What’s in a name? What makes a reputation? Spin or substance?
A Lord, two Knights and a mere Mister summoned to appear in front of the Treasury Select Committee. Sir Alan Stanford accused of bankrupting – it seems a country and thousands of people around the world. The Queen must be annoyed – at best.
Is there a connection between titles, reputation, trust and contracts. How many Board Members of listed companies are selected on the presence of titles rather than what they bring to the table. Or is that the point – what they bring to the table is the title? An aura of respectability, of trust and probity.
Titles and their effect on the reputation of the holder have always intrigued me. In Sussex a local politician bought his title as a Lord for an alleged £3000. (Not a real Lord – but it is what he calls himself now!). When confronted with a real Lord – (a cross bencher, former Sea Lord and Chief of the Defence Staff) he whipped out his business card. The real Lord looked at the card politely – before returning it graciously. In the words of VISA – priceless.
What about the other extreme? I can think of four people entitled to wear the designation Hon. before their name. And not one of them would EVER consider using their title. In fact, they would all be mightily unhappy with my naming them here – so I won’t.
Any company name with Trans-, International, or Global seems to set off alarm bells in my mind and conjure up pictures of one man bands in second bedrooms. So what about the big brands named after their founders? Sainsburys? Mercedes? Audi? Citroen? Siemens? Or the boringly factual – BMW, BASF. Either way – the reputation of these companies is based on what they deliver and have delivered rather than a clever name.
Yes, a name should be clear and help you understand what they do – like a local company in Sussex – M.T. Drains – guess what they do? But for me, and I suspect many others, a personal recommendation outweighs a clever name every time. When your Message is being evaluated it is your reputation and the reputation of your company organisation that will influence how that message is received.
I help people prepare and tell their story or their side of the story. But if their story is irrelevant, undeliverable and indistinguishable from that of the competition, we have a problem. Substance must underpin style. Style without substance equals spin. Is a posh title becoming a form of spin? Maybe soon just being a very competent and prudent “Mr” will be a requirement on British Boards?
