I must be doing something right.

I recently facilitated a very successful Stakeholder Reputation workshop with delegates from organisations such as the Banking Organisation, BHP Billiton, De Beers, The International Red Cross and various Tourism authorities. It even attracted visitors from other countries.

What was really helpful were the delightful comments that I received from the delegates:

– I have just submitted a proposal for the development of a stakeholder reputation management system for the CIH Group. The knowledge gained at the workshop was invaluable for the proposal. – Suegnét Scheun, Consultant, Group Corporate Marketing and Communication Services (GCMCS), Capricorn Investment Holdings Limited (CIH), Windhoek, Namibia

– "Inspiring! What an eye-opener… stakeholder management is not the preserve of the manager in charge but rather an integrated function that all should have responsibility for, that was my feedback to our MD. Its’ strategic importance is to be elevated in organisations. A Brilliant learning opportunity. Equipped me with invaluable tools! Empowered by new terminology such as silositis, reputation drivers, stakeholder attributes, stakeholder models, universal principles of stakeholder management and the unpacking of the mission for stakeholder management etc… Loved your sense of humour, your presentation layout is superb and user-friendly. I benefitted immensely and would like to know what you suggest as follow-up training – Fikile Kuhlase, General Manager: Transformation, the Banking Association South Africa

– Deon’s presentation helped me to sharpen my own perspective on certain issues in the stakeholder management field. The question that I’m toying with in my mind is that should this field be a generalist or specialist area? Also, and more importantly, if reputation forms a significant portion of the asset value of a company then how should practitioners go about to offer and demonstrate a unique business proposition and value add? Just thinking………I picked up on radio news this morning that about 100m illegal cigarettes enter SA each year and the revenue loss to SARS amounts to about R1.4b per annum. You will recall that Deon gave us an exercise on this and when I heard this on radio my mind went "stakeholder map, reputation and business risk, strategic partnerships, etc….”

I had a spare moment the other day and was thinking about stakeholder management – I put together for myself the following working definition: "stakeholder management is an integrated system of thinking and a culture of inclusivity in doing business". I’m not sure if this definition is worth anything given that it includes overtraded words and clichés, but I guess it’s a start for me to think about something. – Malebo Modise, Standard Bank

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in your inspiring course this week! I also need more time to digest and reflect what we shared together and study the notes more carefully with time. I will revert on your questionnaire. The dynamism, the opportunities, the emphasis on the importance on careful research, friendly and caring approach for the care of various stakeholders – the summary of the framework you presented for addressing stakeholder management was all very relevant and confirmed my personal believes and practice in the past in relation to our stakeholders with whom we are working in our field. – Seija Tyrninoksa; Country Representative for South Africa; International Federation of Red Cross

I will be organising another one to run in November. For further details regarding the content and registration procedure for the next workshop, e-mail deonbin@icon.co.za

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