As a communications professional who has dedicated a significant part of my life to helping organizations build and manage their reputations, I always observe the landscape and try to understand why companies make certain decisions, especially when they’re controversial.
Whether it’s a questionable ad campaign, a poor business decision, or hiring someone with a dubious reputation, we’ve all seen these situations and wondered, “What were they thinking?”
Questions We Should be Asking
If I were advising the organization, I’d start with “Is the risk worth the reward?” Is the outcome of this decision going to strengthen your organization to a degree that no other option could? Who are your stakeholders, and what might their response be? What are the possible worst-case scenarios on the risk side? Could this disrupt the organization internally, upset employees, or threaten your corporate culture? Will you lose partners or sponsors? Will you lose customers?
Then there is the flip side: will you gain partners or sponsors? Will the employee group rally around this decision? Will new customers come to you because of this decision?
What will the likely outcome be for your brand as a trusted organization? As an organization, you put a lot of effort and potential money into building your brand and reputation. What, if any, social capital are you prepared to sacrifice from your brand to support this action?
These are the questions every organization should seriously consider when making major decisions.
