Recommendations - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

We all love receiving recommendations.  I mean after all they boost our spirits and give us a sense of accomplishment and encouragement.  If you're a LinkedIn user like I am, it focuses a lot of attention on recommendations.  So what's the hype all about?  People want others to know that they are qualified for a particular job, or even have the character that one is looking for in a particular position.  People want to know that if they do business with you that they are getting the quality person that you say you are.

But what happens when recommendations go wrong?  This past weekend, I was talking to a good friend of mine, Dave LaMarche.  He wanted to take his kids sledding, so I recommended a great new hill in town we call, "Mount Pinnacle."  Dave decided to try it out before he had his kids take the plunge (thankfully).  Unfortunately on his first run, he ended up breaking his right hand in two different places and is going in for surgery this Thursday.  (Dave, if you're reading this, I'm really sorry - again). 

What about recommendations or referrals in the business world?  Have you ever recommended someone for something and it turned out to be absolutely the wrong decision?  I can think of several times that I have recommended someone and it has gone terribly wrong.  You start to feel a sense of guilt and you feel like you let the person down that you recommended your friend to.  Unfortunately, we really can only control our own actions.  As much as we would like to make sure the person we recommend will follow through, and/or actually do the job to their highest potential, we have no control over them whatsoever.  

I would highly encourage you that when you make a recommendation, or referral, that you are confident in your statement about the individual for whom you write one.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, it takes a long time to build up a good reputation, but only a day to mess it up.  Even though you have no control over them, people are looking to you for truth and honesty.  If you're unsure about filling out a recommendation, then don't do it!  Getting that nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach is probably telling you that you're unsure of whether the person is actually worth the time for you to write your name on the dotted line.  Remember, by doing so you are saying publicly, "Yes, this person is of high quality and I believe in them wholeheartedly."  

You shouldn't feel obligated to write a recommendation at all.  1st Corinthians 15:33 says, "Bad company corrupts good morals."  I'd encourage you to really evaluate the people in your life.  Are they good company or bad company?  If they don't benefit you and your daily walk, you probably need to take a serious look at whether or not to allow them to continue to keep the close proximity they have to you and your life.

And Dave LaMarche, yes, I'd recommend you any day, just don't ask for my recommendation on a sledding hill again! 

Until next time....