What History Teaches Bankers about Reputation Management

Richard J Parsons

“Perhaps a man’s character is like a tree, and his reputation like its shadow: The shadow is what we think of it, the tree is the real thing.”
Abraham Lincoln

WHAT DOES HISTORY TEACH BANKERS ABOUT REPUTATION?

In this chapter the subject of reputation development and management will be examined through a look back in history. Three topics will be explored:

• • taking a historical perspective on the reputation of bankers, the case will be made that bankers today would be wise to understand why society does not trust the institution of banking, and specifically its practitioners, the bankers;

• • from there the chapter will examine how one of history’s great managers of reputation – Julius Caesar – approached the building and maintenance of his own reputation and that of the Roman Empire; and

• • reflecting on the writings of Karl von Clausewitz, Niccolò Machiavelli and Thomas Paine, the chapter will close with a discussion of the link between reputation and the motivation behind building a certain reputation.

ADAM SMITH AND THE BANKERS’ ‘CONTEMPT OF RISK’

The father of capitalism, Adam Smith, has long been associated with his