I love lists. I have 10 Steps of Crisis Communications and 5 Tenets of Crisis Management. When I'm asked why there are 10 of this or 5 of that, my answer is, "because I'm the author and I say so!"



Ronald J. Alsop is the author of The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation, which benefits from his years of experience as a news editor and senior writer at The Wall Street Journal. He knows that his fellow journalists like lists, and I suspect he gambled that an off-beat number like "18" would tweak his peers' attention. "Immutable," says my Merriam-Webster, means "not capable of or susceptible to change." I have to agree, in that Mr. Alsop has selected some of the most timeless truths of reputation management and backed them up with solid case histories. He also challenges the credibility of some very popular "best of" lists, such as "the best companies to work for" and "the most visionary companies."



One of his most important messages is how quickly circumstances can destroy reputations that took decades to develop. As with much of the book, this is not an idea new to any reader of this newsletter and other books on the market, but he has packaged it very nicely. It's the kind of publication you could give to your CEO or client and say "see, here's more proof that we have work to do."



Jonathan Bernstein

Author, Keeping the Wolves at Bay: A Media Training Manual Version 3.0

President, Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.

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