How To Ruin Your Reputation Instantly And Permanently
February 18th, 2010
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The Blizzard of 2010 brought about 3 feet of snow to D.C. A few days ago, I got on a plane to go someplace a bit warmer (Charleston, SC). I got on the plane and looked out the window at the weather I was leaving behind.
I was busy thinking about the trip, so I didn’t notice there was a small delay. Nor did I notice when the small delay became a big delay. Not until someone got on the PA system and said “If you’re wondering why we’re not moving, we’re having some trouble locating the captain.”
Eventually they sent us back to the gate, and shortly afterwards they cancelled the flight. They didn’t say why, but after I finally got there on the next flight, I found out what had happened: the captain just decided to quit his job right before takeoff.
This guy did some serious damage to the airline. I don’t know what the situation was, and maybe he can get away with it. Maybe he isn’t getting a pension anyway, maybe he’s safe from legal action, and maybe he doesn’t need to work for anyone else ever again. Maybe.
But all too often, people find that the world is smaller than we realize, we need each other more than we think, and you only get to betray someone once.
I’ve heard trust described as a bank account. When you say you’ll do something and then follow through, you’ve made a deposit to the trust account. When your balance is high enough, you can make withdrawals by asking for favors, and you can afford penalties when you slip up now and then. But once you try to rob the bank, it’s never the same again.
I know a system administrator who responded to getting laid off by deleting all the data on a server, causing what he thought would be about $1 million in damages. The company ended up not needing what was on the server, but why do people do things like that? Actions have consequences. For God’s sake, you can hire a hitman for just a few dollars.
I recently tried to collect payment for some freelancing work from a freeloading client. First they pretended they had paid me, then they pretended to be “researching the problem,” and now they’ve broken off all contact. OK, they win on the money front, but to save a few bucks they branded themselves as deadbeats. Not a good tradeoff.
You can survive divorce, bankruptcy, and cancer, and possibly even come out of it stronger than ever. But once you sacrifice your reputation, it’s really hard to recover. And sometimes you only get one chance.
February 18th, 2010 at 5:14 am
I have never understood why people do things that end up hurting the innocent. Whatever issue the captain had with the airline, he inconvenienced a lot of innocent people by quitting the way he did.
You can only burn so many bridges before you’re on the island all alone with no way off.
February 18th, 2010 at 8:03 am
Depends on what a person does, but usually he/she double-cross me only once. After that I have no problems ending communication with that person, permanently. Honesty and respect are very important to me.
With that said, I can understand why some serve a cold dish of revenge if they get sacked or what ever drama happened at work. I think you really have to have had one or several jobs that still gives you a bad taste in your mouth when you think about them.
As an employee you want to feel needed and respected at once; but sadly too many jobs make you feel that you are not needed and that you do not deserve any respect.
Revenge is not something one should strive for, but it feels good if executed right.
I have had my fair share of bad jobs, but I never dared to take any great revenge on my ex-employer, even if some did deserve it.
So some people are deadbeats and deserve to ruin their own reputation; but sadly some make others to do it while not treating them right. It is a vicious circle and very difficult to say who as wrong.
February 18th, 2010 at 8:10 am
True, but reputation is secondary to making money. If you can make money for someone else they will hire you even if you are a baby killer.
Plus, the higher up you go the less reputation, as you are defining it, matters.
February 18th, 2010 at 9:05 am
Agreed mate. My old man used to say it takes 20 years to build up a reputation and 20 seconds to lose it.
@ Chad – Gotta say I disagree with that somewhere in the region of 99%. There may be somebody to hire you, but it’s doubtful you’ll get the job you really want with the company that you most want to work for.
Do you really think companies like Google and Apple will hire baby killers into their senior management team?
February 18th, 2010 at 10:49 am
“Do you really think companies like Google and Apple will hire baby killers into their senior management team?”
I dunno, I thought that’s specifically the kind of people they were looking for, what with the “Powered by Satan” logo at the bottom of the gmail login screen.
Or maybe there was something wrong with my meds… My tea was telling me to do unspeakable things to the neighbor’s dog.
In all seriousness, this is a very good article. Money isn’t about money, it’s about being perceived as someone who is worth paying for. When you cut it down to the core, you are selling yourself. Now with that said you can make nearly anything into a positive with the right spin, even deleting all the information off a company server, but most people don’t think that far ahead and usually end up screwing themselves over. Really, it’s a gamble even when they don’t.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Amen, brother. My Russian publisher screwed me on royalties, as Russian publishers are known to do. In the end, what does this mean? It means only a few Russian publishers get to handle translating books and many books that Russian readers would like but those few publishers don’t rep, never get published in Russian. Which gives them more money in the end? Screwing authors out of a whopping 50 cents to $1.00 per book or publishing a lot more books that they could sell, earning around $6-$8 per book?
It amazes me how many people don’t “see the big picture;” rather, they just see the short picture. I’ve consulted for clients who have had to close up shop because of this practice. “Don’t burn your bridges” is a catch phrase for a reason, man!
As for wiping out work you’ve done, it’s not your property–you were PAID to do that work; hence, it’s the payer’s property. Taking job stuff personally leads to a lot of such behavior.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
@Tim
Obviously, I don’t actually mean baby killers, though I’m sure a few have been hired (check out a few foreign hires in the oil companies).
Sure there are companies who won’t hire “baby killers who make money”, but there are tons that will. Just ask Goldman Sachs, GE, Morgan Stanley, Citi, virtually any of the oil companies and large international construction firms, the Fed, etc.
In 2 years no one will care that Tiger Woods got caught having a massive number of affairs. He will get back all his sponsors and more.
February 19th, 2010 at 2:32 am
[...] post How To Ruin Your Reputation Instantly And Permanently was about how easy it is to shatter your reputation by acting unethically for a short term gain. In [...]
February 19th, 2010 at 2:43 am
Wow, I’m surprised that this post got as many comments as it did. And you’ve inspired me to write a follow-up post: The People Who Can Do No Wrong.
February 19th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Interesting post.
As a lawyer, in making a living doing this work, my reputation is the thing of most value that I possess. As a matter of fact, I remember at our bar admission course the mentor lawyers telling us this, and that we should do our best to remember it all the time – on the job and off the job.
Once a reputation goes in this industry, you don’t get it back (at least in Canada). It sure is interesting how it governs all of one’s behaviour, just knowing that’s the case. If you don’t have credibility and professional respect, you can’t be successful doing this job.
K
February 21st, 2010 at 10:06 pm
@Kara
The legal profession is an interesting outlier in this discussion. Outlier in the sense that the profession defines itself more than the people who practice law define the profession. Fair or not, I think most people automatically assume lawyer = untrustworthy/slimy. I would think you would almost have to be saint/lawyer to be considered respectable in the U.S.