Will Lance’s Personal Brand Continue to Live Strong?

August 26, 2012 by 2 Comments
Lance Armstrong

Athlete......Survivor.....Philanthropist......Cheat? Sadly, unless there is a definitive answer, that final attribute will now always be associated with Lance Armstrong's personal brand. But always with a question. We all know him through those first three attributes, the question is can we ever not think of him without the last one? Both sides were always too far apart for this to be concluded with anything other than the wrong result. Witnesses and experts on both sides claiming to be right. Strong personalities involved. A lot at stake. Now the truth may never be known. Part of the confusion for many of us might be the fact that what might be a lifetime ban for some sports (e.g. cycling), can be a couple of years in athletics or results in a 50 game ban or less in baseball. Even some multiple offenders come back to play in their sport again. For the USADA this has been a 10+ year endeavour. The rumour and insinuation has hung over Armstrong really ever since his … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sports, Strong Brands Attract and Repel, Strong Personal Brands Tagged With: , , , ,

Bagels, Sausages, Olympics & Protecting Your Brand

August 7, 2012 by 1 Comment
Olympic specs

With the Olympics the great thing about living in one country and coming from another is you get to root for both- in other words you have double chance of celebration! To date Canada has performed below expectations but team GB is certainly rocking it, with 6 days to go they are already at the same number of Gold medals as Bejing with, I am sure, more to come. But when it comes to your personal brand, you cannot afford to have two sides. Your personal brand is you and needs to be consistent on all fronts. The International Olympic Committee is almost manic about its control of the Olympic brand and logo. Mostly to help protect the sponsors and the huge investments they make in wanting to be recognised and associated with the event. So what is the Olympics showing us that you can apply to your personal brand? 1. Close monitoring and where and when your brand is used. There have been numerous instances of the IOC stepping in and asking businesses to remove associations … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Personal Branding Quick Tips, Sports, Television Tagged With: , ,

Has the train left the station when it comes to your personal brand?

June 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Bombardier

The recent news that Bombardier (the Canadian transportation company) had a strategy around it's business development and lobbying activity should come as no surprise. In fact I was astounded that the tone of the Globe & Mail article and certain commentators seemed to perceive this as somewhat deceitful. The particular business activity that was being analysed was their eventual win of a $2 billion train and maintenance contract for South Africa. Admittedly there are also suggestions around suspect payments. However compiling background information on contacts who were part of the decision process strikes me less about unethical practice and more about good business building relationship skills. This is why your networking skills are confusing me. I have attended a number of networking events over the past few weeks and frankly wonder why many of the people I met were even there! Here are some of the things that astounded me: The vast majority of people I met did not … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding Quick Tips Tagged With: ,

$2 billion+ losses, thoughtless tweets or resume lies – it’s all about personal brand leadership…..or not

May 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Everest

When you set out to go mountain climbing, as in business, there are a number of factors that increase your chances of success, but if not can cause a fall. Knowledge - past experience, having all the right equipment packed, planning your route, practicing the more difficult traverses ahead of time. Teamwork - having the right team with you, knowing everyones strengths (and weaknesses), understanding you do not have all the answers. Realism - not living in the clouds thinking whatever happens that it's all going to be great. Having dreams yes, but ensuring your feet are set firmly in reality so that you make clear headed decisions. This past weekend's deaths of four climbers on Mount Everest, highlight the continual human drive to achieve the ultimate pinnacle. People with the drive to fulfil lifelong dreams and goals, willing to pay the ultimate price. Without knowing all the details and what they faced you do wonder if they stuck to those three principles. Recently we … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Executive Branding, Personal Branding for Careers, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,

There are lies, damned lies and resumes

May 16, 2012 by 2 Comments
Scott Thompson

Well it was only a matter of time before we saw it again. People seem to easily forget that celebrities and CEO's are human too. That means a small percentage will also do things that surprise the rest of us. This time it was Scott Thompson, now former CEO of Yahoo, the beleagured internet company, uncovered as having lied on his resume. His claim was to have a double degree, when an unhappy investor discovered that one of those degrees was not even offered by Thompson's school until after he had graduated! Three things that Thompson did that accelerated his downfall; 1. He first of all pleaded ignorance. 2. Then he lied, blaming it on of all people his headhunters. 3. Finally he did not apologise It now has been reported that Thompson may be suffering from thyroid cancer, my empathy to him if that is the case. But his actions have now damaged a leadership brand that previously had been held up as a technology success and likely a strong factor in his being hired … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Executive Branding, Personal Branding for Careers Tagged With: , , ,

Why having an Axl to grind damages your personal brand

April 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Axe sharpening

This weekend see's the induction of Guns & Roses in to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland - minus Axl Rose. In fact his long running dispute with some of the original band members seems to be continuing to the point where he has asked not to be included in to the induction. With very lawyer type language and a very impersonal letter to "the hall, band fans and Whom it May concern" he said; "I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf." The Sex Pistols were the only previous refusals to induction and that strikes me as very on brand for them! Certainly Rose has had more than a share of controversy, difficult life situations and outbursts, so perhaps this is just another on brand action. But if you were faced with a similar situation in your profession alternative ways to handle this and not damage your personal brand as much … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding Quick Tips, Strong Brands Attract and Repel Tagged With: , , , ,

Resume = 6 seconds reading time. STOP sending your resume.

April 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Your Résumé Thrown Away in the Garbage

According to recent Ladders.com research, the average time spent by a recruiter reading your resume is now just 6 seconds! Hopefully if the recruiting person is internal or a hiring manager the time is longer, but realistically it still might only be a few more seconds. The article shows images of two different resumes and the heat spots where eyes were tending to focus on in the short time they spent scanning the documents. Having information properly formatted and well laid out and clear is obvious. BUT isn't the more pressing point why are even we still bothering with a resume? If you are in mid-career with at least 10 years of professional experience you are easily capable of supplying enough information to write a 3-6 page resume - not the accepted format - rather than a 1-2 page targeted resume. The trouble is that if a company is hiring for a number of positions and is accepting referrals, or the position is internal, you, based on your experience might be suitable for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding for Careers, Personal Branding Quick Tips, Personal Branding Trends Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Who are you fooling with your personal brand?

April 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Did you get taken in by any of the April fools flying around the web on the weekend? What about Virgin's? Okay, I admit it, he got me - April Fool. One of my favourite business people Sir Richard Branson announced that due to the uncertainty over currency fluctuations for vacationers he was launching his own currency within Virgin Holidays. Of course the launch was the morning of April 1st! What made it such a good April fool trick was that given his personal brand this actually could be the kind of stunt he would do! Also it displayed the kind of humour that is also part of his brand. He certainly got me! I doubt he upset anyone with this joke. This is key to communicating your personal brand. When you are thinking of doing something to get your message noticed consider the following 5 things; 1. Relevance - is it right for your industry and vocation? You have to be mindful of what is appropriate. In the role you perform will this be viewed as right or a little too out … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding For Entrepreneurs, Personal Branding Quick Tips Tagged With: , , ,

Pssst, what’s the password?

March 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
facebook

This past week a story started circulating that managers were asking for employees or job candidates for their Facebook passwords. An employment lawyer would answer this better, but I am fairly sure this cannot be allowed (at least in Canada) - unless of course the employee is using their Facebook profile to post company information, offers etc. But why would they? Of course the US Senate has already looked at launching in to a probe to see if it violates any laws and other countries are doing likewise. Facebook has jumped in to the fray too, although I am not sure its their domain (pardon the pun!). More importantly what can you be doing right now, before anyone makes any decisions on this? 1. Don't look to be logging on to the likes of Facebook on public and certainly not work computers. You may well have signed an employment contract that includes a clause about your employer having the right to access memory of anything you have accessed on a company computer. And … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding Quick Tips, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,

Is calling your clients muppets good for your personal brand?

March 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment
muppets

The very public resignation by Greg Smith from Goldman Sachs last week using an op-ed piece in the New York Times is not a recommended tactic for your career! Certainly not at the top of your personal brand communications plan! However, what he did was good personal branding. One of the very first exercises that I get clients to undertake and a core part of the personal brand building foundation is the Values exercise. I describe Values as being your moral compass. The things that we stand by in all situations, or if they are being compromised either by ourselves or someone else it makes us angry or upset. You only have to see Greg Smith's outburst to understand that on some level his personal values were being effected by working at Goldman Sachs. Now in reading the 'backlash' from his very public outburst there may be other underlying reasons for his departure. But none the less he finally reached a point where all the benefits of working there could not outweigh how he … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Employees Are The Brand, Expressing Your Brand, Personal Branding for Careers Tagged With: , , ,
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