Hope everyone tuned into today’s Wall Street Journal’s annual survey with Harris Interactive on the best and worst reputations. Ron Alsop wrote the article, as he does every year. I totally agree with his reasoning as to why Microsoft came out on top with the gold trophy. Bill and Melinda Gates’ charitable contributions have positively rubbed off on Microsoft’s overall reputation. As Alsop quoted one respondent, “The involvement of Bill Gates and his wife in their charitable foundation has had a definite impact on Microsoft’s reputation.” When I was at Burson-Marsteller, our survey on the most admired CEO among global business executives in 2006 found Bill Gates as number one among all CEOs worldwide. My hypothesis at the time was similar to Alsop’s — the Gates’ corporate citizenship is a win-win for the company he founded.

Alsop’s feature was powerful and compelling because he told it through the words of consumers. He quoted respondents in the article to enhance his explanation of the rankings. There were none of the usual expert suspects adding their two cents. Alsop was also fair by giving space to company spokespeople about why their companies performed as they did. All in all, an equitable profile on corporate reputations today.

Of course, I was 100% in agreement with Alsop and consumers that the reputation of the CEO (Bill Gates) can have an immense effect on the reputation of the company (Microsoft). In fact, I have staked my career on the inextricable link between the two. Nice to see it validated. Thank you voters!

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Wall Street Journal, reputation, Bill Gates, Microsoft, Bill and Melinda Gates, corporate citizenship, charitable contributions, Ron Alsop, consumers, CEO reputation, experts, Burson-Marsteller
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