You don’t have to be respected to be successful. But it helps.
You don’t have to be respected to have lots of friends. But it helps.
You don’t have to be respected to be an industry leader. But it helps.
Respect is one of those funny things. It’s really hard to earn and really easy to lose. And once it has been lost, it’s four times as difficult to earn again. Heck, you can do everything right in life and still not be respected. It’s a funny thing.
Respect is an aspect of relationships. It’s a two way street. If you disrespect someone, it’s highly unlikely that they will respect you in return. But then, showing respect does not mean that it will be returned.
And in a service provider position, respect is something that will cause people to choose your for their services. You can be the big name or the respected name. But it’s hard to be both (although some companies do pull it off).
Think about it and how you can earn more respect because it’s something that you have to always be working towards.