Repuation and Credibility

Reputation and Credibility

Building your reputation and credibility is the most important thing you can do for your business yet it really has very little to do with business. Reputation and credibility are personal and are built from the inside out. So how do you build credibility? Here are three strategies to build on what you have and repair what you may have lost:

1. Know your core principles. Each of us operates on three or four inner principles that guide virtually every decision we make. A great exercise is to articulate them in no uncertain terms – clearly and unequivocally. Write them down and analyze them. Are they principles that you can truly live by? Some of the things you may want to think about: How do you want to treat people? How do you want to be treated by people? What do you think people say about you when you aren’t present? What would you like them to say? Write a one paragraph description of how you would like people to describe you when you aren’t around. Then choose to live by that description, without exception. If someone questions why or why not you chose to do something share your core principles with them. Explain to them that your decisions and actions are based on principles not on mood or whimsy. This will earn their respect even if they don’t agree with you.

2. Commit to excellence. Committing to excellence involves two steps. First, it means taking your core principles and making sure that your entire life is organized around them. Each activity you engage in either fits your core principles or they don’t. If they don’t eliminate them. That’s the great thing about having rock solid core principles – they enable you to make in the moment decisions that will have long term impact on your reputation and credibility, for better or worse. The second step of committing to excellence involves accepting total responsibility for what happens to you. People that have low credibility always have someone to blame for why things go haywire, but not you! By taking full responsibility for things that go haywire followed by tangible actions that rectify the situation you will gain instant credibility.


3. Apologize sincerely when you make a mistake or don’t live by one of your core principles. Words and deeds have a long shelf life. Over the course of my career I have said and done some things I am not proud of. At times, I felt that there was nothing I could do about a past mistake and became disheartened. However, I learned the value of a sincere and action-oriented apology, even for things that occurred years ago. A powerful and authentic apology is the best possible way to restore your reputation and credibility to a damaged relationship. Don’t expect things to be perfect overnight. Make the apology followed by an action and then let it go. All it takes is one person to damage your reputation and credibility so if you are able to offer a sincere apology to someone you have wronged followed by an action – like referring them for business, taking them out for lunch, or providing them with a contact you may just end up with a stronger relationship than you had prior to the incident. A sincere apology followed by a helpful action is the most powerful way of restoring your reputation and credibility. Make a list of anyone you need to apologize to. Why do you need to apologize? If you explain it well to yourself then it will be clear with them. Then, pick up the phone and schedule an appointment with that person. Showing a wronged party that you are vulnerable and open to change is an instant credibility builder.