In a former life, I worked for Big Blue – aka IBM. To say your reputation precedes you is an understatement, when meeting with customers. There was an “expectation” of professionalism that rivaled every competitor.
Today, customers have different expectations of those who want to sell/offer solutions to their business challenges. It is far less about the “blue suit, white shirt and power tie.” It’s far more about your connection to the solution that works.
Are you building a reputation as a problem solver or a stellar salesman?
This story highlights the value of reputation, where it means more than life itself…
~ Courtesy of The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
During China’s War of the Three Kingdoms (A.D. 207-265) the great general Chuko Liang, leading the forces of the Shu Kingdom, dispatched his vast army to a distant camp while he rested in a small town with a handful of soldiers. Suddenly sentinels hurried in with the alarming news that an enemy force of over 150,000 troops under Sima Yi was approaching. With only a hundred men to defend him, Chuko Liang’s situation was hopeless. The enemy would finally capture this renowned leader.
Without lamenting his fate, or wasting time trying to figure out how he had been caught, Liang ordered his troops to take down their flags, throw open the city gates and hide. He himself then took a seat on the most visible part of the city’s wall, wearing a Taoist robe. He lit some incense, strummed his lute, and began to chant. Minutes later he could see the vast enemy army approaching, an endless phalanx of soldiers. Pretending not to notice them, he continued to sing and play the lute.
Soon the army stood at the town gates. At its head was Sima Yi who instantly recognized the man on the wall. Even so, as his soldiers itched to enter the unguarded town through its open gates, Sima Yi hesitated, held them back, and studied Liang on the wall. Then he ordered an immediate and speedy retreat.
Chuko Liang was commonly known as the “Sleeping Dragon.” His exploits in the War of the Three Kingdoms were legendary. The Sleeping Dragon carefully cultivated his reputation of being the cleverest man in China, one who always had a trick up his sleeve. as powerful as any weapon, this reputation struck fear into his enemy.
Sima Yi had fought against Chuko Liang dozens of times and knew him well. When he came on the empty city, with Liang praying on the wall, he was stunned. The Taoist robes, the chanting, the incense — this had to be a game of intimidation. The man was obviously taunting him, daring him to walk into a trap. The game was so obvious that for one moment it crossed Yi’s mind that Liang actually was alone and desperate. But so great was his fear of Liang that he dared not risk finding out.
Such is the power of reputation. It can put a vast army on the defensive, even force them into retreat, without a single arrow being fired.