Credibility - it decides every deal

A while back I started to explain to CEO of an advertising agency about our kind of business. She interrupted me and said: Ah - that's my credibility - It decides every deal"  At that moment I knew that I could not explain it in any better way. Credibility is a vital part of your professional reputation - it is one of the six key factors that form it.

Without trust, the most successful company or individual will be destroyed, and an interesting question is what creates trust. First you should have the passion to deliver with excellence and, as Tom Peters puts it: ”Excellence is not an ambition - it is the next five minutes”. 

It is also about being open to new possibilities, constantly learning and not being so sure about things. You have to dare to be on the edge where new ideas are formed, to see new openings and be prepared to be wrong. It is about being consistent, honest and practice what you preach, even if it hurts. To share more what you see, not what you know.

When you know the unique qualities of your professional reputation you should try to live it at every moment in every meeting. To have the ambition of constant improvement since you are never better than your next project.