Where You Are is Who You Were

We are all busy, in a state of “constant partial attention.” And powerful people are busier than average. They make a very quick assessment as to whether they will listen to you. They pay attention more to who you are than what you say.  Your reputation matters. A good reputation becomes a shortcut to determining the merits of your argument without weighing it in a mindful way. Accessing someone’s reputation is easier than plodding through data and arguments. Fair or unfair, we all think we have a great sense of “gut feelings” and intuition---and powerful people even more so. Their intuition determines whether you’ll get access.  So put your good reputation on display and talk it up every chance you get. Be thinking now of what you want one, two and even five years from now. Manage your reputation as if your future success depends on it, because it does. Translation: watch those social network posts and photos!