Burning Bridges
Some situations in this chapter may or may not relate to you. If so, don’t take it personally. This is a topic that I’m sure we all have been on the receiving end of by a close friend, family member, or spouse. Let’s talk about family first. Some people just don’t and will never understand the power of trust and the benefits that it bring along. It’s ironic how people say blood is thicker than water and that’s supposed to justify your actions when making a tough decision between family and friends. In reality for most people bloodline doesn’t mean much at all when placed in a life or death situation or endangered of going bankrupt. Trust and respect should be earned on an individual basis determined by how one reacts to the situations that are placed in front of them, not because you are my mother’s sister’s kid.
I think by nature most of us will put a little extra faith in our family with the hopes of them pulling through and doing what they say but in business, It’s dog-eat-dog and unlike family, you might only get one chance before severe consequences. The world is full of untrustworthy people so everybody has a right to be cautious when it comes to things like money or their contacts.
Burning bridges doesn’t just stop at the two people that may have had a dispute of some sort but in some instances, a third party may have been involuntarily involved or mislead that ended up in them taking a loss.
I know it seems like some people just don’t care but a bad reputation will travel and follow you then eventually reflect in your day-to-day interactions with other people. That’s the thing about burning bridges, no one can get across, meaning if you wrong someone and they warn other people, that bridge has been burned down for everyone in that circle. It’s like telling somebody not to pet your dog because he bites. Most people won’t even task the risk once someone has told them that your shady, that’s why keeping your reputation in tact is so very important.
You have no control of what people say when you are not around but you can predetermine the narrative if you fly right and be straightforward with people because a good reputation travels just as fast as a bad one.
Have you ever posted an online review on a product or company? What you may not know is that reviews cannot be removed, at least not without a ridiculous fee and even then they still have to be reviewed then approved for removal. This is 100% to prevent people from running continuous scams and making it public information that this person or business has wronged them is some way. It sounds kind of funny when someone is mad and they say they are going to leave a bad review or a low rating but these people understand the power of suggestion.
You can have never met a person before and take sound advice if it sounds believable. People do it all the time with celebrities and to make it worse some people will take advice from a stranger before they take advice from their siblings or someone close.
Trust is a building block. The more people that can trust you the harder it is for someone else to tear you down. See people can burn your bridges for you or try to at least by discrediting your character but if your solid this only works with strangers or foolish ones at least. Have you ever met someone for the first time but previously heard negative stories about them? Most or some people I should say will have a predetermined opinion about a person that they have heard negative things about, that’s a mistake. People will maliciously bad-mouth someone for personal gain or status. It’s best to find out some information on your own. I’m not saying you should gamble with your money for the sake of giving someone the benefit of the doubt but sometimes two people just can’t see eye to eye and that friction is passed on to other people.
Everything in this chapter so far also applies in business. Your friends and family may do you wrong with the expectation of forgiveness or reconcile but colleagues, co-workers, or anybody that you may be in the way of their professional growth can easily and unknowingly become competition. We’ve all heard ( It’s Not Personal, It’s Just Business ) sometimes that’s just a way to justified some unjustly or immoral decision. That’s why there’s the need for contracts and agreements to lay out all of the details.
Here’s where some may disagree. It should always be personal. Connecting with people is a feeling. If you want to build a trustworthy relationship with someone, get to know them personally.
Genuinely take interest in their interest and be transparent. Most people will appreciate the openness and reciprocate the action. With that being said, sometimes people can be unpredictable and do desperate things in tough situations and some people will do just about anything to get by, so it’s our responsibility to judge on one’s actions they make against you and treat people with a level of personal and professional respect and all of your bridges should be fine.
