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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Your Most Precious Asset...A Good Reputation

Potential Jobs: dozens

Professional Reputation: ONE, only one...and it can be good or bad

It seems like a person's reputation, is almost like a soul. It belongs to them, down deep. Some call it part of a person's identity, the way others see us. We can also think of it as our character, again as others see it.

"Bob is known as a hard worker who always puts others first. He is honest and open. If he says he'll do something, you can take it to the bank."
That's the reputation I want to have and work hard to display. It's how I think I ought to be. Do others see it? I hope so. I try to live up to the values by which I was raised.

How do I keep a good reputation? Be consistent and follow through. Whatever reputation you're trying to uphold, people need to see you exhibit the characterics of the reputation more times than not.

What if I have a poor reputation? As they say, it takes 100 "attaboys" to overcome 1 "aw sh**". So, if you have a poor reputation, you're going to have to work really hard to put it right. People have long memories. It's not impossible to rebuild your reputation, so don't give up if it's damaged. Just be patient and diligent. Do what you say you'll do, be honest and forthright, and be above board with your key stakeholders, letting them know that you want to make things better.

2 comments:

  1. Hey I've got an idea of a way you could make your reputation crazy fantastic. You could ... no wait ... never mind. :)

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  2. Man, aint it the truth! (re reputation) I make my students memorize a monologue from "Julius Caesar", the famous eulogy by Marc Antony. One of the lines is "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones." Seems to be exactly what you're saying. I always put the word "reputation" on the kids' vocabulary list so we can discuss it and have them hopefully examine what reputation they have at the school and HOW they got it and IF they want to change it.

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