day 908: Reputation Defender

"How long will you people ruin my reputation? How long will you make groundless accusations? How long will you continue your lies?"

How bad has it gotten on the internet that we are offered now companies that will work on our behalf to repair and remove bad things that are said about us online?  With the explosion of user-generated review content sites, it really shouldn’t be a surprise to us that  companies like Reputation.com and Reputation Defender are finding customers and I might add, charging a hefty amount for their work.  I have heard of companies and individuals being charged over $100K to have their online search results altered and improved.  While at first it sounds crazy but in some ways it’s the modern day malpractice or general liability insurance coverage.  If you are a professional service provider, say a dentist, and your next unhappy patient turns out to be a major online influencer, you could be in real trouble, real fast.  The fact of the matter is that it has now become the norm to check out the reviews of companies just like have done for a long time for entertainment.  Today it is just as normal to check Yelp as it is to got to Rotten Tomatoes or MetaCritic.  It’s a scary world if your reputation matters for your livelihood, and whose doesn’t really?  Even to get a new job you should expect that someone is checking the internet to put together a story on you.  And, it’s not going to get better. Instead we should be prepared for the greater scrutiny that the internet and the transparency of the web provides.

Everyday that we go to work and go about our daily business we are putting our reputation out in the wild to be challenged, reshaped or denigrated. As believers we carry not only our own reputation on our shoulders we also shoulder the reputation, or maybe the only exposure that someone else will have of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  When I was growing up my Father would tell me that what I did outside of our house not only reflected on me, but the whole family.  I carried that with me and when I got in trouble I was reminded of it by my Father in ways that I haven’t forgotten. See, we are reflections of Jesus to others and we have to extra cognizant of this responsibility.  Let’s today and this week let it sink in and be sure that we aren’t letting anything in our work create something that puts us in the position of having to defend our own reputation. 

Reference: Psalm 4:2 (New Living Translation)

day 793: Jimmy Durante

"They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness."

Yesterday as we were celebrating a "Super Sunday" in our 1st - 6th Grade Sunday School class, as the kids were coming into the class, we had the classic cartoon of Frosty the Snowman playing. I haven't sat and watched it all the way through in years. You might remember that it starts with the introduction of the narrator, that being Jimmy Durante. For fun, I asked around the room if anyone had ever heard of Jimmy Durante. Of course, none of the kids had. Likely, some of the younger teachers wouldn't have known who he is either. I also suspect that when Mr. Durante voiced that cartoon in 1969 he would never have guessed that kids in the future might not ever remember him, but they would know immediately the voice and character of the narrator from the cartoon. Here we are 42 years later and Mr. Durante's performance remains. Businesses can be the same. 40+ years later we probably won't remember any of the names of the senior members of a business, but the reputation can remain. We never know what we might do today that will stick...forever.

The smallest actions can be the ones that become our legacy. It can be very hard, if not impossible, for us to know at the time. We can only pray that what will have the greatest impact will be a positive action, word, or impact we have on another. We have a few days left in this year and as we think back on what would be the highlights and the legacy of this past year, are we feeling good about that? There is still time to clear up areas of disagreement or bad feelings. We want, as best we can, to start next year strong and with positive momentum. Our jobs are full of moments to pass along positive recognition or help another person around us. Whatever it is, consider that this week, the one that we exchange many positives is also a week to shore up our relationships. This could be the week that for someone around you, you will be setting a long-lasting memory of who you are to them.

Reference: Psalm 89:16 (New Living Testament)

day 50: Reputation Trumps

We work so hard. We work hard for so many things. We do our very best day in and day out with the rewards tied to a day in the future when we can sit back and rest and reflect on a job well done. During that journey we set different goals for ourselves and we strive to meet and exceed those objectives. One that invariably becomes a measurement of how we are doing, and our ability to enjoy the latter years of our lives when we are not working, is our financial goals. There is nothing wrong with having financial targets and in fact any good financial planner will tell you that having goals and plans are essential to getting to where you want to be in the future. However, what can lead us astray is when we put that financial target above all else and we find ourselves in a situation where that measure literally takes over on us. I know too many people who because of this have gotten turned around and messed up with their priorities and let their perspective get our of whack. This turned into some bad decision-making and for some life long consequences of their actions as they blindly chased their financial dreams. The Proverbs tell us how to keep that in balance. Proverbs 22:1 says; "Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver and gold". That says it loudly and clearly. Whenever we are in a situation where we put our reputations at risk while questing for silver or gold, we are sailing in dangerous waters. As you think about today, remember that our reputations proceed us and at the end of the day, it will be our reputations that will outlive us. Let us be careful about our priorities and the outputs of why we work.

Reference: Proverbs 22:1 (New Living Testament)