0:02 Today when almost instantaneously social media can broadcast everything about you, the most valuable currency we have is our reputation. Coming up on people making money in just a moment.
0:26 >> Who are you? And [music] where are you going? What [music] do you want?
0:42 >> Hello and welcome to people making money. I'm your host Kevin Bemmel and I'm here every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time to talk about job hunting and being an employee, starting and running a business, and building wealth. So, the whole financial side of our life. And if you've been following the show for the last couple of months, I did a mini-series with a couple of colleagues of mine for seven episodes and then I had a guest on last week. And now I'm going back to my formula of handling those
1:18 three topics in repertoire. And so, this this particular episode I think applies whether we're an employee or a business owner. And that is how our reputation impacts our professional lives. And so, I have several thoughts on this topic that I want to share with you because when you look at society today, it seems like evermore it's okay to say outrageous
1:56 things, to behave outrageously in public, and I I think that that gives a false sense of what most people really find to be acceptable. So, I I know through conversations that I've had with my nephew who works for kind of a medium-sized company, you know, he's very, very careful about how he speaks to people, how he writes emails, and I I I think that
2:31 the way he looks at this is really the correct way because he's he's looking to build a career, a professional reputation, and a misstep can very quickly spin out of his ability to control it, to deal with it, and now, you know, all that's left is is regrets. So, you know, we talk about personal brand, and I think reputation goes beyond personal brand. So,
3:06 those many of you know, I my my good friend Bill Gross, who promotes himself as the LA probate expert, and that's his personal brand. But, being well-known as an expert in a particular area isn't as broad an issue as having a reputation for probity, honesty, integrity, knowledge, all of those go beyond merely being an
3:41 expert in a field. And so, I'm not going to use the term personal brand interchangeably with reputation because I mean something deeper broader than, you know, being an expert in this particular field or that particular field, right? But, the fact of the matter is that every interaction we have with a person another person can build or destroy our reputation. So, in many cases, people will decide to
4:19 trust us before we even meet them or speak to them, uh you know, in person. So, I'll give you an example. Uh I I had someone contact me a few months ago uh to talk to me about being the trustee for his for his trust. And uh um we had an email exchange, um pre-preparatory to a face not to a face-face to a telephone meeting. And
4:54 when we got on the telephone, um I think it was about a week later, he said, "You know, I noticed that you were on uh Twitter." And I was like, "Yeah, I am. I mean, I have a Twitter account that I on on which you know, that I use to promote my shows." And he said he says, "Why are you on Twitter?" Right? And I said, "Well, I promote my shows on Twitter." And he said, "Oh, okay." Right? And I think the the underlying context there context there was, you know, most of the people on Twitter are involved in, you know, trading political barbs at best,
5:31 right? And so, you know, I think he looked at that skeptically and and perhaps justifiably so, right? And this is before this is before, you know, well, I I he brought it up when we spoke, but my he was developing his opinion of my reputation before we had ever spoken, right? So, I think we need to be mindful of that. I know for myself, uh I never I don't post political stuff online. First of all, I don't think it does any good.
6:06 >> [laughter]
6:06 >> I I don't think anyone's ever going to change their mind based on something I might post on uh Twitter. But But, second of all, I just think it's it's not the kind of uh politics are not the kind of issue to be discussed in in that kind of public forum unless one is a political candidate, right? Other Other than that, I think this is something to discuss among family, friends, whatever. Um and it's just not appropriate to be mixing politics and business in the way that they are that they so often are mixed today. That's
6:42 why you don't uh you know, hear me see me doing those kind of things, right? And so, I think that, you know, what but before I send every email, I proofread the email, and I would say 90% of the time I make changes. Okay, I I see something's misspelled, or I realize something doesn't make sense, or it it's not saying what I intended for it to say, right? And so, I make sure the proper words are capitalized, there's punctuation, right? I I mean, I
7:17 do that with my text messages as well. Uh and and I've I've found that to be a very good practice. It's very easy to just sort of dash something off, um and then regret it. So, a couple of weeks ago, one of my colleagues responded to an email, and to to me and the two lawyers with which I'm working on this particular matter. And his response also included the other the other side's lawyer.
7:53 And so when I saw that I'm kind of like uh you know, and I so I sent him an email and I said you know, please be mindful of to whom you're sending your emails in the future. Right? Um because now he has he had exposed all of our confidential communications to the other side, right? Um and not not a good thing. And so we you know every single interaction we can uh we have can either enhance or detract from our reputation.
8:30 And we need to be that serious about it. Whether it's a post on LinkedIn or Facebook or whatever. Uh we we need all of this all of this is there. It doesn't go away. Right? Whereas things we say verbally, they they may be you know, fairly ephemeral. Uh social media is permanent, okay? It can last after we die. Take it from me, I'm a probate administrator, right? Uh there there is a process by which someone's Facebook account can be memorialized, meaning all of those posts will be there ostensibly forever. At at least as long
9:07 as Facebook is around, right? And so uh you know, our reputations compound just like interest on a savings account compounds. Okay? And and and we have to be aware of that. We have to be constantly aware of it. Okay? And because a reputation is so valuable we cannot take it for granted. Okay? So that's number one. Every interaction builds or destroys our reputation. The second thing is opportunity
9:42 actually tends to arrive through what are called weak connections, not our closest connections. Okay? This is especially true if we're job hunting. The chances that someone we know well is going to help us find a job are actually lower than someone we kind of were an acquaintance with them maybe. Um but we don't know them particularly well. But they're they're more likely to hear about something and let us know about it. Uh and and that and that leads to a
10:19 job. That just just statistically that's the case. So for for people who know us well, okay, if we say something stupid or make a gaffe or whatever, okay, they know us well. They they they will probably overlook it or, you know, they'll real Oh, I was tired. I was aggravated that day, whatever. Okay? But our weak connections are far less likely to give us that benefit of the doubt. And so the damage we do ourselves by being unthinking in a communication
10:57 that will be seen by our weak connections it it it actually will be much greater than the damage we might do by saying something boneheaded or writing a, you know, an ill-advised email to someone we know well. Okay? And and so these we you know, we we need to be very thoughtful um as we move from someone I know from being I'm sorry, from being someone
11:33 I know to someone I'll hire, whether it's hire for a job or whether it's, you know, hire as as in, you know, having a business and I'm going to have your company do some work for me. Right? And and and making that transition one small thing can say, "Nope. Nope. Done. That's it." You know. So, um again, every communication is an opportunity to strengthen our network. We're not going to make everyone and with whom we come in
12:09 contact a close business associate, but we are going to either um make it more likely that they'll think about us favorably or that they'll reject us. You know, often times without maybe have having, you know, a minimal amount of contact. And so, this this is especially the case when dealing with social media. Okay? So, uh I I I I was um being uh nominated to be an administrator in an
12:45 estate, um and it was a contested situation, meaning two of the heirs were at odds about what should happen. And so, I I was appearing virtually at the court hearing, where the judge was going to rule on my nomination. And to my surprise, the lawyer for the heir that did not nominate me agreed to my nomination because he knew me by reputation. Now, I I had never met him before. Uh
13:20 that I know for sure. Um maybe, you know, he was in court when I was there on another matter and he saw me um you know how I handled whatever that matter was or maybe he knew me through my show Trust and Estates weekly or something like that. My my point is is that that was a weak connection at best right that turned into my being um more easily appointed as the administrator in in an estate. Okay? And and I I I work to be very
13:58 mindful about how I behave in court in any kind of public situation especially professional public situation. And uh and and it pays dividends right? It's another reason why I do my shows. So I'm presenting myself to the public so that they can see what kind of professional I am right? And so I'm I'm very careful about how I speak on these shows how I present myself you always see me in a tie unless it's Jigger's place where we're relaxing and having a cocktail right? So
14:33 um opportunities often arrive through weak connections and weak connections tend to be more influenced by uh you know mistakes that we would make than strong connections. Okay. N- next uh small acts of professionalism often create out sized returns. So for example prompt replies to emails or telephone
15:08 calls they signal reliability. Right? Um I'll I'll give you another example of where you know I made a mistake in this regard. So I was talking to uh a a potential client about being his trustee and and you know I was was I'm I'm I'm very prompt about responding to communications and at one point um I you know I told him he he he asked me about something I said I'll you know I'll get back to you in you know tomorrow on this. He said it you know he said you know what you don't worry about it. It's not it's it's not that crucial. You
15:44 don't have to get back to me right away. You know, take your time blah blah blah blah blah. So okay, fine. So I still got back to him the next day, right? Uh cuz that's just how I handle my my work. Um and then so then we had some additional um email exchanges and I didn't respond to one of the email exchanges for for it was either two or three days. I don't remember the exact time frame, but longer than I would normally take to respond because of a an emergency that I had and and I just wasn't able to respond. And
16:21 uh before uh before I I I was planning to respond uh you know like I said two or three days later, whatever it was and before I could respond, I got an email from him saying you know, I I I thought you were a reliable guy, but I haven't heard from you and so I'm going to look elsewhere. And it's like, okay. I mean look, it's it's fine. Um I mean I I you know, from my perspective I'm thinking, well, you told me it wasn't that important, but this is the thing. People can say whatever they're going to say, but we need to behave in a reliable
16:59 fashion, right? And so something like replying promptly signals that we're a reliable person and even if they say we don't need to get back to them promptly, we we we do, okay? So um we need we you know, we we need to set our professional standards and hold to them even when a client or a prospective client seems to not really care. Okay? Another issue and and this is a candidly, this is a a bugaboo I have.
17:34 Clear writing. Okay? I It really bothers me when people send emails where they're not properly capitalized, they don't use punctuation, uh you know, they they don't you know, say hello or or dear or whatever. Um they're they're they're slipshod. Um I I know that it it's not necessarily the case that that people um who who send emails that way um don't have an eye for detail or whatever, but it resonates with me that way and it and
18:09 I have to force myself to look beyond the email, right? Whereas uh for the the people with whom I deal who are careful to always write emails appropriately, they're not fighting that same battle with me. They resonate with me as being professional without my having to take the extra step. And so, when I have an opportunity to select a professional to handle a particular matter, I'm I'm typically going to default to the ones that resonate with me to be the
18:45 most professional. And so, clear writing, it demonstrates organized thinking, it demonstrates a desire to communicate clearly, okay? And make sure that there is understanding between, you know, me and the person who is writing to me. So, an another aspect of of these sort of small acts of professionalism is following through consistently. So, this builds confidence in people. It shows
19:20 that you're dependable under pressure, right? And and especially for a professional like me in a service profession, that's what people care about, right? So, again, take another example. Yesterday, um I got a text message from one of my clients and um she had taken her daughter in for a medical appointment. I think it was yesterday. Yeah, okay, yes. It was yesterday. Uh she took her daughter in for a medical appointment and
19:55 uh was told that her medical insurance wasn't in force. Like and I got the message maybe a minute or two after she sent it. I'm laying on like, that's not possible, right? And I immediately texted her back and said, I'm going to look into this right now and I jumped on my computer and I checked everything and I saw I I I pretty quickly saw what the problem was and and I you know, I got back to her right away um and I you know, I sent her uh I texted her some um some paperwork so she
20:30 could show the doctor that in fact the policy was in force. And uh you know, even though this is a client I've had for a number of years now, she was really kind of blown away um that I responded so quickly, even though she knows that, you know, that's that's what I do. Um and and, you know, from my perspective, knowing the [clears throat] the uh situation with health care among this client's family, you know, this is something you know, it's never going to get delayed, right? Um and and so,
21:07 you know, we need to show our clients that this is the way we handle things, right? If we're a plumber, all right, we need to do the same thing and and so we want to build confidence that we're a dependable person under pressure, not just when, you know, there isn't any pressure, right? So again, small acts of professionalism create outsize returns. Okay, let's take a quick break and we'll come back for more.
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22:21 >> Okay. So, next uh trust has real economic value. And you know, this this almost sounds clichéd these days. And and in a time when trust seems to be at a very low ebb. Um maybe, you know, I it's easy to take the the perspective that trust doesn't matter, but I would argue that the lower the ebb in trust is
22:57 the more value, the more economic value it has because it separates us from every everyone else or from most of the pack, right? So, people often times will pay premiums to work with professionals they trust. Okay? So, I know the the place um to which I take my car uh for, you know, when it needs to be serviced or repaired uh is a it's actually the um Santa Monica the Jeep dealership in
23:33 Santa Monica. And uh I I originally took it there when it was under warranty, cuz it was under warranty, and so, you know, they did the work essentially for free. And then uh the first time I took it there when it was off of warranty, I had made an appointment online. And uh when I showed up, the the service person said, "No, we don't have any appointment." I said, "I made the appointment online." He said, "Yeah, that system doesn't work."
24:08 I'm like, "What? That's crazy." I said, "I went to your website. I made the appointment, and and you're telling me that that means nothing." He said, "Yeah, that's what I'm telling you." I said, "Yeah, I need to speak to your supervisor, cuz this is unacceptable, right?" So, they went from being a trusted, you know, vendor for me to like this this is crazy. Now, um I don't know. I don't know if that fellow was having a bad day or what
24:43 exactly was going on, but um the I I think the the manager of the dealership overheard this conversation, and he sent one of the other service guys over, um and he and he said, "Hey, maybe I can help you out with this, um, and, you know, get you taken care of." And I'm like, "Okay." I said, "Look, I I have an appointment, or I made an appointment." And he said he said, "I I apologize. It it it's it's a problem we have because of how the way the system works up works out." He said, "But,
25:19 if if you'll come with me, I assure you I'll get you taken care of, and we're going to get you taken care of today." Right? So, you know, I've continued to go to that dealership, even though it's probably more expensive, because there was a professional there who decided that, you know, he wanted to maintain the trust that I had placed in in their, you know, repair operation, basically. Um, and and otherwise, they would have
25:55 lost, you know, thousands and thousands of dollars of business, you know, just just from me. And it's not particularly convenient for me to go there. It's it's a long drive for me to go to Santa Monica, well, not a long drive, but it's it's a drive for me to go to Santa Monica. And the mechanic I used for years is walking distance from my house. So, you know, this is where trust has real economic value, and this particular, um, fellow, I'm going up on his name, I'd I'd love to give him a, you know, recognition, uh, you know, he he he stepped in to maintain that
26:31 trust. Um, and, you know, he made sure I had his phone number, his email address. He said, "Whenever you need anything, forget about, you know, the website. Just please just call me or email me directly, and I will make sure you get taken care of." And he has been as good as his word ever since, right? So, the trust that we have creates real economic value for him for sure because they've continued to get my business, but also for me. Right? So, there's economic value for me in knowing that I'm not going to be wasting my time
27:07 and that I can get these things taken care of quickly and efficiently, which saves my time, which means I can be focused on taking care of my clients and not have to worry about what happens when my car needs, you know, service or repair. Right? So, a strong reputation it it reduces the need that to constantly have to prove ourselves. Right? And And that's why maintaining our reputation is so important. If we you know, maybe you've worked with someone who it seemed like every time you had an
27:42 interaction with them, you had to prove yourself over again. First of all, it's mentally exhausting to deal with people like that. And second of all, it's an it's time it's too time-consuming. Right? That's not a relationship. And there are people like that. It doesn't matter what you do, you always start from zero with those people. Between I don't want to deal with those people. Okay? That's not a relationship. Okay? And I When I had my real estate property management company, I had some clients like that. And And I got I'm
28:19 Over time I got rid of them and I stopped taking clients like that. I won't I won't do it. Okay? So, we want to build a reputation so that we can focus on taking care of business rather than constantly having to rebuild trust or build trust. Okay? And then finally, trusted professionals, trusted business people, trusted employees, they get opportunities and referrals that no amount of advertising can buy.
28:54 Okay? There There is just I I last week someone I know referred me to an estate trust and estate attorney. And I'm sorry. I was referred to her. It was actually two or three weeks ago, but we spoke last week. And I mean the point at which we could start building a business relationship was much farther along because the person who had
29:31 connected us he already trusted me and and and and held me in high regard as someone who does the kind of work that I do. Right? And so you know, without that, I'm not even sure I would have gotten an opportunity to speak to this this attorney, let alone, you know, start the relationship here instead of down here. Right? And so And again, there's no amount of money we can spend that will buy us that kind of
30:06 reputation. That comes can only come from people who get to know us, trust us, and and and make that that kind of trusted referral. Okay. And then finally reputation is difficult and time-consuming to build but it's very easy to lose. So one thoughtless email can undo years of goodwill. That that is just the fact that's a fact of life.
30:42 It may not be fair. It may not be just. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Okay? And so we, you know, because it takes so much time and effort to build a good reputation, we need to be even that much more careful with with when we're doing things that could impact it, right? And so we can't afford to react emotionally in
31:19 a situation. Okay? We need to, first of all, we need to respond always, not react. Because react implies an emotional tenor to what to our behavior that in 99% of situations is not appropriate in a business setting. Okay? So, uh I was in a business meeting, um not not too many not too long ago, a week or so, or
31:54 couple of weeks ago, maybe. And um one of the people at the meeting said something that I thought was not appropriate. And and I just I just looked at the person I said, "Yeah, let let we're not going to do that. We're not going to talk this way. We're not going to go down this particular avenue. Right? It's not and and I, you know, I didn't want I didn't want to make a big deal about it, but also I want didn't want to let it continue. I wanted to nip it in the bud. Because
32:31 I think if the person had been allowed to continue he would have damaged his reputation among other people who were at the meeting. Right? And so, especially for working in a team, I think we have to be aware of those dynamics, and we need to help our colleagues not make those kinds of emotional mistakes, or those kind of mistakes that are driven by emotion would be a better way of putting it. Okay? Look, we all get tired.
33:06 We all get frustrated. We get angry. We get we're hungry, cranky, whatever it is. Okay, those are normal human things. Okay? We cannot let them overtake us, especially in a business or professional situation. And if we truly care about our colleagues, we will help them to not be um ambushed by fatigue, by hunger, by anger, etc. Okay?
33:44 Um and the fact of the matter is res- reacting out of anger can be one of the most expensive mistakes we ever make. Okay? Now, that isn't to say that we should never be direct. Okay? As recently as just last week, I had a situation where I I've been sort of tossed around for a while now, and I I sent a very direct email. Wasn't angry. It was very direct. Just
34:19 spelled out the court has appointed me to to do this. Your refusal to comply with the court order is not acceptable. Bang. Now, you know, uh don't know whether, you know, in the end they're going to comply, but if not, you know, I didn't threaten them, but I will go to court and I will get the judge to issue a direct order to this organization to comply. That's what I have to do. That is what I will do. Okay? So, um but that's that's not being
34:55 angry at them. That is merely pointing out to them that they don't have the grounds to be refusing to, uh you know, do what it is I'm asking them to do, okay? And we need to make a distinction between firmness and inappropriate anger and emotion and that sort of thing. Okay? And so, I think there's a there's a rule that we should adopt, and that is before we send any kind of, especially written communication,
35:30 text message, email, letter, etc., we need to, you know, draft it, proofread it, finalize it, and then before we send it, we need to look at it and say, "Would I be comfortable see- seeing this forwarded to someone who doesn't know, you know, the details of the situation? Would they consider this reasonable?" Okay? And if the answer is maybe not, then perhaps we have to rethink that communication. Okay?
36:06 I think the other way to look at it is, if I receive this communication, how would I react or respond to it? Would I feel attacked if I received this? Okay? If so, again, maybe, perhaps, uh that that communication needs to be reconsidered. Okay? So, our reputation as employees, as leaders in a company, as business owners, our reputation is truly our most valuable currency.
36:43 Okay? Especially if you're a professional. I would say there isn't anything your your reputation is more valuable than your knowledge because without a good reputation, you're not going to have the opportunities you want to put your knowledge to work. Okay? So, we want to be very mindful of how we handle ourselves and how we protect our reputations. So, I thank you very much for joining me today.
37:18 Uh I'm curious, if you look right down below, you'll see links to social media in the show notes. Uh where do where do you find to be the most important aspect of maintaining one's reputation? Uh maybe there's something that you do that that helps you keep reputation maintenance uppermost in mind. Share that with us. We can all benefit from that. Okay. So, real quickly, schedule of shows. Monday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time, Trusts & Estates Weekly. Tuesday
37:55 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time, Business Lessons from the Military. Wednesdays, like today, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time, People Making Money. And then every other Thursday at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time is my show, Jigger's This Place, where, as I mentioned a little while ago, we have a cocktail and a schmooze, talk about all those things not related to finances. So, several opportunities for us to be together during the week. I hope I will see you again. And that just leaves me to thank you one last time for joining me today and sign off as I always do. Marie Darling, you are my bell.
38:32 Courage at all times, my friends.