What separates a company that's respected from one that still matters? For Gary Grates, it comes down to a single distinction that has defined his career: relevance is the new reputation.
In this episode of The Reputation Room, Javier Boix sits down with Gary Grates — one of the most recognizable voices in corporate communications, an adjunct professor at Syracuse University's Newhouse School, and a former senior communications leader at General Motors and Edelman. Gary has spent decades inside the rooms where reputation is won and lost, and he brings a provocative, business-first perspective to the conversation.
Reputation, he argues, is about what an organization has been. Relevance is about what it is now — and what it intends to become. In a world moving faster than most institutions can adapt, that distinction is no longer academic. As Gary puts it, if you're not relevant, you don't exist.
Across the conversation, Javier and Gary explore:
Why "relevance is the new reputation," and what it means for how companies and communicators operate
The difference between being a communicator who does communications and a business leader whose most important tool is communications
Why CEOs tend to think about reputation only when a crisis hits — and how to change that
A story from General Motors about a "resource problem" that turned out to be a priority problem
How brands get caught up in societal and political moments, and why being in the right conversation matters more than being in every conversation
What AI is doing to the communications function, and Gary's warning that our writing, thinking and strategic "muscles" risk atrophying if we simply keep prompting
Why he tells his students to let AI complement how they think, never replace it
The mindset shift that keeps practitioners in the room: you're there because of how you think
Whether you work in corporate affairs, communications, or simply care about why some organizations stay essential while others fade, this is a conversation about staying relevant in an era that rewards it above almost everything else.
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