The Meridian Institute for Strategic Leadership inaugural lecture

The Meridian Institute for Strategic Leadership was launched on 30 September 2010, the last day in office for the beleaguered BP chief executive Tony Hayward. Ironically, the inaugural lecture on strategic leadership focused on reputation damage at BP over the summer of 2010 and the train of events which severely eroded investor confidence and wiped $67 billion off the value of shares.

Professor Garry Honey, author of 'A Guide to Reputation Risk', presented the audience with two case studies of reputation damage: Toyota and BP.

'We have studied the causal factors in these two reputation catastrophes and reached some important conclusions.'

1. Information overload - Too much information flowing up and down a large multinational corporation leads to an inability to distinguish important from urgent.
2. Local responsibility - Reliance on local partners or contractors for growth creates an opportunity for misaligned values. Business targets and risk tolerance in conflict.
3. Self-belief - Multinational corporations mistakenly believe they have an immunity to political risk and national markets. Hubris inevitably leads to nemesis.

'Too many organisations believe that reputation can be handled by PR or crisis management, but this is a curative approach to problems. Reputation protection requires a preventative mindset and a better understanding of behaviour and corporate culture,' says Professor Honey. 'Your reputation is about what you do not what you say.'

Too many business leaders leave the reputation of their organisation unprotected and this is a failure of leadership and an enormous risk to value.

'A key pillar of strategic leadership is an understanding the art of reputation protection' says professor John Potter Director of MISL.

About The Meridian School for Strategic Leadership

The Meridian Institute for Strategic Leadership is a new organisation developed in response to the belief that there is a need for leaders who are able to address the new and unpredictable environment within which organisations now find themselves.

The Institute builds on the international leadership expertise of the University of Plymouth, its afilliate London based partner Greenwich School of Management: and a network of senior academics and established professionals all of whom are committed to excellence in the field of Strategic Leadership. The Institute brings together organisations and experts from many fields that have a common interest in strategic leadership. Organisations that appreciate the importance of strategic planning must also understand its interrelationship with strategic leadership, in its wider sense. Strategic planning with strategic leadership creates the foundations for a sustainable model for organisational success.

Contact:
Brian Buckley
buckley@misl.org
Tel: +44 (0)20 8516 7800
Fax: +44 (0)20 8516 7801
www.misl.org.uk

Press
Roland Daniells
roland.daniells@gmail.com
Tel: +44(0) 7866 728429