Sticks and Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over Time and Lost in a Click
Sticks and Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over Time and Lost in a Click
“Larry Weber has made an important contribution to helping any leader understand how to manage and protect reputation in a digital world. The influences on reputation have spun out of control, and this book is a highly actionable approach to move from reacting to managing one of every organization’s most important assets.”
—Michael E. Porter, Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, Harvard Business School
“In Sticks and Stones, Larry Weber presents a compelling look at the challenges of protecting corporate reputation in a world where company information can cross borders and gain momentum in an instant via the Internet. Drawing on his keen eye for communications trends, Larry offers practical advice for navigating this ever-changing environment. Corporate leaders would be wise to embrace his counsel.”
—Ron Sargent, Chairman and CEO, Staples, Inc.
“Businesses no longer control their brands. At best, they can influence the communities of constituents who debate, shape, and refine their definition of what the brand means to them. Marketers and business executives can tap into these conversations to form incredibly rich and lasting bonds or allow themselves to be rolled by them. Larry Weber understood this dynamic long before most commu-nications thought leaders. In Sticks and Stones, he delivers not only bountiful examples of the best and worst practices in reputation management, but also practical advice that any leader can use to understand and shape reputation in this complex new world. This is a must-read book for the modern marketer.”
—Paul Gillin, author, The New Influencers and Secrets of Social Media Marketing
“In today’s interconnected world of social networking, 24/7 blogging and Twitter, a company’s livelihood relies, in large measure, on its ability to build a reputable online presence. Sticks and Stones is a must-read for any leader in business, academia, or politics who wants to achieve and maintain a 21st-century, online competitive advantage.”
—Deborah Wince-Smith, President, Council on Competitiveness
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Reputations will never be the same again
If you care about your reputation, the reputation of your business or organization, or for that matter, the ones you have any affiliation with, then you must read Larry Weber’s new book, Sticks & Stones. You won’t think about reputation the same way again!
Debbie Hemley
5 Stars “Sticks & Stones”: Another Winner from PR Guru Larry Weber
Larry Weber, chairman of W2 Group, has amassed a wealth of experience over his many years of public relations practice and has guided countless business leaders through the minefields of public opinion and corporate reputation maintenance.
Larry’s latest work, Sticks & Stone,is an excellent, easy-to-digest education in reputation management in World 2.0 where such concerns as globalization, corporate responsibility and financial transparency are no longer sidebar conversations in staff or board of directors meetings.
From “Digital World, Digital Reputation” to “Tools and Tactics,” Sticks & Stones provides easily digestible chapters addressing specific issues and concerns that should be at the forefront of every C-level executive’s daily agenda, with strategic observations and tactical suggestions providing a solid framework for safeguarding an organization’s digital reputation.
A “must-read” for the CEO or communicator who wants to be prepared to manage and protect his or her company’s reputation in the 24/7 digital age.
5 Stars Essential Reading For Web 2.0 Acolytes
Larry Weber’s book acts as an essential guide to the mercurial maze of Web 2.0. He demonstrates through a range of corporate case studies how social media is shaping the corporate landscape and impacting businesses reputations online. He argues that businesses need to understand the nature of the social media landscape before making informed decisions on how best to respond to their stakeholders. This is a well written and thought provoking book that should be tucked in every senior managers stocking this Christmas!!
5 Stars Grand Strategy with Nuts and Bolts Advice
Some people write a book to become a guru. This book proves that Larry Weber is a new-media guru, and shows why. He gives strategic advice, and then tells exactly how to implement it. How do you determine what you reputation is in on the Web? What do you do in advance of a crisis? What do you do when a crisis strikes? He answers these and other key questions. If you plan to remain active in marketing, fund-raising, or communications for more than the next 15 minutes, read this book.Sticks and Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over Time and Lost in a Click
3 Stars If you aren’t taking your online reputation seriously, you should seriously reconsider
Larry Weber has authored an extremely useful book that serves as a wake-up call to any business leader that is not taking the online environment seriously when it comes to protecting reputation, building trust and engaging with customers. He offers practical action items, useful hints and nuggets, all rooted in real-life examples, that will make you want to take action immediately.
Amazon shows that people who buy this book also buy “Trust Agents”, co-authored by Chris Brogan. These books seem to tackle the same space, but are vastly different. I recommend Weber’s book for CEO’s, business-leaders and other business people (of large or small enterprises) who aren’t deeply ensconced in the social media phenomenon. This book is an excellent way to begin learning how impactful it can be and what steps should be put in motion. Trust Agents is more suited to those who have some experience in this environment and I found it a little more engaging on a deeper level.
In truth, the books compliment each other and reinforce their core messages about online reputation and the power of social media. Both are worth reading…and acting upon.
Filed under: Making Money on the Internet Book Reviews