Small things, every day

Reputation is not built in announcements. It is built in returned calls, kept promises, and the quiet consistency nobody applauds. Small things every day: that is reputation.

People remember how you made them wait. They remember the message you never answered, long after they have forgotten the excellent reasons you had. The discipline of smallness is unglamorous, which is exactly why so few keep it, and why it is worth so much.

Choose two or three small things you will never let slip: the thank you, the follow-up, the apology given early. Guard them the way you would guard capital, because that is what they are.