7 Ways To Get And Keep A Good Name

In a previous post, we looked at the importance of having a good name or reputation when it comes to running a Christian business. We agreed that our responsibility of representing the name of Jesus demands this. But now I want to look at 7 ways to get and keep that good name.

1. Don’t do it for the name.

While this may seem contrary to what you might think, I really believe this is true. If you set out with the sole purpose of developing a good name for yourself, you might succeed. But it is more likely that this strategy will backfire on you.

The best way to gain a good name is just to begin doing the right thing. Do it because it is the right thing, not because someone is watching. Every time you have the opportunity, you just do what God leads you to do. It is that simple. The hard part is that this takes time. It will not happen overnight, but it will happen over time.

2. Always be aware of others watching.

While this one may seem to contradict #1, it really does not. This is not about doing the right thing just because someone is watching. This idea is more about a constant awareness that you are on stage.

When you associate your good name with the name of Jesus, people will begin to watch you. Some are hoping you fail while others are secretly pulling for you. Either way, you need to know that their eyes are on you even when you are not aware of it. Don’t slip up when you think you are alone. You likely aren’t.

3. Make your decisions ahead of time.

My father always taught me to make my decisions ahead of time. Before I found myself in a tempting situation, I had already made up my mind as what I would do. Then, when the temptation popped up, I was prepared to act – no thinking necessary. Good name intact!

If you will make this a practice in your personal life, as well as in your business, you will see the benefits. No opportunity to “play with the numbers” or omit truthful disclosure in a transaction will trip you up if you have already decided how you will respond.

4. Remember the “Why?”

It is almost certain that there will be times where you are tempted to give in. The devil is good at his job and you cannot anticipate every possibility ahead of time. It is these types of situations that trip up the best.

When you stop to think about what you are going to do, just remember the reason you are committed to a good name. Remember that you have taken on the association with Jesus and giving in would bring a mark against Him as well. Then run!

5. Under-promise and over-deliver.

It is often tempting in customer situations to promise the world. Whether you are trying to sell something or just estimating when the repairs will be complete, over-promising is a common mistake. It is damaging to a good name.

Instead, make it your practice to under-promise. Give yourself some cushion in the timing. Back off a touch on the promised performance of your product. Then, when you come in ahead of schedule or your product exceeds the customer expectations, you both win! This is a well-known, but seldom used business principle.

6. Err on the side of doing the right thing.

There are many times when the “right thing” to do is not black and white. In other words, it is not exactly clear how far you should go in making something right. Maybe you are reimbursing a customer for lost time and frustration. What is the real cost of that?

Here, I am recommending that you go a little further than you might think is acceptable. Get other opinions if you must, but add that one notch at the end. Go a little overboard rather than risk falling short. You won’t be sorry in the long run.

7. Enlist accountability.

We all have blind spots. There are simply areas in which we cannot see as well as others. When we enlist accountability, we can cover these blind spots. Then we are less likely to miss something that could be damaging to our good name.

In my business, it is my inner circle of leadership that helps me avoid trouble. For you, it may be your spouse, chaplain, or someone else. Regardless of who it is, you cannot do this alone. There are too many pitfalls out there that will destroy a good name. It is not worth the risk of going it alone!

What would you add to this list?

Have you struggled in any of these areas?

In which of these areas have you seen victory?

Photo by donskarpo/istock

How Did She Earn Trust?

My daughter is in the middle of her high school years. These are not normally the years when kids are known for their responsibility, right? Yet one of her teachers asked if she would be willing to help her over Spring Break. The teacher needed a pet sitter while she was out of town and wanted my daughter to do it.

As I was later having a conversation with my daughter, I asked her if she understood how impressive it was to have been asked to do this. I asked her what she thought she had done to earn that trust. Based on her hesitation to answer, I knew she was not exactly sure.

Slowly Built Reputation

What I explained to her is a truth that we often forget, even as adults! I explained that over the past months and years, my daughter had slowly built a reputation for being responsible. She had built this reputation with her good study habits, her responsible decision making in (and outside of) school, and her consistency of attitude.

As a result of these factors, I explained that when the teacher needed a responsible student, her name had popped up at the top of the list. There was likely no single action from my daughter that gave the teacher confidence in her fit for the job. It was more likely a track record of my daughters actions and behaviors that did it.

Simple Truth, Often Forgotten

I think we all realize the basic truth illustrated in this story – reputation is built over time. What we may forget is how that plays out in life and business – especially in our own situations.

With social media and technology amplifying our message, we may get tricked into thinking we can build a reputation from scratch in very little time. The truth is that we probably can, to a degree.

Won’t Come Quickly

We can certainly build a bad reputation very quickly…that’s easy. But even when you stick to building a good reputation, it may be possible to build it in a relatively short period of time with the aid of the internet.

The problem, I believe, is that this “good reputation” is still shallow and relatively weak. I mean that it may be good on the surface, but it will likely not withstand much attack without failing.

A business that has a good, but quickly-earned, reputation may not be able to maintain that reputation if only a couple of challenges to that reputation appear. One or two bad reviews online or a couple of sour former employees might be able to render that reputation useless.

Durable Reputation

On the other hand, it is different with a good reputation that has been earned over time…action-by-action and decision-by-decision. This reputation can withstand challenges from problem situations or contrary opinions.

While no reputation is fully bullet-proof (think Coach Joe Paterno, Bill Cosby, etc.), a good reputation built over time cannot be reversed except under fairly extreme conditions. As long as we avoid these exceptions, we should be fine.

Don’t Wait Too Late!

I said it earlier, but it bears repeating. When you really need the good reputation – for whatever reason – it is then too late to build it. The building process happens over time, not overnight. Waiting until you need a good reputation to think about how to build it…that’s just not good enough.

Maybe that is why the author of Proverbs said the following about a good name:

A good name is to be chosen over great wealth; favor is better than silver and gold. – Proverbs 22:1

Do you and your company have a good reputation already?

How have you been trying to build a good reputation?

Have you seen the pitfalls of a quickly built reputation?

Is a good name important in Christian business?

Look To Scripture

As I often do, I want to start by going directly to Scripture to find the answer. If you do a search for “good name” or “reputation,” you will find a handful of verses that fit. A couple of these include:

A good name is better than precious ointment…
Ecclesiastes 7:1

He must have a good reputation among outsiders…
1 Timothy 3:7

The first verse makes it clear that a good name is valuable and therefore should be protected. The author compares a good name to something rare, implying that it is not common to everyone.

The second verse comes from Paul’s description to Timothy of Christian leadership in the family of God. I know of one example where a church runs an advertisement in the local paper, listing the names of prospective deacons and asking for people to submit any reasons why the names on the list may not be qualified to lead. That is strong!

Why Is This True?

So we can see from Scripture that a good name is important for a Christian to maintain. Why is this true?

The more I read into Scripture about why we (believers) are still here on earth and not immediately whisked into heaven when we are saved, the more I believe it is for the purpose of being conformed to the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29) AND to point others toward Him (1 Peter 2:11-12).

Quite simply, if we maintain a good name through the struggle and trouble this world throws at all of us, then other people are more likely to look at us as examples to follow. If we have a good name, meaning people have little negative to say about the way we live, then they will trust us to share with them the reason for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15).

Good Name Important For Christian Business?

So, assuming you agree that a good name is important for a Christian to maintain, then the follow-up question remains. Is a good name important for a Christian business?

I think this is a pretty clear answer, but I think some explanation could help as well. I think it is clear to most everyone that a good name is important to any business so it must be important for a business that is run for Christian purposes, right?

The difference here is that the Christian business has additional responsibilities.

Benefits To A Business

For a normal business, there are many benefits to having a good name. First, a good name will help to generate repeat and referral business. This is critical to the financial health and sustainability of the business over time.

A good name says that you have been good to your word over a long enough period of time that it is likely you will continue to do so. This is crucial to establishing new relationships such as those with banks, vendors, and other businesses.

A good name will also give you an advantage in hiring better people over time. These days, sharp candidates are researching the businesses before they apply for a job. Those with a good name will get the higher consideration from the better candidates.

Christian Business = Further Responsibility

These are all desirable benefits for a business that has a good name, but I think the Christian business has further responsibility in this area. For a business that has associated itself with the name of Christ, it becomes even more important to maintain a good name.

I have talked to too many applicants that have told me stories about former employers that claimed to be Christians but acted otherwise in carrying out their business. In these cases, they clearly turned people away from Jesus with their hypocritical behavior.

I was even talking with another Christian business owner the other day. He told me he is very cautious when a new vendor comes to him, claiming to be a Christian. He says he has been burned too many times!

Influence Brings Responsibility

The point here is that when we begin to associate ourselves and our businesses in any way with the name of Jesus, we take on the responsibility of the influence we will have on others. It is not acceptable for us to claim Jesus and act otherwise.

Sure, we will make mistakes. There is no way for us to avoid that completely. At the same time, we must remain aware of those times and respond accordingly to make it right. People will be forgiving, but only if we are quick to admit error and rectify it.

There are too many people in this world that still do not know Jesus. We are here to point them toward Him. If we are bold enough to use our businesses in this effort, then we must be just as diligent to make sure we maintain a good name. It is His name we are representing!

Does your business have a good name?

How difficult has it been to maintain a good name?

Have you seen consequences for the lack of a good name?

Photo by Choreograph/iStock

Desire For Victory Is Okay

Sure, we want to win. Most of us have participated in some form of team sports during our lives at one point or another. I am assuming that all of us have wanted to taste victory to some degree. To some, you may not want to win at all costs, but certainly would prefer winning to losing!

Some of us REALLY want to see victory in EVERYTHING! As long as we do not let that desire for victory override our desire to please God, there is nothing at all wrong with it. In fact, I think God places that desire for victory inside of each of us.

Most Stop Here

If you are like most people, this is about as far as your thoughts have gone. You have probably not thought a lot about what victory actually looks like in your life as a whole. If you have, congratulations! You are probably the exception.

For the vast majority, if asked what victory in life means, they would respond with things that the world considers important. Even if we exclude the obviously “non-Christian” answers (money, toys, fame, etc.), we would still likely hear things like the following:

• Good education for my children
• Comfortable retirement for me and my spouse
• Successful career with reputable company
• Solid reputation with everyone, no enemies
• Large attendance at my funeral

Are any of these answers BAD?

I think it depends.

Victory Goals or Results?

I think it depends on whether these were your goals or just the results.

Think about that for a minute. If you sought these examples as your ultimate goals, then that means you placed them above any other priorities. Assuming you are a believer, then it means you placed these goals ahead of your relationship with God. That is not good.

If, on the other hand, your ultimate goals related to your relationship with God and these examples came to you as byproducts, then I do not see a problem with them at all. If that is what God blessed you with at the end of a life submitted to Him, then I would say, “Awesome!”

Ultimate Question

I say all of this to come to one central, and very important question. In fact, I would rank it as one of the most important questions any of us can ask ourselves. This is a question few ask, but all answer in one way or another. Whether you stop and ask this question or not, you will end up answering it. Here it is…

How do you define victory in this life?

It looks like a fairly straightforward and simple question, doesn’t it?

Simple Question, Rarely Asked

It may be a simple question, but it is not one correctly answered by most people. Instead, most people never ask the question at all. They simply accept the definition given to them by the world around them.

Most people allow everyone else to define victory for them. Then they spend the rest of their lives chasing that definition. I think this is sad.

Simple Answer

I think it is sad because there is a simple answer to this question. I think it is sad because the simple answer to defining victory is found in the Bible and chasing this definition brings everyone the fulfillment they so desperately crave.

For the question itself, and the answer, we only need to look at Matthew 22:34-40. Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment of all. Jesus is essentially asked how He defines victory for all of us. Here is His answer…

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Simple and Straightforward

There it is. It is very simple and straightforward. We are to love God, our Creator, with all of our heart, mind, and soul and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. That is God’s definition of victory for all of us. It does not get any simpler than that.

As a result of this Scripture, there really is no longer a need for us to struggle in defining victory. We have it right there in black and white. All we need to do is chase that definition.

Of course, it may be a simple definition, but it is not that easy, right?

More Questions

Once we accept this definition as the truth, many more questions begin to come to mind.

How exactly does God want me to show Him this love through my life?

How do my individual skills and talents play into this?

How much of this victory depends on me and my efforts?

What happens when I mess up and lose?

I understand. I have the same kinds of questions at times…okay, all of the time! That is not a problem. God likes these questions! When you are asking these questions, it means you are thinking about it! That is exactly what He wants from us. It is so much better than mindlessly accepting the world’s definition of victory.

Over the next several posts, we will be talking a lot more about victory in this life and our roles and responsibilities in seeking it. Stay tuned!

Are you one of the few that has already defined victory in your life?

On what Scripture is your definition based?

If you’ve never thought about it, when will you start?