SCIENCE OF PREPAREDNESS KEY TO REPUTATION RESILIENCE

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” Warren Buffet

- ASHWANI SINGLA, Founding Managing Partner, Astrum

In today's hyper-connected, always-on business landscape, where every action, or lack thereof, can trigger instant scrutiny from multiple stakeholders, small issues can quickly snowball into a crisis.

No longer limited to geopolitical events, cyberattacks, natural disasters, economic downturns, or regulatory or policy changes or even potential or actual loss of life or serious injury; today, even a careless conversation or a personal choice of a member of the C-suite can hurt a business's credibility. In today's world, crisis is no longer 'if' but 'when'.

The increasingly powerful digital media, steadily scaling self-publishing on social platforms, self-appointed influencers, not to mention closer stakeholder scrutiny, have fundamentally altered the reputation risk landscape, with issues once manageable internally, now spiralling into cross-border crises within minutes. Today, misinformation spreads faster than facts, while expectations around ethics, governance, transparency, and accountability continue to rise.

The foundation of effective crisis preparedness lies in scientifically anticipating potential 'vulnerabilities', their occurrence probability and the possible impact on corporate stakeholders and the public. While the immediate impact may affect business performance, the long-term often manifests in loss of goodwill, trust and diminished value, eventually leading to reduced share of preference.

Preparedness Begins Before the Crisis Arises