A Good Reputation

 

My dad was a foreman and plant manager for years.  He worked in many fields finally at Alcore in Abingdon, Md.  Dad believed that you couldn’t train good workers, you had to find good workers.  He thought that it was the parents’ job to teach their children a good work ethic.  Dad said he could train anyone to do anything … but only if they were there.  Dad said, “You can’t teach someone anything if they aren’t at work.”  Being present every day and being on time every day were outside of his realm to teach.  When dad found a good worker, he would give them raises to keep them working at Alcore.  If dad had a lazy worker, they never got a raise and eventually left on their own.  Dad would ask a good worker, “Hey, do you have any brothers who need a job?  Do you have any cousins who need a job?”  A good worker would not jeopardize his reputation by recommending a lazy relative to my dad for a job.  Hey, do you realize that you build your reputation every day?  It takes years to build a good reputation, but it only takes a few bad decisions - only a few bad days to ruin a good reputation.  Solomon recognized this when he wrote in Proverbs 22:1, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.”  Hey, what kind of a reputation do you have?  You can start tomorrow on making a better reputation.  And don’t let up.  In about ten years your reputation will be secure.  So, you say that you can’t wait for ten years?  Well then, that kind of thinking tells me that you already have a poor reputation.  Think about it.