Key Links

• Book Referenced by Matt and Micah: Selling the Invisible

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"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it."

This quote from Warren Buffet frames the whole episode. And by using this as a tool for showing just how important reputation can be, hosts Matthew Jarvis and Micah Shilanski chronicle the instances in their lives where reputation has generated large ripples in one way or another.

Be it, a firm tarnishes their own reputation because of charging money for "services rendered," even though the "services" they rendered were certainly of a negative quality. Or, a treasurer for a church suffers the embarrassment of a check bouncing because of a mistake from Matt's firm. Whatever the circumstances, both Micah and Matt cut through the noise and simplify everything with four words: "Take the high road."

And it is through these four words that almost everything is made simple. By taking accountability and offering to pay penalties, or giving a client their money back because they were unsatisfied with the services provided, you keep your reputation intact. And because word of mouth travels fast, you may lose some money in the short term, but the positive reputation you gain is much more valuable.