Life is web of relationships. We live life enmeshed and involved in all kinds of relationships ranging from casual to critical and all the way in between.
If we are to succeed in relationships and by extension in life we must learn to manage our relationships well. Our relationships must be properly managed to be maximized and one of such management strategies is the way we make, manage and maximize our reputation.
Reputation is our perception among people. It is what people think of us. Reputation is the estimation which we are held by the public. Reputation is critical to how people will approach us and how we will be impacted and affected by people.
A bad reputation will do us no good while a good reputation will put us at an advantage.
Due to the critical nature of reputation and due to its potential impact on our lives we must not just build a good reputation but also jealously guard it.
“A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was.” Joseph Hall
Reputation does not just happen; it must be built consciously by doing and refraining from doing certain things.
It suffices to say that before we can build a good reputation we must fully understand that reputation is a very critical factor in our journey of life.
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett
Reputation differs from character.
We must be careful not to manipulate our reputation . . . Portraying ourselves to be something in public and something else in private. Character is the real deal while reputation is simply public opinion. We must strive to ensure that our character and reputation are the same -made of the same substance.
“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Abraham Lincoln
When our reputation seems way ahead of our character we have stepped into the realm of deceit and hypocrisy which is simply shooting ourselves in the foot.
As adults most of our interactions with people is work related because most of our waking hours is spent at work. If this be the case, then we need to carefully build our reputation in the work place. A good reputation in the workplace is critical ad central to our overall reputation.
We must be known as a person who does his job well. Our reputation must be that of a person who is known as competent, hardworking ad productive. We must be known as a person known for giving attention to details. We must be known as a person who not only delivers o time but also delivers high quality products.
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