I want to be known as the guy who is actually effective at helping people to grow their small businesses.
I was participating in a small business leadership summit last week and the speaker asked us, “What is your reputation?” All of us were thinking about reputation management; that is, managing and protecting our reputations on Facebook, Twitter, and in the Blogosphere. But the question was more introspective. The speaker wanted to know what we wanted our reputations to be. After thinking about it, I answered this way:
I am in a position in my career where I can do a lot to shape my reputation. I write books, articles and blogs, and give speeches and interviews, all of which allow me to deliver a thoughtful message about the reputation I want for myself. I’m also clear about what I want my reputation to be. I want people to think of me as someone who’s extremely effective in helping successful small business owners achieve positive, lasting change in behavior. I don’t want to be just good in my field. I want to be one of the best. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s no different than an athletic training for an Olympic gold medal. It’s ambitious, but not unrealistic.
Of course, I can’t claim that reputation for myself. That would be meaningless, because anyone can score on a self-assessment. I can suggest it as my goal, but at the end of the day, I have to earn it though the results. To be considered one of the best, I don’t have a high margin of error.
Partially because of this goal, many decisions in my career boil down to this question: Will it make me look smarter, richer, more guru-like, or will it make me more effective. I always choose what make me more effective. I am not known as being the smartest person with the most sophisticated theory about helping people change. I want to be known as the guy who is actually effective at helping people to grow their small businesses.
The reputation that you want for yourself is like a moral compass. It keeps your head focused when success roles in and when success is take longer to achieve than you want.
Now, what is your reputation?
