They say how we treat others when we face adversity reveals character. But I think how we treat others when times are good says a lot about us, too…
I recently had a construction project at the house. It was supposed to take 90 days.
But it took close to a year to finish.
There was bad communication from the very beginning. Conflicting explanations. Large gaps between visits to do the work. Unanswered emails. No shows to meetings.
Broken promises.
We contacted the owner by email, by phone, by text message. He didn’t get back to us.
We spoke with VPs and were brushed off and told it’s an industry issue. Supply chains, labor shortages, too many customers, more business than they could handle. Their business grew ten fold and they kept their foot on the gas. They’d get to us, eventually.
In other words: Times are good, and you need us more than we need you.
We should’ve fired them, but we didn’t. We did what we all do when our gut tells us something’s wrong but it would be less work to wait it out and see if things improve.
We thought, it’s only 90 days, and we just wanted our project to be done. We had a contract and they had started. And their competition was supposedly in the same boat.
So we did nothing.
In life, we often accept less than perfect situations…
Because firing contractors, finding another job, whatever it is, fixing things that aren’t completely broken takes a lot of effort. We tell ourselves, “It could be worse” instead of, “It should be better.” We take the easy path, because we’ve got so much to do already.
The whole thing got me thinking and wondering what I would do differently if the roles were reversed. And I realized that they are, in a way. Because I run a business, too. We all do. We’re all the CEO of Me, Inc. We all disappoint or delight those around us.
It’s not hard to stand out. Keep promises. Follow through without having to be reminded. Especially when nobody’s watching. Get back to people. That’s a good start.
Eventually the winds will change. They always do. Our reputations catch up to us.
Reputations are important. And how we treat people in good and bad times matters.
But the truth is, our character is what really matters. Because our reputation is who people think we are, but our character is who we really are when nobody is watching.
Put another way, reputation is who we are in the light, and character is who we are in the dark. It’s character that’s revealed when pressure is applied. Character is a choice.
And if we focus on our character, our reputation will take care of itself.