Andréa Mallard (of Omada Health): Adopt the Tone of Your Brand, but Remain Human

Via The Wall Street Journal:

GUEST MENTOR Andréa Mallard, Chief Brand Officer at Omada Health: As an entrepreneur, the problem with negative feedback of any kind is that it’s instantly personal: they might as well have called your newborn ugly.

What’s more, thanks to social media, would-be critics have the power to tell the whole world your newborn is ugly. But take heart: the very fact that the feedback loop has gone public (and will, on occasion, go viral) is a good thing. It gives any entrepreneur the unprecedented chance to learn, to adapt and ultimately to strengthen his or her brand – but only if you know how to deal with it.

Now, there are some obvious don’ts that should be clear to all by now (eg. don’t get defensive, don’t get sucked into a shouting match, don’t delete everything but the good stuff). But beyond not doing the patently wrong thing, consider five ways to really do the right thing – not just for your critics, but for your company.

Read more: http://blogs.wsj.com/accelerators/2013/12/13/andrea-mallard-adopt-the-tone-of-your-brand-but-remain-human/