Admiration is Power

Corporate reputation has evolved from public relations specialty to a strategic element of business improvement.

Jeff Cunningham
Sep 4, 2018 · 2 min read

“With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.” — Abraham Lincoln

Readers may be surprised to learn, admiration is power. Lincoln understood this when America was at war with itself. He carefully encouraged public sentiment to support a grand innovation at the time, freedom for African Americans, and this led to a historic moral victory.

Admiration in a business context works the same way. It can green-light a new idea that turns a creative impulse into a reality. But how?

When a company is admired, it builds confidence and trust.The company is allowed to take risks as capital providers are willing to lend, employees want to work, regulators are more tolerant, and competitors become wary.

When admiration is absent, society sings a different tune. It says hold up, you need to prove yourself first, and maybe I’ll think about regulating you in the meantime.

Admiration acts as a traffic light, speeding up or slowing down the forces of the economy to get in sync with the wants and needs of society.

Jeff Cunningham

Written by

Transformational leadership and crisis resolution. Professor @ASU @Thunderbird; columnist @ChiefExecGrp

Thunderbird Opinions

Thunderbird Opinions is an opinion poll and business trend researcher from the Thunderbird School of Global Management of Arizona State University. Our focus is on trends in global business and leadership.

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