In the old days, people would pick a doctor, lawyer or spouse on the basis of their reputation, after consulting friends, families and acquaintances.
In the United States, the growing reputation of consulting as the "it" profession for the American élite got a recent endorsement when Chelsea Clinton decided to join McKinsey rather than pursue a law degree, as her parents did.
Their reputation for consulting for so many wineries earned the duo the nickname "flying winemakers".
"Industries do certainly have their own reputations," explained Aneysha Pearce, vice president of consulting reputation management and public affairs at Nielsen.
It is held in high regard and has a positive reputation among consulted stakeholders.
To know a recipient's reputation, the donor consults the unique information source, called the observer, that is shared by the group to which the donor belongs.
GM strategists have closely studied the Toyota flap and are already copying many of their rival's moves, such as appointing a "safety tsar" who can sidestep the usual corporate bureaucracy and get a recall ready fast".Transparency is important," says Don Tanner, a reputation specialist with Tanner Friedman a consulting firm in Detroit.
(Though, if rumours are to be believed, a record-breaking bid from private equity may yet rescue Mr Palmisano's reputation).When IBM bought the consulting arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2002, it seemed like the final piece of the jigsaw needed to complete the services strategy.
As a two-time chair of the DPP, she has earned a reputation for pulling factions together and consulting broadly.
After consulting my supervisor, whose international reputation allowed contact with top names in exotic locations, I sent out a barrage of CVs with enticing covering letters selling my various skills.
Selfe left Mort's in 1877 to practice as a consulting engineer at 141 Pitt Street, gaining a reputation for versatility and originality.
