David Bernstein
Of the many books about corporate reputation sitting on my
shelves, the one I refer to most often is David Bernstein’s
Company Image and Reality. Published in 1984, it has more than stood
the test of time. The preface gives a
flavour of its clear thinking:
“Image is a reality.
It is the result of our actions.
If the image is false and our performance is good, it’s our fault for
being bad communicators. If the image is
true and reflects our bad performance, it’s our fault for being bad managers”
Approaching his 80th birthday, David is still going strong (as is his sense of
humour). A great contributor to our
field.
Stewart Lewis, Head of Ipsos MORI Reputation Centre
Bernstein, David, Company Image and Reality: A Critique of Corporate
Communications (Holt, Rinehart
and Winston, 1984)