38. Treasure, Protect, And Promote Our Reputation.

We’re all responsible for, and benefit from, the Famous brand and reputation. Be a brand ambassador and always put your best foot forward. Consider how your actions affect our collective reputation, and act in a way that brings honor to us all.

Marc's Message:

“A brand is not a logo, a slogan or a graphic. A brand is a promise, a reason to believe and an overall experience felt.”

I believe that quote and the first sentence that describes this week’s fundamental which says, “We’re all responsible for and benefit from the Famous brand and reputation.”…. says it all.

If you agree, then every action and interaction with others that we all take every single day is critical for our long-term success. “Never say it if you can show it” is something I heard recently. I believe that captures the essence of building a reputation and is extremely powerful. Therefore, it’s not what we say, it’s actually what we do which shows our customers what counts. We must act properly in all situations. It takes years if not decades to build a reputation and only a moment to bring it to its knees. Therefore, it’s incumbent upon all of us to be cognizant and vigilant in doing the right things to protect and honor our reputation. A good example of this would be electronic communication. Let’s be thoughtful as to what we put into an email. Take an extra moment to compile your thoughts versus rushing through it. What you email can easily be clicked-on and then forwarded and your communication may be misinterpreted even with the best intentions.

In the picture above there are three words that I would like to highlight. The first are integrity and honesty. I once read “Integrity is telling yourself the truth. Honesty is telling others the truth.” Please think about this in our interactions not only with customers but with suppliers and other associates as well. And the other word is “trust”. As you know, this is our second Core Value. Without trust we have nothing. To build trust we must always be honest and do what we say we are going to do.

I challenge all of us to be keenly aware of our reputation. If you find yourself or see an associate that is crossing the line, which could damage our brand (even if it seems minor), it’s incumbent upon you to correct your behavior and / or step in, speak straight and help a peer. When you / we do this, we will treasure and protect what so many Famous Family members have worked so hard to build since 1933. Our reputation is much more than our name or good will. It is the reason that we have built so much loyalty and we must continue to pay attention to this fundamental and the promises we make forever and ever.