Many companies have suffered spectacularly due to scandals. Enron. Arthur Andersen. Tyco. Union Carbide. Bear Sterns. The list of organizations to go bust due to incompetence and negligence is large enough to fill an entire ocean.

Very few people feel any empathy for these firms after they fail. Nor should they! These companies and the executives in charge brought their fate on themselves.

Unfortunately, the public instinct to form a mob to go after a company can sometimes be very unfair. Some companies have done little — or even nothing — wrong only to find themselves embroiled in controversy and facing extreme public backlash. Usually, the record can be corrected and the full story does reveal itself in time. All is forgiven.

Yet, in some cases, persistent damage remains and the company has to continue fighting to clean the mud off of its name for years — or even decades. The following represent some of the worst myths that nearly destroyed big brands and how they were able to right the ship to save their reputation. [Read more…]