Why And How To Build A Respected Brand?

Respect in the market and among your customers is vital to brand longevity. Respect means trust, which in turn translates into business for you.

- Vineet Kanaujia

UBER isn’t on the “Most admired companies in the world” list, but chances are that even if it was, the brand would have fallen off the charts after the recent bad press it got. Apart from the shocking spate of sexual harassment cases at various levels, The New York Times in its February 22, 2017 issue reported that Uber’s work environment was “aggressive, unrestrained”, and that “The ride-hailing service particularly emphasises ‘meritocracy’, the idea that the best and brightest will rise to the top based on their efforts, even if it means stepping on toes to get there”. This aggression helped Uber make its mark in 83 countries and to be valued close to USD70 billion.

These achievements, however, paled in front of all the negative news it garnered. The company had to fire Founder-CEO Travis Kalanick in order to do some damage control. This June, Arianna Huffington of Huffington Post, who is also an Uber board member, was roped in to address harassment issues and told her staff during a meeting that the company would no longer be hiring “brilliant jerks”. The company is going to spend the next few months trying to look respectable, but it won’t be easy.