Do you really understand Reputation?

Reputation can be defined as the effectiveness of a transmitted belief of respect about anything, be it a person, product, service, brand or organization.  This transmitted belief has an inherent power (like a wireless signal) and the distance of transmission depends on the strength of the reputation signal. 

"Reputation is the effectiveness of a
transmitted  belief of respect"

Respect, the underlying attitude or feeling behind Reputation, is expressed from the subject to the object that demonstrates the subject’s appropriate regard of value for the object, its circumstance, its reaction or intent. 

Reputation depends on action. Action that has repeatedly demonstrated positive outcomes and results, derived through consistent action and unfailing effort.   

Reputation depends on ability. It is the ability to complete a particular task with abnormally spectacular results consistently. 

Reputation depends on performance, the type of performance that shows high quality of results, and the improvement in each subsequent act. 

Reputation depends on exceeding expectations of the audiences and fulfilling evolving and increasing needs of the audiences. 

All these four aspects of Reputation lead to a response of respect and admiration by the audience - aspirational qualities that the audience itself tries to emulate. While based on the intrinsic nature of the entity, Reputation is only built when these attributes are transmitted, reaching new audiences and reinforcing messages to the existing ones.

Reputation is among the most difficult achievements, because the transmitters of others’ respect stake their own reputation on the line in the act of transmission. 

(Extract from the forthcoming book 'Decoding Communications')