Whether you are a first-time entrepreneur or a veteran company executive, the one aspect of growing a business and raising capital, or selling a product rarely discussed at seminars is the building of your organization’s credibility. It doesn’t get much attention when you issue your quarterly report because it is not always easy to measure that quality directly in dollars and cents. Busy CEOs and company executives charged with concentrating on bottom line finances and product advancement don’t always see the connection.
What does credibility or reputation mean and how does it add value to your business? Having credibility all comes down to getting the benefit of the doubt (BOD) especially when things go wrong. BOD can be an important weapon for a company in the contest for investor, media and public opinion. Without earning BOD investors can become inpatient, the ability to raise capital becomes harder, analysts and the media can downgrade you or write you off. This is especially important for biotechs where payoff is usually long term, and may take more than a decade and millions in fundraising before even getting close to a drug approval.
Most management teams would agree, I believe, that credibility is important, but then look to their public relations/investor relations person or PR firm and say building reputation is their job. But credibility does not relate solely to public relations efforts to generate awareness or headlines. The Chief Executive Officer of Credibility— the person chiefly responsible for credibility—is the CEO. The CEO is the person investors and the media and Wall Street can give the BOD nod. I would suggest that the CEO should take the initiative in this process. The CEO and officers should manage their company’s reputation just like any other corporate asset and keep it high on the company’s agenda.
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