpstrat

For every business which I am familiar, irrespective of sector, size, stage of maturation, and actual – potential reach, their reputation constitutes a (non-physical) intangible, e.g.,

• when favorable, if recognized and effectively exploited, same can materialize as consistently valuable and sustainable competitive advantages – revenue generating assets.

• when un-favorable, if not recognized and sufficiently mitigated, same can and does, routinely materialize, cascade, and convert along a continuum of business adversities.

• which can and routinely do undermine and erode (business product, service, and brand) attractivity, value, competitive advantage, revenue generation capacity – capability, and sustainability.

How – when, and the circumstances which perhaps are more likely to influence business leaders, management teams, brand managers, and investors (similarly), to recognize their (fiduciary) obligations to anticipate, differentiate, assess, and reasonably mitigate reputational risks to…

• their business’s products, services, brands, practices, and/or transactions, etc., and,
• in particular-instances, even personnel (receptivity – vulnerability) to various perceptions (internally, externally) which may also manifest – translate as reputational risk.

Each is obliged to not be characterized as temporary or short-lived PR challenges, or cavalierly consigned to others who may be unfamiliar, with or inattentive to the keystroke speed which reputational risks can and do adversely affect business operations, i.e., produce a litany of costly and variously irreconcilable and irreversible economic – competitive advantage effects.

Understandably and unfortunately, business reputational risks are not-infrequently characterized in (a.) broad sector or (b.) transaction specific, or (c.) leadership stylistic contexts.

Characterizing reputation risks predominantly in broad brush contexts, I suspect, contributes to… 

• measuring – assessing same as economic losses if – when risk materialization is examined/measured via stock price reaction, if a target is publicly traded or invested, and

• revelation – admission of same translates (straight line) to unfavorable economic – competitive advantages actions, i.e.,

• if a business’s market value declines by more than a projected – announced loss amount,
  • this then, is vertically – singularly characterized by some as a reputational loss.

Unarguably, today, and for the foreseeable future, the at will and keystroke speed which revelations of business leadership – oversight missteps can – will translate to – by consumers and investors as…

• doubting – skepticism of particular-products, services, missions etc.,
• are obliged to not be dismissed or relegated as mere temporary distractions which intangible asset recovery can or should be expected or factored.

I respectfully invite readers to consider the variously unconventional ‘business reputation risk’ perspectives conveyed in this series of posts at Business Intangible Asset Blog.