If a 7-second clip of your company went viral tomorrow … Would it build your reputation or break it?

In a world where trust moves faster than facts, the question isn’t if your company will be tested. It’s how you’ll show up when it happens.

Moments like these unfold quickly. We often miss them in real time, but they never miss us.

One careless email, one mishandled interaction, or one seven-second clip is enough to redefine how the world sees you. Because when you think no one is watching (but someone always is), your company’s character is revealed.

That is exactly what played out at this year’s US Open.

Tennis player Kamil Majchrzak stretched out to hand his signed hat to a young fan named Brock. Before the boy could grab it, a man snatched it mid-air. That man was CEO Piotr Szczerek.

No words. No hesitation. Just a hat tossed into his wife’s bag.

Seven seconds. A single gasp from the crowd. By morning, thousands of negative reviews buried his company.

The clip went viral not because it was dramatic, but because it exposed who someone was when they thought no one would care.

Clean energy just had its version of that moment.

Last week, PosiGen , once celebrated for expanding solar access in underserved communities, laid off more than 90 percent of its staff.

Not through a team call. Not with care. But with a cold Sunday night email and immediate lockout. No goodbyes. No transition. Just silence.

People who had poured themselves into the mission learned they were out the same way strangers did. The internet filled with shock, grief, and disbelief. Not about the decision itself, but about the way it was handled.

Here is the parallel: Reputation is not shaped by campaigns. It is shaped by how you treat people when no one is filming, even though someone always is.

We are no longer in an era where trust is earned slowly and lost eventually. We are in an era where seven seconds can change everything.

• A sales representative who misleads a customer about financing.

• A missed follow-up after a site visit.

• A project manager who dismisses a valid concern.

These are not headlines. They are micro-moments. But they spread fast, and when they do, your foundation begins to crack.

So here is the gut check: would your company pass the seven-second test?

If you want to start building trust that lasts, begin here:

• Design your customer journey as if it is being filmed.

• Train your team to lead with values, not just KPIs.

• Be radically transparent when things go wrong.

• Celebrate quiet integrity.

• Tell real stories.

You cannot control when the world is watching. But you can control what they see.

So ask yourself: Which company would you trust with the hat?

The Solar Standard | Clean energy you can trust starts with leadership you can prove.