The international best-selling book by Stephen R Covey, ‘First Things First’, has as its subtitle ‘To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy’. Whitney Houston’s untimely death this week made me think about her reputation legacy.

How we are remembered when we are no longer living is the ultimate test of our reputation. Our reputation outlives us, in some cases by hundreds or even thousands of years.

The words inscribed on monuments and headstones in cemeteries the world over bear testament to how we live our lives and will be remembered. Some of us may write our own epitaph but many of us do not, leaving it to others to make a final public statement about us.

And today, the words we and others leave on the internet will be added to those inscribed in stone as part of our reputation legacy. Read the rest of this entry »