I career coach : 5: 131ac k Berty from Wireless Giant® You Can't Buy A Reputation 'C V FREE Tips & Tricks 441.1.11.11"1"Isillmiliftg class when you purchase your BlackBerry smartphone from the BlackBerry® Store from Wireless Giant! 61ackBerry 2:21 r>at FRI MAY 25 p erhaps it is possible that everyone knows it. So what happens Greek philosopher Socrates when you switch wholesalers to get a was clairvoyant and envi- better price and the produce isn't as sioned a future with employees stand- good anymore? Your reputation you ing around the water cooler gossiping worked so hard to build will take a hit about their boss's lack of and your business could style or sending scathing e- be destroyed in a matter of mails to office friends about weeks. another colleague's alleged It takes a lifetime to build extracurricular affairs. a good reputation, yet it Socrates knew the value takes just one day and one of a good name and of foolish action to destroy preserving our reputa- it. We see this every day. tions. What he suggested A judge is caught driving many, many years ago still drunk; the teacher of the Rob ert Sher resonates as true today. We year gets caught with child Co l umnist should regard our good pornography; a politician names as the richest jew- is arrested in a prostitution els we can possibly possess because: sting. "Credit is like fire. When once you Reputations stick. In the beginning have kindled it, you may easily pre- of your careers, you each got labeled serve it but, if you once extinguish with good or bad reputations, like it it, you will find it an arduous task to or not. rekindle it again. The way to gain a Those of you lucky enough to have good reputation is to endeavor to be the good reps can probably get a little what you desire to appear!" break somewhere along the way for Do you talk out making a mistake. of school telling For you, a mistake Socrates knew the colleagues' secrets? might be called a Have you ever gotten value of a good name lapse in judgment or drunk at a company a minor stray from and of preserving our the path but, if you party or behaved inappropriately at a get a rep early on in reputations. community fund- your career with a raiser? Have you said negative label, peo- hurtful things about ple will wait for you someone else behind his or her back? to wreak havoc no matter what. When If so, it will hurt your reputation if it you slip, so will your reputation. hasn't done so already. "A good reputation is more valuable In my many years in executive busi- than money," playwright Oscar Wilde ness roles, and in my coaching prac- said. I couldn't agree more. A good tice, I've heard many things. I prefer to reputation must be earned. You can ignore the idle chit-chat and useless buy just about anything else. E gossip because, at the end of every day, I want my own reputation to remain Robert Sher, CPA, is a certified execu- intact. tive coach. Formerly CFO and partner A good reputation is not something for Schostak Brothers & Company, that can be achieved overnight. It takes Sher has been a delegate from the time and is the product of persistent Michigan Association of Certified Public action over time, but a bad reputa- Accountants to the National Future Forum tion takes no time. Perhaps you have working on the CPA "Vision" Project. Sher worked hard to build a solid reputa- serves on the boards of charitable and tion running your small grocery busi- professional organizations as well as being ness with a persistent smile on your on the West Bloomfield Township Board face and giving customers the best of Trustees and treasurer of the American prices in town for more than 20 years. Institute of Certified Public Accountants Your produce is the very best and Foundation. 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