You’re Judged by Your Actions and the Company You Keep

Reputation isn’t built on what you claim - it’s built on what you do, and who you do it with.

Jonathan Lipson | Founder & President | The Cigar Profit Consulting | Schedule Exploratory Call

Show me your circle, and I’ll show you your reputation.

Preface: Imperfect but Proven

I’ll start here: I’m no saint. I’ve made mistakes, misread situations and even burned a few bridges.

That’s part of being human.

And if you’ve been in this business long enough - or have climbed the ladder in any industry for that matter - you’ve done the same.

What separates the strong from the weak isn’t perfection - it’s what comes after the mistakes.

For me, the wins outweighed the losses. They weren’t small either.

I’ve helped build territories, strategies, brands and teams that went on to generate millions. That’s not posturing, that’s proof.

Proof that judgment, once sharpened, becomes transferable. That’s why I became a consultant: not because I never slipped, but because I learned to turn slips into strategy.

I also know I carry a reputation. We all do. We all like to think it’s positive, but let’s be honest - not everyone sees it that way.

To quote Victor Hugo’s 1845 essay: Villemain -

“You have enemies? Why, it is the story of every man who has done a great deed or created a new idea. It is the cloud which thunders around everything that shines. Fame must have enemies, as light must have gnats. Do not bother yourself about it; disdain. Keep your mind serene as you keep your life clear. Do not give your enemies the satisfaction of thinking that they cause you grief or pain. Be happy, be cheerful, be disdainful, be firm."

Maybe there are people rooting against me. Fine. I wish them success anyway.

At the end of the day, I’m going to keep doing what I do best.

The Cigar Profit was built on professionalism and on helping others achieve success  -  and that mission doesn’t change.

The Pattern of Poor Picks

In cigars, mistakes aren’t hidden - they’re amplified. One bad pick looks like bad luck. A pattern of them becomes identity.

We’ve all watched it unfold. A brand rolls out a flashy hire or a hyped partnership. The press bites, the industry buzzes and, for a moment, it looks like momentum. Then six months later the wheels fall off.

Promises broken. Deadlines missed. Excuses piling up.

The same cycle repeats with the next “big name,” and everyone sees the brand spinning its wheels.

The real damage isn’t just operational - it’s credibility.

Retailers start asking: If this is who they trust to run their projects, why should I trust them with my shelf space? 

Consumers sense it too.

Maybe not consciously, but they feel it: late arrivals, sloppy rollouts, energy that fizzles.

In an industry where trust is everything, erosion happens fast.

The trap is convenience. Leaders hire who they know, who’s available or who’s cheap. They rationalize with urgency: “We need someone now.” 

Or with cost: “This keeps expenses down.” 

But shortcuts in people decisions always cost more later. The wrong person doesn’t just slow you down - they drag you backward.

A single mistake can be forgiven. A string of them? That’s your brand.

And in this industry, once that story sets in, it sticks.

Poor picks also create a culture of mediocrity.

People inside the company stop believing leadership knows what it’s doing. The best employees begin looking for the exit.

And soon the only ones left are the ones with nowhere else to go. That erosion of internal culture shows up externally, in the way sales teams pitch, in the way they carry themselves, in the way the product is represented.

Every weak hire poisons more than one role - it poisons the whole narrative of the company.

The Company You Keep Defines You

To paraphrase one of the most accomplished business success coaches alive – Dan Peña:

‘Show me your circle, and I’ll show you your reputation.’

That’s the truth of this industry. Credibility doesn’t exist in isolation - it transfers.

When a respected manufacturer backs a young brand, retailers line up faster. It’s not just about the blend - it’s the credibility attached to it.

When a brand hires a recycled name who’s already failed three times elsewhere, that credibility transfers too. The market assumes chaos before it even sees the product.

Every handshake, every photo-op, every name tied to your brand sends a message louder than your marketing.

Retailers don’t need to hear a pitch - they see who you’ve chosen to trust.

Consumers might not know the politics, but they feel it in the way brands convey their message.

And the media? Even silence becomes commentary. Who’s not covering you says more than who is.

Strong brands protect their circle like Fort Knox. They don’t just let anyone in. They guard credibility because they know it’s contagious.

Weak brands do the opposite. They recycle the same names, the same failures, the same “yes men” who have nowhere else to go. The result?

Retailers hesitate. Consumers disengage. Media shrugs.

Your circle defines you. It’s the market’s shorthand for your values. And no slogan, no press release, no marketing campaign can erase the truth if your circle doesn’t inspire confidence.

And here’s the part leaders forget: your circle doesn’t just define your company to the outside world, it defines how decisions are made inside.

Surround yourself with competent people, and the conversations sharpen.

Surround yourself with failures, and the conversations dull.

Over time, that difference compounds into market performance. The circle you choose is the business you build.

Your Circle Is Your Currency

Money isn’t the only currency in cigars. Your circle is worth just as much - sometimes more.

Every hire, every vendor, every partnership is either building equity in your reputation or bleeding it dry.

Think of it like a balance sheet.

Competence is an asset. It compounds.

Incompetence is a liability. It drags everything down.

One disastrous association takes ten good ones to counteract. That’s why serious leaders treat relationships like capital - they invest wisely and cut losses fast.

The cigar world is small. People talk. Retailers swap stories, brand owners compare notes, media connects dots.

You can’t hide who you surround yourself with.

And you can’t PR your way out of a bad decision. Credibility is public record, and once you’ve burned it, there’s no budget big enough to buy it back.

Your circle is your currency. Spend it wisely, protect it ruthlessly and never confuse availability with value.

A leader who understands this plays the long game. They don’t just look for someone who can fill a role today - they look for people who will build compounding returns in the brand’s reputation over years.

That’s how credibility works: it builds like interest.

If you protect it, it grows.

If you let it leak, it disappears faster than you think.

When Silence Speaks Louder Than Spin

Judgment doesn’t always come in press clippings. More often, it comes in silence.

Retailers stop reordering. Consumers stop asking. Media stops writing. Calls go unanswered. Meetings drift off the calendar.

Nobody tells you directly - they don’t have to.

The market speaks by moving on.

And silence is louder than any press release.

The humidor tells the truth. Empty promotions, boxes that don’t move, energy that feels flat - those are verdicts.

And once the silence sets in, it’s suffocating.

Leaders make the mistake of thinking they can spin their way out.

They flood LinkedIn with posts, send out staged photos, push hollow announcements. It never works.

Optics aren’t controlled by the brand - they’re controlled by the market. Retailers, consumers, and media connect the dots faster than any PR machine ever could.

Noise can be manufactured. Silence is earned.

And once it takes hold, clawing back is a long, brutal process.

The only way out is through:

better decisions, sharper judgment and actions that restore trust.

Silence doesn’t just hurt sales. It kills momentum. Teams lose energy. Partners stop calling.

The narrative shifts from “what’s next?” to “are they still around?” 

And in this industry, once that question starts circulating, it’s almost impossible to erase.

Leadership as the Ultimate Signal

The loudest signal any brand sends is its leader. People look past the copy, past the packaging, past the social media feeds.

They watch the leader and ask:

·         Who do they surround themselves with?

·         Who do they listen to?

·          Who do they empower?

Weak leaders surround themselves with “yes men.” People who feed ego instead of fueling growth. They agree to everything, rubber-stamp mediocrity and protect the leader’s pride while the brand rots.

It feels safe. It feels comfortable. But it kills innovation.

“Yes men” also make it easy for failure to thrive.

People with nowhere else to go say “yes” to everything, not because it’s right, but because it protects their own survival. They’ll nod along forever if it means they don’t get exposed.

Strong leaders hire “no men.” They bring in people who challenge assumptions, who push back, who aren’t afraid to disagree.

“No men” sharpen ideas, expose blind spots and block bad calls before they become disasters.

They’re tougher to manage, but they create brands that last.

The market can tell.

Leaders who surround themselves with “yes men” look fragile.

Leaders who embrace “no men” look strong, even when the calls are hard.

Leadership is the ultimate signal because it amplifies everything else.

Weak leaders multiply weakness.

Strong leaders multiply strength.

And leadership isn’t just about the calls you make. It’s about the culture you allow.

A leader who tolerates mediocrity tells the world they value comfort over performance.

A leader who insists on being challenged tells the world they value progress over ego.

Those signals ripple out into every part of the business.

Breaking the Pattern

The pattern can be broken. But not by everyone.

It starts with owning the truth.

Weak hires? Admit it.

Empty partnerships? Call it what it is.

Markets respect honesty. Excuses are for amateurs.

Then comes slowing down. Bad decisions come from panic - the rush to fill a seat, the pressure to make noise, the temptation of what’s easy over what’s right.

Breaking the pattern means pausing and asking:

Is this hire, this vendor, this alliance going to elevate us… or are they just available?

Next is raising the bar.

Stop recycling the same names and the same failures. Demand proof of performance.

Surround yourself with people who challenge instead of comfort.

Mediocrity is a choice - and so is excellence.

Finally, cut the dead weight.

Keeping failures doesn’t make you loyal. It makes you negligent.

The market won’t judge you for firing the wrong people. It judges you for keeping them around.

Resetting isn’t easy. It never is.

But it’s the only way forward.

The leaders who break the pattern send a message to the market:

We’ve stopped tolerating mediocrity, and we’re competing where we belong.

And here’s the payoff: when you reset, you don’t just rebuild internally. You reset how the market sees you.

Every smart hire, every strong decision, every firm line in the sand sends a new signal.

Over time, that signal compounds - and credibility begins to regenerate.

The Warning Shot

Every name you let into your circle becomes part of your story.

If their track record is a trail of missed deadlines, excuses, and exits through the back door, that history becomes yours the second you shake their hand.

The market won’t ask if you knew better. It will assume you didn’t care.

And once that judgment lands, you can’t buy it back. Not with marketing, not with press, not with money.

So here’s the reality: before you sign, before you post the photo-op, before you make it official, ask yourself one question -

if the market sees me standing next to this person tomorrow, do I look stronger… or weaker?

Because the market doesn’t give second chances. It gives verdicts.

And if you choose wrong, that verdict will come down hard - and it will stick.

Where Judgment Meets Strategy

If this hit a nerve, good.

That means you’re paying attention.

Your reputation is built one decision at a time, and the market is watching every one.

That’s why I built The Cigar Profit.

After two decades in this business, I know the cost of poor decisions and the value of the right ones. My work now is helping brand owners, manufacturers and retailers build sharper circles, make cleaner calls and protect the credibility that makes or breaks a business.

If you’re serious about protecting your reputation and scaling with purpose – schedule an Exploratory Call.

Because in cigars, you’re not judged on your intentions - you’re judged on your results.