For me the video below is a well thought out and put together dig at what I have been seeing an explosion of this year and what is concerning me most about personal branding. Lack of depth and authenticity. It is what is causing so many online commentators to rant about it's shallowness, lack of substance, affront to the word branding, an attack on the profession of marketing etc etc. I am certainly not claiming to be the perfect example of a personal brand, far from it, in fact is there really anyone that could lay claim to such? We are all evolving our brands and as technology advances our approaches change with it. But the point about the technology available to us is that it is a tool to help us communicate our personal brands in new ways, to more people - IT IS NOT PERSONAL BRANDING IN OF ITSELF. In the last few months I have found myself commenting on more blog posts, more tweets on twitter and generally having more … [Read more...]
Can your personal brand portfolio land you a $100,000 a week job?
This summer in the UK saw a new move by the agents and PR staff for a UK soccer player Michael Owen - A 32 page Personal Brand Portfolio! Owen was being released by his then soccer club, Newcastle United and was looking for a new home - ideally in the UK Premier league. The UK sports press was not very complimentary about his chances as he had a recent history of injuries and poor performance that did not warrant his then $250,000 a week salary! His 'people' put together a very glossy, 32 page. portfolio brochure addressing these concerns and also highlighting such positive aspects as his Brand Values. You can see the brochure by clicking here. Having come from the UK, I know the general reaction and approach to personal branding is a little more reserved than here in North America - but overall I think that Owen has done a good job. After all it got the biggest soccer club in the world, Manchester United, interested enough to sign him. Naturally it remains to be … [Read more...]
What Michael Jackson, The Brand Icon, Can Teach You About Personal Branding
There was an article posted by on the Harvard Business Review How Michael Jackson Became a Brand Icon and interestingly it's author John Quelch kicked off with the following comment; "Countless books advise how to build your personal brand. Michael Jackson was so unique that he cannot realistically serve as anyone's role model in that effort" But, I beg to differ, the fact is Michael Jackson was a personal brand and countless thousands of fans looked to him for inspiration and direction. So let's take John's Top Ten Factors and see how Jackson's brand can apply to your personal brand. 1. Start Early - even more critical now than when Jackson started his career. The world of work has changed forever and sooner that you start managing your career (or business) through personal branding the better. 2. Let Go- it is highly unlikely that staying at one company is going to happen in your career - so be prepared to make the move and be proactive … [Read more...]
Is your personal brand failing to impact the competition?
The new iPhone 3GS recent launch saw two impacts - Apple dropping the price of it's 'older' model and more significantly Palm's share price dropping by 7%! It seem's like never a week goes by without another new phone hitting the market - I heard that the lifespan for a smartphone before it becomes 'obselete' and overtaken by a faster, sleeker, more buttons and gadgets phone is about 3 months. Is the same happening for you in your career? Dan Pink in his book A Whole New Mind said that if your job can be done faster by a machine or cheaper somewhere else then you need to differentiate yourself right now. This is particularly relevant now in a tight job market and where competition to remain useful and employed is becoming key. Even if the economy is showing some signs of recovery you will see it's impact for months to come - the commercial real estate bubble has not burst yet! So if you are employed how can you have an impact at work so that your … [Read more...]
How Memorable is Your Personal Brand?
A good friend once said to me that on your birthday you should always try to do something you have never done before. It's a great philosophy. My son Aidan turned 9 last weekend and he had a party for a handful of his friends. We had given him a few options,but one that seemed to really interest him was Circus School! Well that certainly fell in the realm of doing something he had never done before, so we looked in to it and that is where we ended up. We were not disappointed - The Zacada Circus School in Stoney Creek is run by ex-Cirque du Soleil people and the kids had an absolute blast. They got to do many of the activities you would see at a show - including tight rope, aerial hoop and the finale the trapeze - 15 feet up in the air. My son even managed to stand up on it, whilst he was swinging! As you can imagine, no-one wanted to leave - even all the adults! The staff were great and really did everything to help the children relax and enjoy themselves - they wanted this … [Read more...]
Here we go again……
I've been there beforeAnd I'll try it againBut any fool knowsThat there's no way to winRay CharlesSo we see that yet another senior executive has potentially liedabout their qualifications and the shareholders (down 54% since the news broke in early December) get to feel the impact. The SEC is now going to examine the case of CEO James Peterson of Microsemi Corp. See story here The company has opted to retain Mr Peterson because of his "great value and strategic vision". The company has determined he didn't earn a bachelors degree or MBA, he is still denying the claim. They have fined him, stopped his annual bonus and curtailed his stock options - would that not be the least you expected if you had lied on your resume?I start to sound more like my Dad every day - but in my day in corporate people got fired for a … [Read more...]
You’re so Thain, you probaby think this post is about you
So just how damaged can a personal brand be? Take a look at this recent example of John Thain, former head of Merrill Lynch. You get called to your new bosses office for a chat - things might appear ominousYou agree that things have not gone as well as you expected, but then it is the economy after all, but since youhave been in the job you have had made some significant changes for the good, saved the company so money and set it on a better track. There are some losses but it's not that bad. Of course you did ask for a $10 million bonus last month!You boss kindly points out that........The company you did run he bought at a heavily discounted price Thousands of your former employees have been laid offThe losses you mentioned last year are actually $27 billionOh yes and then there was the little case that you had your office refurbished last year and spent over $800,000Including a $1400 waste paper basket and $35,000 commode!Don't let the door hit you on … [Read more...]
Is your personal brand online?
There seems to be a constant blur between what some people say is personal branding and what others think it is, it is naturally going to happen as it's importance rises and a number of articles have been written on the subject recently and I am sure we will continue to see a grwoth in the for and against camps. One such area of confusion is in social media and social networking. There was post by Drew McLellan over at his blog Drews Marketing Minute - How do you tell if your social media consultant is the real deal? - that got me thinking - this was prompted by two more extensive joint posts by Geoff Livingston and Beth Harte - who had written and generated a lot of comments on their posts -Top 25 Ways to tell if your social media expert is a carpet bagger and 25 Signs You've Got A Strong SM Consultant or Agency. Drew's list is a good place to start and adapt for the individual if you are … [Read more...]
How was your personal brand displayed at work in 2008?
Is today your first day back after the holidays? Perhaps you were not looking forward to it - but did you really reflect your personal brand at work in 2008, like some of the following; DOUGLAS MCARTHUR From Friday's Globe and Mail January 2, 2009 at 8:55 AM EST Layoffs and hiring freezes may be the order of the day as economic woes clobber the workplace. But why waste your time worrying about it? Just hold your head up high, whistle a little tune and have a snigger at those with bigger career headaches than you. Here are some of 2008's zaniest examples of wonkiness in the workplace: Firing offences A senior London police officer was fired for having sex at the Gatwick Airport railway station while on duty and in uniform. He said he left his earpiece in so he could be contacted in an emergency. A museum curator in China was dismissed for gluing a 2,000-year-old turtle dove carving back together instead of reporting the damage. A South Korean financial researcher … [Read more...]
The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting
David Perry, author of the Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters book has released a FREE e-book - The 12 Days of Christmas Job Hunting which can be download from his blog - many of the tips are from his book ans includes reference to some of the Reach Personal Brand Strategists including Cindy Kraft, The CFO Coach and Jason Alba over at Jibber Jobber but its also a great reminder to all job seekers not to stop looking at this holiday time - in fact take it up a notch becuase no-one else will be doing it! … [Read more...]
I launched this Blog with one objective - to provide unique insights and practical advice for using the power of personal branding to achieve your goals. It’s dedicated to those who want to be wildly successful by maximizing what makes them unique, relevant and compelling.