Actually, given film director Peter Jackson has made one rather meagre Tolkein volume divide into two and now three blockbusting lengthy productions, this should really be my trilogy ending contribution as at the end of 2010 and 2011 I took to my blogosphere (is that what it is called?) to pontificate, ruminate and piffilate (one word is definitely made up) to review those years in reputation highs and lows. I have to say writing a blog is not a discipline I am great at on any regular of consistent basis; but I do write a lot mainly for my own consumption and once a year unleash my scribbles upon an unsuspecting public, or rather the one or two of you who read this. Think of my blog as rather like a Sunday Post Oor Wullie or Broons annual although they tend to be published bi-annually.
By now, if you are not a Hobbit fan or from across the border then you are probably getting somewhat lost in my train of thought. But let us expand on such folklore and start in Scotland were we shall ‘steal’ an extract to get us underway from the well known 1549 work known as ‘The complaynt of Scotland’…”I labour night and day with my hands to feed lazy and useless men (politicians) and they repay me with hunger and the sword…they persecute my body with hardship…they live through me and I die through them. (The politicians’) two brothers, nobles and clergy…are most cruel to me than my old enemies the English”.
Of course, the meddling of English politicians in Scottish affairs is hardly new but this anonymous work has at its heart three enemies: politics, nobles and the clergy. And, in 2012 in terms of how to get it wrong in reputation, one could hardly choose three more apposite sectors.
Reading my previous 2011 reputation review: https://bodyprojectliverpool.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/reputation2011/, I gave a hammering to the coalition describing it as an unmitigated disaster a composite marriage of inconvenience brought together on one premise and that was to gain power. The problem with the coalition is less that austerity is patently not working that everything from the economy to education to health to energy futures to the benefits system seem to be in such a complete mess; but that this was never a Government with a mandate; rather the one it has fashioned for itself is all about “we inherited the worst situation since the Romans invaded” and “we are clearing up the mess left to us blah blah blah.” This Government as a victim has long tried my patience – has anyone posed the question what were you lot doing in opposition if things were so bad in the past – why were you not banging the drum for change then? Okay, I concede that both the individual component parties had strong manifestos but the betrayal of that content and individual party policies to reach an uneasy compromise has left us devoid of leadership and lacking direction.
Coalition patently doesn’t work and is a reputation disaster but what has really been the 2012 disaster has been Government by public opinion or rather Daily Mail opinion. Never has there been so many inquiries, select committees, reviews etc. Politics has now become a new form of “Salem witch trial’ and it seems to be that basic rights such as ‘innocent until proven guilty’ has all but gone. It is often trial by Twitter as Lord McAlpine found or that ‘grandstanding’ politicians like Keith Vaz will make some Shakespearian performance – his recent visit to the grieving family of the nurse who had tragically taken her own life, accompanied by TV crews was shocking. We do seem to have returned to a ‘Robin Hood’ society where the ‘Haves’ get more and the ‘Have nots’ get less. This plays so much into the prejudicial and discriminatory views in Daily Mail land and is shallow and damaging. And what alternative, well very little really. UKIP is just a ’cause celbre’ and Labour is weak and although giving us a ‘one nation’ vision which is extremely compelling, has no real backbone or credible leadership to deliver on such promises. Politics is in reputation meltdown and the only way the Tories, supported by a so called social democratic party, can survive is to perpetuate this worse situation ever scenario; that is to scare people!
The media remains wedded to this intracable cause and is equally in chaos. The BBC is somewhat the reputation disaster of the year but is actually also in someway an innocent bystander who has got its coat trapped in an out of control car door and is being dragged along battered and bruised. The BBC is not responsible for the abuse of children, neither is it responsible for some idiot lying to a news programme, or torrential rain and a tedious parade of boats on the Thames or even for any other woes of this country. But for politicians and the ruling classes (yes there are such people), the BBC is something to beat up on. It does stand accused of being a complete nightmare of an organisation. How can anyone person be called editor in chief and responsible and accountable for a 24/7 second by second global news organisation. What a mess and heh guess what, I predict 2013 will see BBC hitting Titanic icebergs again and again – in the present societal set up the BBC is there to be bullied by politics, nobles and the clergy.
There is only one other organisation or rather whole sector that is a bigger unmitigated disaster and that is professional football. I can’t even begin to start to write down what a complete reputation nightmare football is or anything that surrounds it – but sometimes good things come to those that wait. This year , at last, justice started to be found for 96 innocent victims of one of our country’s most shameful cover-ups. For me, the picture of two young children – one female, one male, one tall, one small, one in blue, one in red but standing together hand-in-hand is an abiding image for good and positive change. So instead of listing football’s long list of reputation woes I give you a positive called justice.
Back to that Scottish work and the three enemies. The clergy have been one of the reputation disasters I didn’t predict. In fact, how they managed to achieve this is a divine mystery; or rather it isn’t, it is wholly because they are, like most religions, man-made. The general synod makes me laugh. The fact these so called Christians dare to establish such a pompous and completely farcical set up in the name of their maker is utterly ridiculous. One could imagine a second coming and what God’s only son would make of such a construct. It would be turning tables over at the temple all over again. Their self-destruct instinct might save him the bother or maybe he is already moving in mysterious ways. Mind you, the Roman Catholic church has just done its best to spread good will to all men except if said men want to marry each other. Religion is losing it although faith remains strong and long may it be. Those people of faith follow the ultimate rule of reputation – actions speak louder than words – and they don’t need to genuflect, bow or wear silly robes and hats to do it.
Last year, I concluded that business had been in quite a good reputation position but as the recession has bitten; the dust has beckoned the likes of Comet and I have no doubt others will sadly follow in the New Year. But for me what is becoming clear as the cash-flow tightens is just how little some business values its wider social and environmental governance responsibilities. Resorting to type has been prevalent and that means reputation is at high risk more than it was a year ago. The behaviour of the global super brands such as Google, Amazon and Starbucks is nothing less than a disgrace. Amazon is open that it doesn’t do CSR. Starbucks views taxation like a charitable donation and Google well they are inhabiting another geeky universe where only the battle of tablets and smartphones and a huge Apple dominate their thoughts.
In terms of the nobles then it hasn’t been all bad news. Apart from too much information about morning sickness and bladder infections, royalty has been on a role with HRHs East of London Skyfall parachuting us all to a new level of respect for the monarchy. Jubilee hula hooping was always going to be far more acceptable to our Union Flag (by far the reputation logo winner of the year except outside Belfast City Hall) waving nation than a 1970s Sex Pistols jubilee rendition of God Save the Queen. The Royals did well in a year where they seemed to be all over everything.
Oh and of course the super humans or shall we call them the games makers. Volunteers and the voluntary sector generally reached new levels and in terms of UK PLC reputation what they did alongside our fantastic Olympians and Paralympians will never be forgotten. The opening ceremony of the olympic games through to the closing ceremony of the paralympics was a triumph that will stay in many of our collective memories and credit where it is due to the thousands of people and hundreds of organisations that made it happen. Of course politics and the media tried their best to dent it whipping G4S in their pre-games indignation and fury (even though it was meddling politicians and their Civil Servants that created the G4S situation – yes you got away with that one but some of us spotted your procurement meddling that was the real culprit) but they were deluged out of the way by the great UK volunteers and athletes.
So in terms of reputation when the people take control it seems to go right. It is in our leadership that we have problems, our role models are not living up to expectations and if a positive reputation is to be achieved in 2013 then it is that which needs to be challenged and changed. We need a new Government but that is a mid term away. We need faith leaders to get their act together. We need a more equal society that values that very thing – ‘society’ – over individualism, that puts the environment and a real social purpose before profit. We need to understand that what we say and what we do are both important. Foot in mouth twittering (tweeting for those in the know) is crass stupidity. But more than this, we need to think: reputation, reputation, reputation.
For me, I have had to take a decision in 2012, as after six years of trading I have put my reputation advisory business on ‘ice.’ Sometimes, I appear to be a lone voice. Of course recessionary thinking breeds recessionary behaviour but it still holds that 70-80% of value comes not from your book value but from your intellectual capital value and uppermost in that is creating and maintaining a positive reputation.
2013, is set to be an exciting year for me as I have taken up a social purpose close to my heart and I intend to drive the cause I now lead with absolute passion and purpose and make a real difference. And yet, I will do that using all the techniques and beliefs I have in environmental, social and corporate governance using my reputation values and models. So whether you be nobles, clergy, politicians or just a normal human being, why don’t you join me in doing the same in 2013 – Happy New Year.
Bodyproject 