Most Managers will acknowledge the fact that reputation is an institution’s biggest asset and most dangerous risk, yet for some reason this subject seldom features on the company’s training calendar.

Is it because there is no consensus about reputation’s role in the organisation? Is it because some managers debate whether it is a strategic risk, whilst others view it as a consequence of risk? Is it because of the fragmented approach most organisations take to manage this asset?

The danger is that some studies show that Reputation can make up or influence more than 55% of a company’s share price. And this effectively means that unless you manage this opportunity asset or risk that you leave a huge asset unmanaged or open to chance.

Psychologists tell us that awareness precedes behavior change whilst the term preparedness refers to the state of being prepared for specific unpredictable events or situations. Awareness and Preparedness are therefore closely linked.

The level of preparedness is depended on the cumulative deposit of knowledge or the sum total of the learned behaviour of a group of people. This awareness that the psychologists talk about is created by knowledge and knowledge is acquired through information.

Therefore awareness can play a huge role in protecting and nurturing your organisation’s biggest asset and risk. How would a manager know whether he or she is adding or subtracting to that value, unless he or she has been made aware?

The next time your organization meets to decide what the training goals and priorities should be, ask yourself: “What are we doing to ensure that our managers understand the creation and protection of our Reputation”?