The difference between character and reputation

In Singapore and many Asian countries, families and businesses take pride in 'Having Face' or 'Reputation'

There was a recent article on a wealthy Indonesian family who spent close to SGD 1 million on their baby's full month celebration in Singapore. This is to bolster their reputation as being 'Rich'.

In addition, there is also another saying that you can lose money but never reputation.

However these are only half-truths.

Reputation is only one-side of the coin. There is something more important that you must never lose. And that is Character.

Character determines who, and what you truly are. Your character is developed through cornerstone values. Such values can be integrity, compassion, firm, flexible, and patience, just to name a few.

Reputation on the other hand is a result of what people believe, or see you to be. People take time to process what they see of you through their tinted model of the world. Therefore it may not be representative of the ‘real’ you.

Let me share with you about the true story of Gerald and Steven. Their names have been changed to protect their identities.

GERALD – THE CONFUSED VISION FORMER
Gerald was a business developer who developed a reputation of being shrewd, and dynamic. At a young age, he headed a commercial department. Subsequently, he was able to move to different parts of the world to build on his deep niche expertise. His reputation was that of being a ‘visionary’.

However to those who worked closely or under him, his shortcomings became very obvious. He could not keep a team together because he didn’t understand team dynamics. He took sides. He listened to only those whom he felt were useful to him. He fired others whom he felt couldn’t fit alongside his ‘cronies’.

STEVEN – THE GREEN EYED ACTION MOVER
Steven was a performance coach who was well trained in soft skills. He dedicated his life to understanding how others reached peak performance. He wanted to share this with others as well.

Steven was able to build a reputation as being a mentor. He was able to influence people positively. Many of his students were able to build up impressive resumes after his trainings. Steven was a great action mover. He firmly believed that action speaks louder than words.

However deep inside Steven, he was motivated by ‘revenge’ and ‘anger’. In reality, he only wanted his students to succeed if they did something different from him. He had his own bias about business. He would reject and vilify those who came close to modeling or criticizing his business model. He does not practice what he preaches.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHARACTER AND REPUTATION
There is a distinct difference between character and reputation from these two case studies.

Both Gerald and Steven have ‘impressive’ reputation. However, their characters could not stand the test of time. As they interact with more people who got to know them personally, their façade peels away. This is because their personal values are not aligned with what they do. What lie within them is their truly twisted characters.

How about you? Is your character and reputation out of sync? A good suggestion would be to first understand your own character. Then be aligned with consistent and true values. Once you are successful in being firm in your values, both reputation and money will come your way.

So to those who say you can lose money, and not reputation, think again. Don’t lead your life being affected by what others ‘think’ about you. The crowd defines your reputation. You define your own character. And your character must withstand the test of time.