The image of a company goes beyond a mere logo or slogan. Certainly, do you know any business that became famous and represented by a CEO, founder or professional, who become "the face of the company" – as it happened with Apple, Tesla, and many others.. This personification, no matter how natural it is and, many times, inevitable to happen, it is not always something 100% positive for the parties, something that deserves to be looked at with greater attention in order to avoid image risks that could harm operations.
There are several ways in which corporate personification can occur, whether through the representation of the culture and values of the brand in a certain professional (something more directed from the inside out), or in a more market-oriented aspect, where clients recognize a certain person as someone influential in business deals, who solves the problems or with whom they agree to relate in the acquisition of the offered products or services.
For the business community, having this personification can be advantageous to a certain extent, considering your power of influence regarding greater representation in the market, increase in sales and partnerships established. Meanwhile, negatively, end up at the mercy of this talent for various operational aspects, with a high risk of suffering significant losses if this professional resigns.
In the long term, this is a concern that needs to be on the radar of companies, having the ability to make key changes throughout your journey through a solidified culture that does not depend on one or a few people to thrive. AND, there are no shortage of international cases that demonstrate this complexity.
Analyzing Tesla's scenario, as an example, no matter how much electric cars are taking over Europe, the sales of the American company fell 45% in January of this year, in comparison with the same month of 2024, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA). The reason for this is, mainly, due to Elon Musk's political position, the great personification of the brand, which has generated a series of misunderstandings that not only triggered protests, as they also caused Tesla's shares to plummet more than 25% in the last month.
This situation reflects the dangers that a professional who has the "face of the company" can cause, not only for the organization itself, like for the talent itself. After all, if you want to disengage from the business and follow a different path, how to eliminate this association in a new opportunity and detach, without any reflection or influence from your previous experience with another brand?
The impacts of personalization can affect companies of all sizes and sectors, just like all professionals in various fields. A huge challenge to be overcome that does not have a recipe-like answer to mitigate potential obstacles, being something that needs to be monitored with maximum care at all times by everyone involved, seeking not to centralize this image and responsibility in just one professional.
It is essential for companies to have this concern for corporate prosperity, considering, obviously, the satisfaction and growth of your teams, but with the competitive highlight of the brand prevailing, protecting your culture and shielding yourself against an extremely influential personification. Thus, the chances of experiencing a movement that brings something abrupt to either side are minimized, valuing the best possible business performance and its good reputation in the segment.
