You know the saying, “You are what you eat?” Well, in many cases, I would say that this is very true, but it got me thinking about food references to a person’s reputation. In many ways, we do create, discover, and strategically form the “perfect recipe” in managing our reputation. Whether it is a taste of personality with a dash of charisma or lots and lots of cups of transparency– in many ways– public relations professionals are chefs in reputation management. We create, experiment, and discover to perfect recipe that makes up a positive and strong reputation for ourselves and our clients.
Personality Characteristics & Quality Ingredients: Certain characteristics (or ingredients for food references) are preferred above others to make the “perfect reputation.” Not all reputations are the same– each is unique and distinct from others– so it garners attention and notice among other people. For example, in our family– we only use the best ingredients for our main dishes. From beef stroganoff to baklava to carrot cake– we use butter, butter, and more butter! As the chef in the movie “Last Holiday” with Queen Latifah was saying, “the secret of life is butter.” It is! You’ve got to have a set of core values and ethics to have a stable and lasting reputation. If you use short cuts (ex. using margarine instead of butter– heaven forbid!), then the end product is not as good. It is best to spend the time and energy to get the right ingredients and quality characteristics in a reputation.
Strategic Scientists in the Kitchen / Business & PR Environment: Chefs are also scientists in their kitchen, and public relations professionals have to be strategic and forward-thinking about their end product of their client’s reputation. With practice and experimentation, the chef knows the right measurements and combinations to make a superb dish. Same thing with public relations professionals– we look at case studies to see what others have done to manage their reputation as well as conducting our own research in studying the phenomenon (ex. questionnaires, surveys, interviews, etc.) By the end, both the chef and PR professional are a step closer in understanding what makes the perfect reputation / dish.
Association & Perception of Certain dishes / Reputations: We have certain perceptions of people based on the different elements that make up their reputation. This also happens when it comes to certain dishes. For example, we associate prestige and class to dishes like creme brulee or caviar, and a fun time with friends and family with bbq. However, if you use quality ingredients and add your unique blend– you can make a simple dish even more luxurious and special than the more well-known fancy dishes. We have done this in our family with our recipes– our baklava is to die for, and our peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake.. need I say more??!! 😀 The point is, both of these dishes are pretty simple to make, but since they have strong quality ingredients, they are uniquely special which separates themselves from others in the same category. Reputations are like that– you got to figure out what works best for you and your client and focus on the strong characteristics. So, my point is that if you have strong core values and unique characteristics, you will be on your way to establishing a good reputation. 🙂
Hope you all are having a wonderful day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
0 Comments