How many of us have experienced this in some way, shape, or form?  For everyone, having a good, solid reputation is a major key to success.  For business owners and community leaders, it is integral.

A recent speech at the BYU Management Society breakfast meeting about maintaining your integrity gave me reason to think about the reputations we craft for ourselves, and misconceptions that can damage that reputation.  Today, I’ll put myself on the line and talk about how a misconception affects me and my business.

As many of you know, I wrote the songs for a couple of albums and they each qualified for Grammy nominations — 17 total.  For many people, when they hear that I qualified for 17 Grammy noms, they assume that I am a Grammy Nominee.  However, technically, that is incorrect.  I am a Grammy Qualifier, which means I made it into the first of 3 rounds.  Those that make the top 5 of the second round are officially known as Grammy Nominees. The winners of the third round, those that you see at the Grammy awards on television, are known as Grammy Winners and they get to take home that iconic trophy.

Regardless of how many times I try to clearly explain that I made it into the first round with each album and I am only a Grammy Qualifier, people often take the shortcut and just say I’m a Grammy Nominee.  They don’t do it out of malice, but because the Grammy voting process is mostly a mystery to the general public, many people feel it’s just easier to say that I received 17 Grammy nominations.

Why do I care about this misconception?  Well, if an attorney representing the Grammys thinks I am making false claims, I could get into trouble because the attorney’s job is to protect the Grammy brand.  I’m a business woman, and I understand the concept of protecting your brand.  If I look like I’m making up stuff about being a Grammy Nominee, or even a Grammy finalist, the misconception could damage my reputation and become a major liability.  Even though I have made very little money off of my music career, this misconception could potentially lead me to financial ruin.

Okay, so I’m only a Grammy Qualifier, but many would agree with me that it’s still a big deal and an honor.  Because I have many years of sales and marketing, I believe that experience was what helped me get my music heard around the world, including India and China.  This accomplishment, regardless of my Grammy Qualifier status, has given me tremendous credibility as an online marketer, and that naturally lends itself to the name of my marketing business, Rock Star Marketing.

Have I intentionally made false claims?  No.

Are there misconceptions about my accomplishments?  Yes.

What does that do to my reputation?  Well, for some, it shows that as an online marketer, I know what I’m doing and I’m doing it well.  For others who think that I’ve played into the hype, I would agree.  After all, I am a marketer, and aren’t marketers responsible for getting people excited about the products they’re selling?  You betcha!

Okay, so that’s today’s confessional about my reputation and misconceptions. I’ll say my Hail Marys and hopefully be done with it.  For public record, I want to make everyone aware that I am only but a humble “Grammy Qualifier”.  I did not appear on television at the Grammys, and I did not win an award, but I made 2 quality albums and did a pretty darned good job of doing the online marketing all by myself with my own money and tenacity.

Now, I’ll ask you.  What could be a misconception about your business that could harm your reputation?

• Do you have poor reviews on Yelp or Google from a couple of years ago that have hurt your business, even though you have worked through those issues?
• Do you have a former client, partner, or employee that has publicly shared stories about you when you lost your temper or cheated someone?
• Are you feeling guilty because you bent your otherwise “straight as an arrow” code of ethics?

If you have misconceptions that negatively affect your reputation, what should you do? For me, I choose to live a life free of regrets.  If I know I have done something wrong, I apologize immediately.  If I find out that my actions negatively produced shock waves without my knowing it at the time, I accept responsibility for my errors and I make amends.

After all is said and done, if you live with high integrity, misconceptions will not damage your reputation. If you did fall out of integrity, but apologize and make up for the mistakes you’ve made, in time your reputation will eventually heal itself.  Your reputation will always be safe if you do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons.