Jay Leno, comedian and host of “The Tonight Show,” says that when he was 8 years old and living in a New York City suburb, he had a moment of clarity that changed his life forever.
According to his piece “Why I walked away,” in O: The Oprah Magazine, he was hanging out with an older, rougher gang of kids one day when one of the kids pulled out what was purported to be some pornography. One of the kids in the group, Leno noticed, was spinning a small pocketknife around in his hand.
While Leno admits he was no angel at that point in his life, he says suddenly he stepped back from the group, which was collectively lurching forward to look at the pictures. He says in that moment he knew that he might possibly be starting down a path that would lead him nowhere in life. And so he turned and walked away.
Leno says that every decision he has made in life since, in part, was based on that early decision to walk away from the crowd. He likes to think about the repercussions his actions will have on his reputation. It was a small moment, he says, one in which he learned how to make a conscious, moral decision for himself.
My own father always used to tell me, “You spend your whole lifetime building a good name and reputation, and one foolish act can destroy it.”
Nowhere is that more true than in building a successful business. If you don’t have a positive reputation, it will be difficult to be successful.
I remember reading the results of a USA Today survey in March 2005 in which respondents were asked to rate the credibility of CEOs in various countries. Brazil led the way, with 57 percent favorable, followed by China and Japan. CEOs in the United States were rated 25 percent.
That’s only one-fourth of the American people who felt CEOs were credible. I’m sure that what happened at Enron, WorldCom, Tyco and several other highly publicized cases had a lot to do with this poor opinion of CEOs.
Reputation is one of the few assets that your competition cannot undersell or destroy. You can’t put a price on a good reputation.
A good name is like a second inheritance. Life is for one generation; however, a good name is forever. A good name is more valuable than riches.
When I purchased an insolvent envelope company many years ago, I ran it under its previous name for a few years until I was sure I would be successful. Only then did I put the Mackay name on it. That’s how important I regard a company’s name and reputation to be.
It is imperative in any activity to protect one’s good name. And sometimes, of course, that is difficult.
A frontier judge in Texas had just sentenced a notorious outlaw who had been caught stealing horses. As was his custom, the judge asked the condemned man if he had any last words for the court.
In his reply the outlaw said, “Judge, I’ve heard from everybody in this town how fair you are. A man devoted to justice under the law. A family man of good character. A kind man who is always ready to give someone a second chance. Everybody thinks you’re wonderful.
“But I gotta be honest with you, judge. With this sentence, you done gone and ruined your reputation with me.”
Abraham Lincoln had a stellar reputation. When he was practicing law, a client asked him if a certain gentleman was a man of means.
“Well, I reckon he ought to be,” said Abe. “In fact, he’s about the meanest man in town.”
Lincoln was also responsible for this gem: “If I were to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how – the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won’t amount to anything. If the end brings me out wrong, 10 angels swearing I was right would make no difference.”
Mackay’s Moral: The reputation of a thousand years may be determined by the conduct of one hour.
Harvey Mackay is author of the New York Times bestseller “Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.” He can be reached through his Web site, www.mackay.com, or at Mackay Envelope Corp., 2100 Elm St., Minneapolis, Minn. 55414.
