Reputation is Your Most Valuable Asset– and Your Most Fragile
Boeing has consistently been one of America’s top-dollar exporters and for over a century has had a central place in American legend.
In the first quarter of 2019, however, Boeing reportedly suffered a billion dollar loss. And that’s before any of the 737 MAX lawsuits got rolling– not just the spectacular “passenger” class actions, but the less spectacular, yet far more costly, claims by airlines for damages consequential to the grounding of the aircraft.
Even for a giant like Boeing, that’s unsustainable. Nobody can bleed cash like that for very long and stay alive.
But negative cash flow is the least of Boeing’s long-term worries. What’s of far greater concern is the emerging storyline that Boeing has been deliberately cutting corners to save money, including news of high-level engineering and software design farmed out to offshore houses and part-timers at minimum wage.
When airlines begin to worry that passengers are not going to fly on 737s, they’ll ground them and look to Boeing for damages. When generals think for a second that Boeing equipment might fail in battle, they’ll buy elsewhere. When Boeing’s top engineers and designers feel their own reputations are being harmed by association, they’ll be in touch with employment agencies. Boeing’s hurt has only just begun.
But this isn’t just a morality play for the high and mighty– the lesson is of even more importance to you and to me with our small to medium businesses and professions. Law firms and medical practices, realtors and investment houses, HVAC companies and butcher shops– any and all of us can be brought low with just one scandal, one disciplinary action or one nasty rumour.
Protecting our reputations has to be Job One. Reputation management is of limited use after disaster strikes– it needs to inform every aspect of how we manage our business. Proactively. Today.