The Authority Audit

Find the trust leaks between your firm’s expertise and its public reputation.

Before a prospect or referral partner picks up the phone, they check you out online. Our Institutional Authority Scorecard shows you what they would find: nine statements, one score, and a clear view of where your authority holds up and where it leaks.

Why download it

  1. Know where you stand in one sitting. Nine statements, each rated 1 to 5, add up to a score out of 45. No consultant required.
  2. Find your Trust Leaks. The scorecard shows where your firm's real expertise isn't showing up in its public authority, the gap prospects and referral partners notice first.
  3. See your firm the way a prospect does. Before a high-net-worth client or a referral partner calls, they look you up. The first statement asks whether your digital presence looks as good as your work.
  4. Get a plain-language read on your risk. Three bands, Dry Pool, The Generalist's Trap and Institutional Authority, tell you what to fix first and what to leave alone.
  5. Measure what matters. The audit separates value metrics, like inbound referrals and market mentions, from vanity metrics, like likes and views, so you know what is worth tracking.
  6. Talk it through, if you want to. After you score yourself, you can book a 15-minute Pool Strategy Session. We look at your scorecard together and name your number one Trust Leak. It isn't a sales pitch.

What the audit measures

  • Market Positioning & Narrative Control: The Digital Handshake, The Authority Statement, Executive Presence
  • Reputational Lifeguards & Crisis Buffers: Stakeholder Nurture, Internal Narrative Alignment, Crisis Readiness
  • Authority Maintenance & Scalability: The Rhythm of Relevance, Proactive Maintenance, Institutional Metrics

How it works

  1. Enter your name and email, and the scorecard arrives in your inbox.
  2. Rate your firm from 1 to 5 on each of the nine statements.
  3. Add up your score, find your band, and see what to tackle first.

Who It's For, And Questions

Who it's for. Managing partners and executive leaders of boutique firms, roughly five to twenty people, that have grown through referrals and good work: legal, financial advisory, and government relations.

About the author. Tiffany Muehlbauer is the author of The Pool Theory and the founder of Arma Communications. The scorecard applies the book's central idea: authority is something you build before you need it. 

Questions

  • Is it free? Yes.
  • How long does it take? It's nine statements, so you can finish it in one sitting.
  • Does Arma Communications see my score? No. You score yourself on the PDF, and we only see your answers if you choose to share them.
  • What happens after I download? The scorecard arrives via email, and you'll be added to the Arma newsletter list. Every email has an unsubscribe link. 
  • Is it only for legal and financial firms? It was written with them in mind. The same trust gap shows up in government relations and other referral-driven boutique practices, and the statements apply there too.
  • What if I score low? That's useful. A low score shows where to start. Our white paper, Invisible Expertise, shows what the gap cost one firm. 

Visibility is stability. Don't wait until you're thirsty to build the pool.