“It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” – Ben Franklin

With all the news surrounding the ousting of Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, I am reminded of this insightful quote by Ben Franklin, “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad to lose it all.” Ghosn gained tremendous credibility as an innovative leader in the auto industry. He’s been called a visionary, a legend, a trailblazer and Britain even granted him honorary knighthood. But after nearly two decades of building credibility in the auto industry, it was all lost on November 19th when he was arrested for allegedly falsifying financial reports and misusing funds at Nissan Motor Company.

As this story continues to play out, there are important leadership lessons for all of us. The first, and I believe most significant lesson, is the one that I’ve already mentioned - credibility is built over a career but can be lost in an instant. As leaders, we are accountable for, and stewards of, our company’s business reputation and the resources provided by our customers. Which leads to the second lesson, it’s always worthwhile to consider how our actions benefit our customers and how they might react to them. And finally, always consider that the way we handle ourselves and the decisions we make are just as important as the work product being delivered. 

These lessons are especially important for us to consider during this time when technology allows us to work from virtually anywhere at any time. It’s crucial that we do not allow this flexibility to blur the lines between our personal and business assets. I read once about a CEO that claimed that he was constantly on in his role so there was no distinction between personal and company costs. I believe that distinctions can be fairly easily defined by taking a common sense approach in questioning how the expense or the activity benefits our company and our customers.

 I am proud that at Blue Cross NC, we have a strong culture of leadership and focus daily on maintaining and continuing to build upon the credibility we have established serving our state and our customers for more than 85 years.