#28: Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to

I was lucky enough to experience both sides of Principle 28 at work this week.  In my opinion, this principle is another simple step that we can take that will often lead to big results.  In fact, it reminds me a lot of Principle 21 - Throw down a challenge!

I led a short training for a group of individuals at our firm this week covering John Miller's QBQ! book.  In a nutshell, QBQ! (Question Behind the Question) is about taking ownership of your life and accepting personal responsibility.  At the end of the training,  I told this group that they each need to report back in two weeks with one example of how they put the QBQ technique into action in their lives.  I told them that I knew they would each make our organization more effective as a result!  Only time will tell the results of giving this group a fine reputation to live up to...

I know this principle definitely kicked me into high gear this week when a partner, knowingly or unknowingly, used it on me.  We are in the beginning stages of developing a soft skills training initiative for our firm.  When getting the green light from one of our firm leaders, he said "I have all the confidence in the world in Marisa and I expect to see something on my desk by August 1st."  Now he was kidding about the timeline but he was serious about the sentiment.  I could feel it.  And it made me want to run right back to my desk and get to work!

So I speak from definite experience this week... Principle 28 works.  Give someone a "jump start" this week by giving them a fine reputation to live up to!