Don’t Wait To Be Haunted Before Addressing Your Past and Shaping Your Own Narrative
12/23/24 – – In Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Ebenezer Scrooge becomes agitated by the unalterable episodes in his life revealed to him by the Ghost of Christmas Past: “Show me no more! Why do you delight to torture me?” Responding to Scrooge’s frustration, the Ghost explains, “I told you these were shadows of the things that have been. That they are what they are, do not blame me!”
The bad things in a company’s, institution’s or individual’s past “are what they are.” And it’s hard to make them go away when they come back to haunt us.
As discussed in “The Crisis Preparedness Quotient,” reputational crises most often spring from one or more of nine common sources: People, Products, Priorities, Policies, Performance, Politics, Procrastination, Privacy and . . . Past. When I review these wellsprings of woe with corporate audiences, Past is the most feared threat:
“We can’t change the past, so why should we be blamed for it?”
“We shouldn’t be responsible for something that happened decades ago.”
“People grow and change. It’s not fair to judge someone by one event or period in their lives.”
“Why do you delight to torture me?” (Just kidding. To the best of my knowledge, Scrooge has never participated in one of my sessions.)
Fair or not, your past may be fertile ground for reputational erosion. The best way to deal with “shadows of the things that have been” is with honesty and transparency. Organizations and individuals can control their own destinies as much as possible by encouraging an open examination of their histories, warts and all. Stage your own intervention. Apologize if appropriate. Better you lead the discussion than allow others to dig up the dirt and define you.
Even imperfect pasts, when embraced honestly, can enhance a reputation.
An article in the August 16, 2017, New York Times headlined, “Rescuing a Whiskey Legacy,” revealed that back in the 1850s a Tennessee slave named Nearest Green taught white teenager Jack Daniel how to make whiskey. After the Civil War, Nearest went into business with Jack as the first master distiller of Jack Daniel’s.
Recognition of this fascinating history may have been long overdue, but credit Brown-Forman, marketers of Jack Daniel’s, with seeing Green’s pivotal contribution to what has become an iconic American brand as something to celebrate. As Times reporter Clay Risen observed:
“At a rough time for race relations in America, the relationship between Daniel and Green allows Brown-Forman to tell a positive story, while also pioneering an overdue conversation about the unacknowledged role that black people, as salves and later as free men, played in the evolution of American whiskey.”
Brown-Forman didn’t try to change its past or make it go away. The company took steps to understand its history and shape its own narrative.
The Ghost of Christmas Past informs Scrooge that he is visiting him out of concern for his “welfare and reclamation.” The spooky intervention did wonders for Mr. Scrooge, who promises:
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”
The lesson for us when it comes to a problematic past is clear: Don’t wait to be haunted to do the right thing. (A call from a producer at “60 Minutes” can be far more frightening than a visit by any ghost.) Adopting a proactive strategy will protect your brand and lessen the chances that your past will draw you into a crisis in 2025.
“And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us, every one!”
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