Fame and Fortune: How Successful Companies Build Winning Reputations

Charles J. Fombrun is Professor Emeritus of Management at the Stern School of Business, New York University; and Executive Director of the Reputation Institute, a private research group devoted to researching, measuring, and valuing corporate reputations. A frequent conference speaker, he has designed and taught executive programs at Columbia University, The Wharton School, and NYU, and he consults with companies worldwide on issues of reputation management and organizational change. He is co-founder of the Corporate Reputation Review. Dr. Fombrun has written over 100 articles in leading journals, and his books include Leading Corporate Change, Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image, Strategic Human Resource Management, and The Advice Business: Essential Tools and Models for Management Consulting. Cees B.M. van Riel, Professor of Corporate Communications at the Rotterdam School of Management of Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Netherlands, has written numerous articles about corporate identity and branding, and is the author of three previous books: Handbook of Corporate Communication, Identity and Images, and Principles of Corporate Communications. He is currently editor-in-chief of Corporate Reputation Review, Managing Director of the Reputation Institute, and Founding Director of the International Masters Program in Corporate Communications, a joint venture among five leading European business schools. He is also a member of the Branding Steering Committee of ING Group.

Companies with strong reputations are better able to attract customers, investors, and quality employees--and to survive crises that would destroy weaker firms. "Fame and Fortune" shows how to quantitatively measure a company's reputation, estimate its business value, and systematically enhance it over both the short- and long-term.

(NOTE: Each chapter concludes with Endnotes.) Acknowledgments. Introduction. 1. Why Reputations Matter. Why Do Reputations Matter? Reputations Create Differentiation and Competitive Advantage. Can You Prove that Reputations Matter? 2. What Are Reputations Worth? Reputation Affects a Company's Operating Performance. Reputation Creates Financial Value That Builds Reputation. Reputation has Financial Value as a Corporate Asset. 3. Who's Tops-and Who's Not? The World's Most Visible Companies. The Reputation Quotient. Methodological Appendix to Chapter 3. 4. From Fame to Fortune. Fame Breeds Fortune. What Drives Market Value? Are High RQ Portfolios a Sound Investment? The Bottom Line? 5. The Roots of Fame. Principle 1: Be Visible. Principle 2: Be Distinctive. Principle 3: Be Authentic. Principle 4: Be Transparent. Principle 5: Be Consistent. So, Express Yourself. 6. Be Visible. Understanding Corporate Visibility. When Should Companies Worry about Negative Visibility? The Drivers of Visibility. Capitalizing on Visibility. The Bottom Line? 7. Be Distinctive. What are Reputation Platforms? What Makes a Strong Reputation Platform? So, Distinguish Yourself. 8. Be Authentic. The Process of Discovery. The Process of Internal Expression. The Process of External Expression. The Challenge of Authenticity. 9. Be Transparent. Degrees of Transparency. The Drivers of Transparency. Platforms for Corporate Transparency. The Citizenship Transparency Index. Conclusion. 10. Be Consistent. Step 1: Establish a Dialogue with Stakeholders. Step 2: Enforce a Shared Identity. Step 3: Implement an Integrated Communication System. Step 4: Coach Employees and Partners. Step 5: Adopt a Measurement and Tracking Scorecard. Consistency: Top Down and All Around. 11. Becoming a Top Company: The Case of FedEx. Introducing Radical Change. The Role of FedEx Communications. Index.