The conversations you missed.

Edition 01 of 'Reputation means business' started with the most frustrating realisation in any senior career: that the conversation where a decision was made happened without you.

There is nothing more frustrating than finding out that you were not part of the conversation where a decision was made (and it is already too late to change the outcome). A deal that went to your biggest nemesis, a role that went to someone else who may be less qualified. 

This brief exists for the ones who would rather know sooner and shape how they are seen before decisions are made. Every month, I will share the three things worth your attention on reputation and growth. What came up in conversations with leaders, what you may have missed in the feed, and what I wish someone had told me sooner.

Do your (future) self a favour.

The question I get asked the most is this one: When should I start building my reputation?

The answer is before you need it. What I keep seeing in conversations is that the real barrier is permission more than anything else. Waiting for the right time, a good reason to start, or when something is already on the line.

It only makes things much harder because building trust and visibility does not happen overnight. You will thank yourself later for having started early.

The conversations worth having.

You cannot script the best ones. Saying yes to the last-minute invite where you know no one. The quick coffee that becomes a collaboration. The lunch where two hours disappear and you walk away genuinely excited about what comes next.

I had a few of those this month. You can decide in what rooms and with what people you want to show up, what happens once you are there cannot be written in advance, and that is the beauty of it.