Anytime you cross someone in a bad way they will remember. Your reputation is your business. We have the ability to communicate online with thousands of people instantly, it is what those people say about you that becomes your reputation.
Humans remember the bad things much longer than the good, if you have broken someone’s trust in the past I’d suggest working on making it better soon because it’s going to take a while. Think of the last person who broke your trust, have you worked with them since? How do you feel about him/her?
Trust is a peculiar trait, difficult to earn but once trust is established amazing feats can be achieved. On the contrary, if you lose someone’s trust it is extremely difficult to earn back and you probably ruined the relationship you had with that person. In the small business landscape that Saskatchewan is, you can’t afford to break someone’s trust, word spreads too quickly.
Remember:
- you can’t hide your reputation
- acquiring and keeping ones’ trust will be one of the most important things you ever do in business
- bad things spread much faster than good
- people who really do trust you will defend your reputation as if it were their own
- if your business is not based on integrity you will lose in the long run
Related posts:
- Trust Equals Influence
- Who Are You?
- Why Politics Suck
- 38 books you need to read
- Do I Foursquare or Gowalla?
About the Author
Hi, I'm Jeph. I love helping people make smarter business decisions. I help companies stand out. I consult, speak, facilitate and do project work on new marketing strategies (word-of-mouth, customer service, and social media). My consulting company is JephMaystruck.com Research & Consulting. The marketing industry is changing very rapidly and the only way to stay on top of it is by a philosophy of continuous learning. Do you have an information strategy? Are you learning faster than the world is changing? If not, we should talk. Learn more here: http://jephmaystruck.com/marketing-strategy/ Follow me @JephMaystruck
Visit Jeph's Website Visit Jeph on Twitter
Sign up for
My cousin recommended this blog and she was totally right keep up the fantastic work!
In my study of business and commerce, I have found that good business boils down to a few good things: risk management/mitigation, communication and trust.
In my opinion, your post encompasses all three of the important points of business management. If trust is broken, then communications must be opened up to relieve the tension that perceptions and inferences have caused. By improving on the communications trust is then built up, thus reducing the risk involved in the transaction/relationship.
I believe that the importance of communications is the least understood portion of business.
Thoughts?
And you can always improve your communication skill. Completely agree Scott, maybe I just found another post…..”Communication in Business: Marketing’s more important younger sister”
Very smart insight, I’m going to research your points a bit more and get back to you on this one.
Thanks a lot!
I completely agree. One thing usually not touched on when reputation is discussed, which you have mentioned here, is that your business needs to be based on integrity. Reputation doesn’t mean having everyone like you or the way you do things, in fact “being a people pleaser” can hurt your reputation in other ways. Some people take the view that being “popular” is having a positive reputation and that may not always be the case. Everybody loves Raymond but we wouldn’t trust him to handle an important communications project on our behalf.