“Your reputation and integrity are everything. Follow through on what you say you’re going to do. Your credibility can only be built over time, and it is built from the history of your words and actions.”
– Maria Razumich-Zec
Are you aware of your reputation? Are you conducting business with honesty and integrity? Honesty in business, goes along with having confidence. Honesty is a key factor in developing the “know, like and trust” factor when dealing with other professionals. The more honest and confident you are with your abilities or services, the larger and stronger your network can become.
Honesty and integrity are essential for success in life. They lead to building a foundation of trust and confidence. Honesty is the quality of fairness, while integrity is the quality of adhering to high moral standards. A person can be honest without having integrity, but can’t have integrity without honesty.
With the rise of the world wide web, it has become more and more important to maintain integrity and honesty, along with transparency. As the internet has become the “go to” for business dealings, transparency is key. Failing to provide an open view of business dealings could lead to more negative comments online, which could interfere with growing your network.
To maintain your reputation, and continue to operate with integrity, here are six guidelines to follow:
- Maintain honesty and truthfulness with customers and clients
- Don’t make promises you can’t keep
- Don’t take short cuts
- Treat others as you wish to be treated
- Raise your standards
- Value your reputation
These six ideas are the pillars to conducting your business, and life with honesty and integrity. They will help build or maintain your reputation, allowing you to grow your personal and professional network.