By Lisa Hochgraf
Wayne Gretzky was my cousin's role model for many years. The Canadian was a star hockey player and later highly regarded coach with a sterling reputation.
Today at CUES Symposium, Richard Powers, MBA, LLB, talked about a test Gretzky faced in recent times when his wife was found to be involved in illegal gambling activities to the tune of thousands of dollars a month.
Gretzky’s reputation—and his sponsorships—were at stake when he took this question from the media: “Did you know?”
His response? “No, I did not.”
National academic director for the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, and lead faculty for CUES’ Directors Leadership Institute: Governance, Powers polled attendees about whether they would know if their spouses were gambling that much money every month. Most said they would absolutely know.
Not surprisingly, the media had to decide whether they would believe Gretzky’s answer. Ultimately, based on Gretzky’s good reputation, they took his answer at face value.
“A positive rep can carry you through a lot of troubles,” Powers concluded.
Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES editor.
For more from CUES Symposium, read the blog post "To Get Strategic, Be Wishful."
