No, I’m not referring to your business reputation, your reputation, as CEO.

Certainly, you are a strong believer in the value of your company’s brand and how it helps your organization grow organically. It’s also a strong contributor to your deal pipeline.

But what about your personal reputation? How does that factor into the opportunity? Does your behavior and how you go about acquiring another company matter? How might it play a role in being a good company to be acquired by, thereby attracting qualified acquisition candidates? Or accelerating the due diligence process and reaching closure smoothly?

How about a quick check on your reputation quotient as an acquirer? Does your personal buzz predispose sellers to expect positive behavior from you and your people? How do your character and culture attract admirers? What about your social responsibility? Do you champion causes for sustainable development? Does the opinion of every manager and every employee you have ever acquired attest to your ability? Are all stakeholders impacted by your prior acquisitions serving as ambassadors in your acquisition growth strategy?

Frederick W. Smith, founder, chairman, president & CEO of FedEx Corporation puts it this way in the article The Reputational Intelligence Reward: “By understanding the bottom-line benefits of authenticity, transparency, candor and empathy – and by assuming the responsibility of chief reputation officer, CEOs can parlay the synergy between brand and reputation to help their company excel in this new environment of increased scrutiny and skepticism among stakeholders. Properly implemented and supported at the C-level can, over time, convert a company’s reputation into an enduring asset providing a sustained competitive advantage.”