Difference between character and reputation.
Of course, our assessment of a person’s character is an opinion and it isn’t always right. Abraham Lincoln recognized an important difference between character and reputation. “Character,” he said “is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
Because the shape of a shadow is determined by the angle of light and the perspective of the observer, it’s not a perfect image of the tree. In the same way, reputation is not always an accurate reflection of character. Oscar Wilde once said, Sincerity is one of the most important qualities in a person. And once you can fake that you have it made.” This cynical quip explains why some people are able to create a much better reputation than they deserve. By the same token, there are others who deserve better reputations than they have.
Though reputation is merely a perception it still has very significant real impact. Reputation is not only the result of what people think of us it often determines what people who don’t know us think about us, treat us and whether we are held in high or low esteem.
A good reputation for integrity, for instance, is a primary determinant of credibility and trust, two very marketable assets. Think of how the Tiger Woods “brand” crashed and his endorsement value disappeared after it was discovered that he constantly cheated on his wife. Similarly, the once highly respected accounting firm Arthur Anderson had to change its name (to Accenture) to try to recapture trust after its involvement in the Enron scandal.
Whether fair or not, the indisputable truth is that people, companies and institutions are likely to be judged by their last worst act. Thus, some unwisely became so preoccupied with protecting their image that they actually made things worse, undermining their character and destroying their reputations, by concealing or creating facts to make them look better.
The importance of character is captured in the mantra: “hire for character, train for skills.”
But whether it’s in the workplace or at home, character counts — everywhere, all the time.
From Character – What Is It and Why Is It important? by Michael Josephson