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Reputation management and garden management

I seem to be in a bit of a simile and metaphor mood at the moment when it comes to these blogs.  Today I was ruminating on how good reputation management is like growing tomatoes…

Ok, sounds a little crazy but I have my reasons. A couple of weeks ago we spent the best part of a day cutting and tidying up the hedges around our house.  It is a fairly big job as some of them are eight to ten feet high.  However, we are not topiary fanatics, so it is something that only needs to be done a couple of times a year to keep them in line.  Like all gardening tasks I am sure the job would be made easier if they were attended to a little more often but there size means ladders etc – so it is never going to be less than a half days work.

Reputation management is very different – much like the tomatoes growing in our greenhouse it needs daily nurture.  Watering, feeding, tie-ing up, picking out shoots – all the little tasks that not only improve the crop but keep the plants alive.  Without this work (particularly the water), the tomatoes would die in a matter of days.


And so it is with a reputation, it needs constant management, through the right message,

PR and communications you can maintain your reputation on an ongoing basis. By spending a little time on it each day you are effectively watering it.  The feed comes from the new stories, ideas and campaigns that can inject new life, whilst effective management and planning act like the ties to ensure strength and continuity.  Also, by focusing on the positive and effectively managing negative stories and crisis situations you are picking out the side shoots that could otherwise take over and take energy and sustenance away from the main plant.

Hmmm, I wonder what other metaphors and similes I can find in the garden.  I’m sure there is something to be found in talking to the plants or watching acorns growing into oak trees…

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