David Parkin on the power and value of reputation

I’VE often wondered what lasting skills a career in journalism provides you with.

Who says I’m not one for self reflection?

Most people probably, but anyway, let’s crack on.

The ability to write is certainly one skill – that’s not hard to work out – but what else?

Do I have any other skills or knowledge (I’m sure someone on Linkedin refers to them as “superpowers”, because it isn’t an arena where modesty thrives) gleaned from spending a large chunk of my working life in local and regional newspapers and digital media?

What I’ve worked out in recent years is that all this time in journalism gives you an innate ability to understand the media and to quickly grasp how the news agenda is shaped and in what direction stories that are part of it are headed.

Years of meeting and interviewing people of all ages and backgrounds also provides plenty of insight into judging character.

In today’s world where someone can create a whole new online persona and reputation and build and fund a business despite it being as flimsy as a house of cards, those skills are needed more than ever.

That’s why I’ve launched a new business called CalmStorm Advisory.

Alongside my business partner, Claire Holt, a highly experienced senior communications advisor who has worked at board level in Capgemini, Morrisons and Yorkshire Bank, we offer reputation management and advice to guide companies and individuals through the challenges of an increasingly complex world.

We have teamed up with two friends and journalist colleagues, former BBC broadcast journalist Simon Hare and national newspaper reporter Richard Alleyne to offer media, presentation and storytelling training.

And as the headlines demonstrate, in this world of digital news, the decline of the ‘mainstream media’ has not led to a dwindling number of negative stories involving individuals, businesses and public sector organisations.

I used to see it as, ‘new week, new crisis’, in recent years it is more like new day, new crisis.

We work with organisations and individuals to enhance and protect their reputations and provide them with the insight and knowledge to make the right decisions.

Claire, who is London-based, has been doing this for years and I’ve done it, both formally and informally for clients, contacts and friends for quite some time too.

Now is the right time to pool our skills and experience and launch CalmStorm.

As Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, said: “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.”

Sometimes businesses and individuals find themselves in a maelstrom through no fault of their own.

The difference between what I am doing now and my time in journalism is that I will be working in the background rather than writing the headlines and news stories.

But I’m certain that the satisfaction of providing reassurance, advice, support and counsel to those who find themselves in the midst of challenging circumstances in which their reputation is on the line, will be even greater.

Crises come in all shapes and sizes and I’m confident that whatever the challenge faced, it can always be overcome.

But the best advice I can give is try and avert or avoid that crisis in the first place and taking the right advice can achieve that and help navigate through the increasingly choppy waters of today’s world.

Claire and I have complementary skills and share similar views on how to approach crisis and reputation management.

Where we differ is that she is a fanatical Leeds United fan and, despite her young sons growing up in the South East, has managed to make sure all three share her passion for the ‘Mighty Whites’.

All Leeds Aren’t We? Well definitely in her household.

Her sons have inherited their mother’s communication skills too.

After Derby County’s two defeats to Leeds last month, they kindly sent video messages via WhatsApp to inform me how useless my team were and ask why I bothered to support them.

Maturely, I rose above these petty insults.

Well, having a crisis with your business partner before you’ve even launched your business is probably not the kind of advice I’d give anyone.