If You Have to Claim It, You’re Not
Margaret Thatcher said, “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.” The same can be said for being trustworthy or authentic; if you have to claim it, you’re not it. And if you’re having internal meetings about how your brand can be more trusting and authentic then you’re probably trying to put a cat in a suit and expecting it to lead the board meeting.
Trust and authenticity are bestowed on you by what you do and say. Claiming trustworthiness not only doesn’t make it so, it make it the opposite.
Research shows that public companies 10-K filings (effectively a mandatory annual report) using more self proclaimed trust language are,
- viewed more suspiciously by investors
- more likely to be investigated (by the SEC)
- more likely to pay higher audit fees and
- last but not least, have lower Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) ratings.
Here’s a few examples that I’d wager are in many a charity annual report at least in spirit if not verbatim (emphasis added).
- Coca-Cola: Our vision sustainable growth includes being a responsible global citizen that makes a difference
- HSBC: Our management procedures focus on ethical…Critical to our relationship with our customers is their trust..
- Bank of America: effective governance characterized by clarity and transparency.
To misquote Shakespeare, “The company doth claim too much, methinks”.
Kevin
2 responses to “If You Have to Claim It, You’re Not”
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Behavioral Science Q & A
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I actively avoided auto repair shops with names like “Integrity Automotive” or “Honest Bob’s transmissions”
Amen. 😃