Updated Position Paper Features Steps to Mitigate Reputational Risk

For immediate release                                  Contact:         Ed Barks
Tuesday, February 14, 2023                                                (703) 533-0403
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“There’s more to business than the numbers,” declares Barks Communications President Ed Barks.

While there’s no question that finances are important, Barks contends that reputational risk also poses a substantial threat to a company’s health. To drive that point home, he has updated and reissued his position paper “Beyond the Bottom Line: 10 Ways to Reduce Reputational Risk.”

The updated resource advises executives how to communicate when faced with reputational risks that threaten their business and their career. It includes 10 scenarios along with specific action steps to take when communicating during such hazards.

As Barks writes, “Woe be to the executive who cannot see beyond the green eyeshade. Many otherwise intelligent leaders assess risk solely by looking at their financials. Yet there is another type of equally dangerous risk lurking  —  reputational risk.”

He calls managing such risk “an essential leadership skill for today’s executives.”

Regarding its 10 scenarios, the report notes, “While you may not encounter the precise situations described here, the case studies should still provide some direction to help shield your business from the risks it faces.”

In separate remarks, Barks said, “Communicating with vigor and precision in perilous, stressful situations demands planning and practice. The need to anticipate, act, and react is imperative.”

That is why, he continued, “A coordinated media training program in advance of any crisis is a must-do for any successful enterprise. Gaming out potential challenges and conducting a pre-mortem are essential elements to combat reputational risk.”

“Beyond the Bottom Line” draws upon recommendations from sources including the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, material from the Harvard Business Review, and lessons from the U.S. military.

“The report’s intent is to frame things from a communications perspective, and to give executives tools that can help them overcome risk-laden situations,” he added. “If it helps just one firm successfully confront its reputational challenges, it will have done its job.”

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Ed Barks is an author and communications strategy consultant who works on extended engagements with Fortune 1000, Inc. 500, and association clients that want to refine their message and sharpen their executives’ communications skills. They gain an enhanced reputation, greater confidence, more opportunities for career advancement, and achievement of long-term business and public policy goals. He is the author of four books: Insider Strategies for the Confident Communicator, Reporters Don’t Hate You, A+ Strategies for C-Suite Communications, and The Truth About Public Speaking. As President of Barks Communications, he has taught more than 5500 spokespeople how to succeed when they deal with the media, deliver presentations, and advocate before policymakers.

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