Guest Post: Reputation Management

In this age of social media and real-time sharing of information, news can be pervasive. What I mean is that information about YOU can spread as quickly as it is put out there. We’ve all seen proof of this. Corporations are now adopting social-networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn as an internal communications tool. A guy got fired from Dell as quickly as he was hired for his Twitter post about “not liking the work.” Heck an American journalist even got out of jail because of a quick tweet he sent as he was getting arrested in Egypt!

The good news about all this is that you can use it to your advantage. The world is not just about what you know but who you know and what they think about you. With that in mind, it is vitally important to your on-going well-being to proactively manage your reputation online and network with the right people. Below are some tips to help you do just that.

Top Five Tips for Networking and Reputation Management

1. Follow the Golden Rule - Do unto other as you would have done to you. What I mean is that we must pay special attention to the bridges we build and the bridges we burn. Life has a funny way of coming full circle. Even if your decisions don’t bite you directly in the ass immediately, they will still residual impact on your reputation.

2. Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day… But it could potentially be destroyed in one - like natural disaster, your good standing in the eyes of others hangs a very tenuous thread. Reputations take a long time to build, requiring a combination of steady recognition and consistent behavior. Yet they can be wrecked by isolated incidents. Hence it’s crucially important to consider the implications of your actions. Step back and weigh everything from a vantage point other than your own as much as possible.

3. You Are Who Your Friends Are - My father said this so often in my adolescence that I never forgot it, despite the fact that I didn’t fully comprehend his advice at the time. Looking back, what he meant is that everything in this world is not about you and only you. People will associate who you are based on the circles you are in. Relationships with the right people have a way of pulling your own stature up while others have a way of dragging you down. If you hang out with nothing but drunks, chances are good that you may be one, too. If you spend time talking business with friends, chances are that you’re probably entrepreneurial yourself. Or you could all be drunken business owners. I don’t know.

4. Cultivate the Habit of Proper Etiquette - Common courtesies, even with yourself, matter a great deal. These are not acts but habits. Having good table manners, knowing how to be appropriate on a golf course, and maintaining consideration matter in this world. It’s synonymous with “having class.”

5. Get Good at Remembering Faces and Names - It only takes one introduction to ‘know’ somebody. And yet if you forget these interactions, the people you once met will go back into the unidentified populous. That is such a waste. To get really good at networking you have to pay attention to this type of stuff. Someone saying, “I’m bad with names,” is really saying they didn’t take the time and consideration to remember the person. Make it a point to say someone’s name a few times when you first meet them. That will go a long way in not only improving your memory but also your network of friends and business acquaintances.

Mike Calimbas is a founding member of DNC Worldwide and runs dncworldwide.com.

DNC Worldwide was brought into existence in July of 2005. Our mission is simple. To bring together an inspiring collection of successful professionals and create an alter-ego full of excitement and possibilities outside the workplace. Want to become more than a 9-5 drone? Visit dncworldwide.com.