10 Steps to a Better Reputation

I like to speak with the youth, and I like to hear the youth. They always put me in difficulty. They tell me things that I haven’t thought of, or that I’ve partly thought of. The restless youth, the creative youth, I like them!

Pope Francis

I was invited to speak to the students at Bishop Ready High School last month. My friend Maria Illig is a teacher there and is in charge of the Future Business Leaders of America Business Club at the Catholic high school on the west side of Columbus. I’ve had the opportunity to speak at Ready four times now, with the first coming back in 2013 when I spoke on the topic of leadership and goal setting. I must say, speaking to high schoolers is one of my favorite audiences every year because they listen with such open-mindedness and a true desire to learn new things.

Mrs. Illig knows how impactful an outside voice can be for students in their influential high school years and has always been very supportive of my message. It’s always fun to be invited because Maria never really gives me restrictions on topics or messages to share with the class. She simply challenges me to share ideas or information that might educate and/or inspire the students.

Live in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you, no one would believe it

The topic I chose to talk about on this visit was a single word; Reputation.

Reputation is defined as “the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something.” In business, a reputation is a mixture of advertising (what you say you are), marketing (what you do) and word of mouth (who you are). Every day we see examples of people, companies, and brands that reinforce a good reputation and sadly, we also see the opposite in action. Through social media, video, and the 24-hour news cycle, the negative actions often take more of the spotlight and are talked about more than those heartfelt, impactful moments – the moments and actions I have come to deem #Blogworthy.

Could it be that displaying good manners, offering great customer service, displaying a positive attitude, and other behaviors that create a “good reputation” are expected and therefore don’t get as much attention? Is a “good reputation” boring and not worth talking about?

I think it’s safe to say I’d rather have a few people shouting my praises for having a good reputation every now and then as opposed to constant whispering and rumors of bad things I’ve done, the negative way I treat others, or the poor service I provide that might come with a bad reputation.

Reputation – A 10-letter word that can impact a person, business, company, or brand 24-7. Here’s how I broke it down for the students that day through various ideas and anecdotes that I have learned through my career.

Customer service expert Shep Hyken says, “Companies who enjoy amazing reputations must work hard to stay on top, that means starting over, every day, reestablishing their reputation.”

Thanks again to Mrs. Illig and all her students. I hope you all start working on your reputation today by building relationships, solving problems, and having fun.