Corporate Reputation Management

53% of people will assume a brand is doing nothing or hiding something when it stays silent 🌎 In today’s complex and politically charged environment, silence is rarely neutral. Consumers increasingly interpret silence as avoidance or even complicity. The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer shows that when brands do not communicate their actions on societal challenges, 53% of people assume the brand is doing nothing or hiding something. A smaller share, 34%, believe a brand could be doing good but choosing not to talk about it. This perception has direct implications for business. Silence undermines reputation rather than protecting it. Trust and purchase behavior are immediately affected. Globally, 51% of people say they would be less likely to buy from a brand that ignores its obligation to act. Nearly half, 49%, say they would lose trust altogether. The financial risk is especially high among older consumers. 60% of the economically powerful boomer generation aged 61 and above say they would be less likely to buy if a brand ignores its obligations. Younger generations also tie their trust and loyalty to whether a brand takes a stand. Silence erodes differentiation and leaves space for doubt. Brands that act with transparency and communicate their commitments strengthen both trust and resilience. #sustainability #business #sustainable #esg

How My Business Went from Zero to Being Taken Seriously — Overnight When I first started Hawke Media, it was just me. No team, no reputation, just the experience of having built and sold a few companies. But as a brand? We were a nobody. Not surprisingly, my first client was a friend. He saw the value in what I was doing and was paying me to help with his marketing. A few months in, he asked to have a talk. I could tell something was up. He got straight to the point: “Erik, I don’t have a lot of money to pay you right now, but I love the progress we’re making. I want you to do more. What else can we do?” I had two choices: Stick to a rigid time-for-money model. Or get creative. That’s when it hit me. He wasn't just a friend and early client. He was a partner in the making. I knew he was a contributing writer for Forbes, so I said, “No problem. I understand money is tight. We’ll find a way to partner on this and keep moving forward if you can feature my company in Forbes. Would that work?” A few weeks later, the article went live: “Why You Should Outsource Your Marketing to Hawke Media.” That single article changed everything. Suddenly, people searching for outsourced marketing and fractional CMO services were landing on our website. To this day, we still get traffic from it. But that’s not even the best part. The real value wasn’t just in the clicks. It was in the credibility. When a trusted publication puts your name out there, people start to pay attention. That’s the power of third-party validation. It opens doors. Build trust. And sometimes, it changes everything. 

Getting press coverage is great, but if you're not taking that coverage and merchandising it, you're barely scratching the surface of PR's value. Posting it on social media doesn't cut it! Earned press coverage = third party validation you should be shouting from the rooftops. Here are some ideas on how to merchandise that coverage: 💡 Have your CEO and/or quoted spokespeople or byline authors share coverage on LinkedIn with additional insights or a discussion prompt. 💡Showcase your thought leadership by including links to recent press comments and articles in your customer newsletter. 💡Add media logos to an "As Seen In" section of your website (make sure you license the logos, if needed!) and sales decks. 💡Use paid ads on social media to drive prospects and customers to press articles that reinforce your POV, show thought leadership, or positively highlight your product. 💡Hype your press wins up with salespeople and other employees and ask them to share it with their networks (provide copy-and-paste posts they can use!). 💡Send personalized, one-to-one notes to high-value prospects about thought leadership content that hits on their needs ("thought you might be interested in what our CEO shared on Bloomberg after our conversation on this topic last week"). 💡Consider incorporating REALLY significant mentions (e.g., Top publication names you as one of 25 companies to watch) into email signatures of folks who interact with customers, partners, etc. 💡Give press hits a shout out in your employee all hands. Seeing the products and services you work on featured in the press can be motivating and inspiring for employees!

The Delaware ruling doesn’t care about your gut feelings, your experience, or your ego. Under the expanded fiduciary duty rules established by Delaware in 2023, corporate officers are now personally liable for failing to oversee critical business risks. One of those risks? Ignoring market research. And yet in B2B, brushing off market signals has become business as usual. Market research gets defunded, deprioritized, or dismissed entirely—especially if it challenges the internal narrative. But here’s the problem: When officers disregard external intelligence that materially impacts decision-making, it’s no longer just a bad call. It’s a breach of the Duty of Oversight. This is especially true for roles like CMO, CCO, CRO, and CPO—any officer whose decisions influence customer strategy, GTM, or product direction. And Delaware doesn’t require intent to find you liable. Negligence is enough. That’s a seismic shift. If you’re not embedding market validation into your strategic decisions—and proving it—you’re exposed. This is where #AnalyticalAI and #CausalAI are game-changers. They don’t just synthesize market signals. They document your reasoning, your response, and your oversight trail. That’s what fiduciary-grade #GTM looks like now. This was something I learned the hard way, so if I'm preaching here, I'm preaching to myself too.

It did not fail overnight. It was a slow fade, until it died. I am talking about Forever 21. It wasn’t one big mistake that brought them down; it was the small signals they kept ignoring. Customers were buying online, yet they kept adding more stores. Buyers wanted affordability, but the brand stayed costly. Indian shoppers wanted designs that felt relatable, but they kept offering only Western looks. The result? A brand that once defined fast fashion couldn’t keep up with its own customers. Brands don’t fail because of one disaster. They fail because they ignore the whispers. As a strategy consultant and now as the Founder of Mindcog, I want to iterate - listening to the Market is of utmost importance. Listening isn’t ticking boxes on a form. It’s spotting what’s changing quietly and being humble enough to shift, even when there’s no obvious problem. At Mindcog, we’ve stopped asking “What more can we give?” And started asking, “What are our customers quietly telling us?” Because sometimes, the quietest signals are the ones that matter most. What’s one customer signal you’ve learned never to ignore? #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #CustomerExperience #BusinessGrowth #Mindcog

Most leaders think they know themselves. But ask their teams and you'll get to see a very different picture. I've worked with leaders who proudly called themselves approachable, empowering, or decisive. Yet when I spoke with their teams, the words were distant, controlling, impulsive. This isn't hypocrisy. It's the identity–reputation gap. Identity is who you believe you are. Reputation is how others experience you in daily micro-moments: ⤷ The tone of a tense email ⤷ An interruption in a meeting ⤷ A delayed decision that leaves people hanging When intent and impact don’t align, trust erodes quietly until credibility breaks. This is where Assessment & Development Centers (ADCs) act as a mirror. They recreate high-pressure scenarios and map intent against impact. 👉 This helps a leader who thinks they're collaborative realize their team reads them as dismissive.  👉 A detail-oriented manager may realize they’re viewed as a bottleneck. At myDayOne, we turn these insights into readiness journeys and feedback loops, so leaders can practice new behaviors until identity and reputation align.   Because leadership credibility isn’t what you say you are. It’s what others consistently experience. PS: Do you think most leaders are aware of their blind spots?

Well Meant is Not Always Well Done Here is Why 👇 "A good intention, with a bad approach, often leads to a poor result." – Thomas A. Edison In our quest for excellence, we often operate with the best intentions. We strive to support, lead, and connect, rarely reflecting whether our perspective is enough. Yet, even the most well-meaning actions can fall short if they're not aligned with the real needs of those we aim to help. 📌 The Problem: ❌ Self-Centered Good Intentions ❌ We naturally start from our own perspective, assuming that what we find beneficial or supportive will automatically translate to others. ❌ This assumption can be misleading for us and might create more challenges than solutions. Here are 6 important situations where well-meant isn't always well done: ❗ Decision-Making Without Input: 👉 Making decisions on behalf of others based solely on your perspective can result in resistance or disengagement. ❗ Generic Praise: 👉 Offering praise without specificity can feel insincere and may not resonate with the individual's efforts or achievements. ❗ One-Size-Fits-All Solutions: 👉 Implementing standard solutions without considering unique circumstances can miss the mark entirely. ❗ Assumed Delegation: 👉 Delegating tasks without considering the team’s current workload or interest can lead to burnout or frustration. ❗ Public Recognition Preference: 👉 Publicly acknowledging someone who prefers private affirmations can lead to discomfort rather than motivation. ❗ Technology Implementation: 👉 Introducing new tools or technology without assessing the team’s readiness or needs can create more disruption than efficiency. 💠 Lessons to Learn: ✔ Aligning Intentions with Needs! 1️⃣ Involve People: 👉 Engage those affected by your decisions. Their insights and perspectives can guide you toward actions that truly add value. 2️⃣ Ask and Listen: 👉 Take the time to ask questions and listen actively to understand what each individual needs and wants. 3️⃣ Check Relevance: 👉 Regularly assess whether your approach is still relevant and beneficial. Needs and circumstances evolve, and so should your strategies. 4️⃣ Cultivate Empathy: 👉 Strive to see situations from others' perspectives. Empathy can help bridge the gap between intentions and the actual impact of your actions. By making these adjustments, we ensure that our actions are not just motivated by good intentions but also have a meaningful impact. We must commit to listening, asking, and evolving to better serve those around us!  --- 🔔 Enjoy my posts? Follow me Eva Gysling, OLY #leadership #culture #coaching

Are agency leaders doing more harm than good by hiding potential cuts?   The agency world is the canary in the coal mine when it comes to market pain. Budgets here are the first to be cut and the last to recover. We’re not just late to the party—we’re left cleaning up after everyone else has gone home. Agencies shrink fast and expand slowly, mirroring the market’s every whim.   Some leaders believe that hinting at layoffs will send employees into a downward spiral—less focus, more CV-updating, and overall disruption. In larger, especially public companies, there’s an added fear of leaks reaching the media, impacting stock prices or client confidence. The outcome? Teams often learn about layoffs when the news goes public. Yes, these concerns are real, but they’re ultimately short-sighted. By refusing to address upcoming challenges, leaders miss an opportunity to instil urgency in their teams. Not everyone “freezes” in the face of uncertainty; survival mechanisms exist for a reason. A little transparency can foster resilience and accountability. I've even seen “natural churn” help avoid the need for layoffs entirely as employees prepare and reposition ahead of time. Beyond this, the trust damage from abrupt, unannounced cuts is substantial. Those who remain see their “workplace family” with changed eyes. Long-term morale dips, internal culture deteriorates, and industry reputation suffers as stories circulate. It’s akin to companies ignoring environmental impact for short-term gains: the toxicity lingers.   Two cases in point (personally experienced): In one instance, our leadership chose radical transparency. They shared revenue, pipeline data, targets, and timelines. We all knew the risks, took salary cuts, and worked collectively to keep the agency afloat. It wasn’t easy—200+ staff shrank to 30 over multiple rounds of redundancies. Still, the solidarity was tangible, and while that place eventually got sold at the group level to a network, many alumni went on to form successful agencies. One of those would later relaunch the London office of that same brand. Had the company not been sold, I believe we’d have made it.   Contrast that with another situation, post-merger. Despite clear signs that cuts were inevitable, leadership pushed an unrealistic optimism. I urged a more honest approach, but this earned me an early exit, while others were left blindsided by layoffs. The aftermath? High turnover, a damaged culture, and eventually, reabsorption in another consolidation.   In the end, gaslighting teams about looming layoffs isn’t just unkind or unethical—it’s bad business. Do you agree?

Every investor has different priorities. Every buyer has unique needs. The fastest way to lose credibility? Pitching without listening first. Your excitement is understandable. That Dubai project or the London luxury development might be exceptional. But sending generic opportunities to everyone who has 'family office, UHNW, or Investor' in their headline, isn't relationship-building; it's relationship-breaking. When you ignore these fundamentals, you're not just wasting time; you're damaging potential partnerships before they start. The cost of misalignment runs deeper than a missed deal. You lose the chance for future referrals. You burn bridges with intermediaries who could have connected you to the right buyers. You create noise in a market that values signal. Smart investors and brokers in this space talk. Word travels fast about who does their homework and who doesn't. The professional who takes time to understand my portfolio, my client base, and my geographic focus? That's someone I'll remember when the right opportunity does come along. In premium real estate (or any area dealing with luxury or private clientele), research precedes outreach. Understanding creates opportunity. Precision builds trust. Take the extra five minutes. Ask the right questions. Match the opportunity to the audience. Your reputation and your results depend on it.

When potential customers ask ChatGPT: “What’s the best tool for my business?” OR “Should I choose this or that as a tool?” The answer isn’t random. AI pulls from your website, customer reviews & industry mentions to make recommendations and AI surfaces strengths, weaknesses, and buyer personas—all based on public perception. Dharmesh Shah tested this with HubSpot vs. Salesforce and found something crucial: AI isn’t just comparing brands - it’s actively guiding purchasing decisions. And the way AI perceives your brand today? That’s how potential customers see it too. How to Improve AI's Perception of Your Brand: ✅ Refine your public content—Your website, blogs, and documentation should directly counter any misconceptions. ✅ Leverage customer sentiment—Encourage positive reviews and community discussions; AI factors these in. ✅ Strengthen industry credibility—News coverage, analyst reports, and thought leadership shape AI recommendations. The most effective content types? Customer case studies, Technical documentation, Third-party examples, Community success stories & Peer recommendations build trust. 💡 Your AI perception today is your market perception tomorrow. Want to test it? Ask ChatGPT how it compares your brand. The results might surprise you.