“Reputational Capital” and Big Pharma

The article starts out this way:

I look at the pharmaceutical industry from a public-relations perspective and I see this: A business that has lost its heart and its soul.

Kevin is an editor and blogger over at O’Dwyer, a P.R. news firm. He goes on to describe the downward spiral of the reputation of “Big Pharma,” and the many events that have led up to this current state. Lots of factors have contributed to the battering of the reputation of the pharmaceutical industry, and many of them are self-inflicted wounds.

Spin control won’t restore heart and soul. At the risk of seeming overly simplistic or moralistic, let me suggest three very concrete perspectives that, if embraced and practiced, will make any company sturdy and respectable:

1. There will be many choices to make between maximized short-term profits, and doing what you know is right. Err on the side of choosing the latter.

2. Assume that everything you say and do will be exposed someday (this used to be called the fear of God. Now it seems to be the fear of blogs!)

3. Admit when you’ve screwed up.

Nothing brilliant or original here. Just good old-fashioned honesty and the Golden Rule, applied to business. But that’s where you get reputational capital – not from fawning Wall Street analysts, or spinmeistering P.R. professionals. As long as companies (& individuals) choose short-term gain varnished over with cover-up du jour, the public floggings will continue.

Hat tip on P.R. article: PharmaGossip blog