We all have a “brand”
It may not be as known as Pepsi, GM, or Amazon; but in the circles we run in, it is very well known and results in thousands of first impressions, feelings, and opportunities or lack of opportunities depending on what our “brand” communicates and how it connects.
The BIG question is whether you or someone else is deciding what your “brand” is.
In this day and age we have so much control over what our brand is going to be. Through social media, blogging, podcasting, YouTube, etc. you can be “published” immediately and across many platforms. If you are not taking control of the narrative and putting out the content that identifies you the way you want to be identified; then you are solely being “branded” by the perceptions of others in relation to how they experience you in a variety of settings such as work, play, social media posts, rumors, first impressions, etc.
When I used to teach my portion of the “new hire” training; I always took a few minutes to share this concept of ”personal branding’. The young men and women in my classes always had a look on their face that showed that they have never thought of this before. I would talk about all the people who have experienced devastating events at work and how a lot of times it could be traced to a 30 second or less moment in which they were not being intentional about what they were doing, thinking or saying. All the hours, days, years of education, good choices, being a good person, following the plan and pursuing the goals, etc. it only took one 30 second moment of anger, laziness, justification, peer pressure, tiredness, or frustration to destroy everything.
Those companies that we all know so well and remain the market dominating giants they are, do not maintain that status by just waiting to see what happens. They spend millions of resources and countless meetings and research, to make sure every single minute and dollar is spent strategically and purposely to move toward their goals and what their “brand” is wanting to communicate and be known as; or it is spent on avoiding or controlling those situations that could hurt the brand if left to chance.
Through the life of a company or “brand”, its value changes with every decision made. As extreme examples, think about the drastic change in “brand” status from great to horrific that came about by bad choices; OJ Simpson (NFL Superstar to Criminal); Bill Cosby (World’s most respected role model to criminal); Subway Sandwich “Jared” spokesperson (weight loss hero to criminal). In the same way, previously unknown “brands” became overnight sensations by making a decision to step out of their comfort zone and try something; kind of like Susan Boyle (unknown to everywhere overnight by singing a song)
The point I was trying to make to my new staff and that I am trying to make in this post is simply this…
We can whine about how things turn out for us or we can make moment by moment intelligent, intentional, and strategic choices that moment by moment add up to how the world sees and receives us.
We can wait to see what our “brand” becomes or we can choose to create the “brand” we want to have.
When you interview, the way you walk in, the way you shake hands, the way you make eye contact, the way you spelled things correctly on your application, the way you ramble, sweat, or stay calm and answer each question easily, the nice smile or the middle finger as your profile picture online, etc. etc. etc. all works together to reveal your “Brand” to the Recruiter “buyer” and any careless part of that string of representations can either persuade them to “buy” or “keep looking”.
After you are hired… being on-time, being engaged, meeting deadlines, stepping up to help team members, etc. reveals your brand as well.
Other “brand” identifiers that give me a “perception” of who you are can include things like: Do you put your cart away in the parking lot or leave it for someone else? When you take the last cup of coffee in the office do you walk away or make another pot? It can be very silly and seemingly little things that you don’t find that important or you don’t believe should alter the way people think of you, but the truth is that they do. Especially in a competitive market. The more choices people have for employees, friends, partners, volunteers, etc. the more these little things can be the determination as to whether you are promoted or passed up.
You can’t afford to be lazy with your “brand” because there will always be someone else who isn’t!
Jeff Bezos once said “Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.” What will you do starting today to gain and keep control over your brand? There are many books, blogs, and podcasts on personal branding, but basically you can start your journey by answering these three questions. The answers added together will equal the core “brand” that you are working with. Altering the answers to these questions with tweak and alter your brand. Have fun!
1. What are you regularly doing?
2. How are you consistently doing it?
3. Why are you doing those things that way?
WHAT + HOW + WHY = BRAND
If you are not being intentional and in charge of your brand, you will most likely be judged solely on your WHAT & HOW only. It is in knowing YOUR WHY and allowing YOUR WHY to guide and determine your WHATs and HOWs that YOUR BRAND will emerge and be received exactly how you want it to be.
Have some fun with this… Create a personal Vision and Mission statement. Play with free logo maker apps and create a personal logo.
Happy Branding!
-Russell