Hanging Out With the Wrong People Can Ruin Your Reputation and Hurt Yo

Hanging Out With the Wrong People Can Ruin Your Reputation and Hurt Your Business

Dr. Linda Hancock

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Hancock has written a regular weekly column entitled “All Psyched Up” for newspapers in two Canadian provinces for more than a dozen years. Over the years, her readers and clients have said that they have benefited from her common-sense solutions, wisdom, and sense of humour. Dr. Linda Hancock, the author of “Life is An Adventure…every step of the way” and “Open for Business Success” is a Registered Psychologist who has a private practice in Medicine Hat. She can be reached at 403-529-6877 or through email office@drlindahancock.com

Published

February 23 2011

Imagine how you might feel if you knew that I was the Substance Abuse Expert for your company but was swinging from the corner lamp post in an inebriated state. How much respect would you have for me after that?

Many professionals and business owners say one thing and do another only to have their reputation suffer. In fact, the psychological defense mechanism known as projection actually appears when a person is doing something that they condemn in others. They look like the advocate for a cause but actually are involved in the discretion to a serious degree.

Think of the all the leaders and politicians who fight against prostitution for years and then are "caught" in a situation where they are actually spending government funds to support their own personal prostitutes,. No one would have suspected that what they said they were against is something that is a huge part of their private lives. It is easy for people to say things and make promises but then not live a life that lines up,. It's do as I say and not as I do. But the scam usually doesn't hold up in the long-term. All the details will be made public in the long-run, especially in an age of technology where everyone with an iPhone is a filmographer and those who set up a blog become a journalist instantly. The internet spreads the whole story in seconds.

I once heard a speaker state that you are the people you associate with, the books you read and the things you listen to. Where are you right now in each of these three areas?

Would you be proud of your actions if your grandmother or children found out what is going on?

Well, some people don't try to hide the poor choices that they are making and it doesn't take long until even strangers know the truth. And ultimately, your business will suffer from the way that you have been conducting yourself.

If you are present when the police arrive during a crime, you become an accessory. But there doesn't have to be a crime for you to be connected with others who are in trouble. In fact, if your name and the name of the offenders are associated, you might just take a hit even when you are totally innocent. Yes, problems can arise from your behaviours but sometimes it is the behaviours of those who you hang out with that hurt your business just because your names are linked., Something to think about.