Strategy: Confidence building

There are products and services, which exude confidence of reliability. This is backed by sustained efforts by the company to be consistent in offering what they are perceived to offer.

   The collapse of Enron, Lehman Brothers, Barings Bank and the tricksters revealed in the functioning of Satyam, IPL and likes, have left us to wonder whether the definition of ‘business’ has been revisited to mean ‘making money and money’ alone. No body believes in business any more. It is not strange to understand this change, which has been witnessed in almost all professions, including the medical – where the doctors are expected to govern themselves by the ‘Hippocratic Oath’ and the noble profession of teaching -where schools are supposed to be temples of learning and not for extortion of money from students. We shall save the reading by omitting the much touted politicians, bureaucrats and self professed god men etc.

    If a business strategy has the spirit of ‘sustainability’, it must work to command the confidence of its customers and public at large. The business must be seen to be coming from a good and responsible corporate citizen. This is a continuous process and should be exhibited both in words and action and perceived the same by all the people, i.e., the employees, the customers and the persons affected by the operations of the company, overtly or covertly.

   If you feel that your company should be reckoned with the trusted brand equity, you can start by

·        Treating people with utmost humane approach

·        Bringing transparency in your dealings

·        Being bold enough to accept responsibility, correct yourself and move on

·        Taking the feedback as an opportunity to improve and not as criticism

·        Learning to give more value for money through R&D, innovations, and ‘Benchmarking’ etc., and

·        Ensuring that the environmental balance is not disturbed.

   You can do it. The time to start is now.