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Showcase Your Personal Brand by Writing a Book

Anyone that has an inkling to write a book, should write it. Everyone has a unique story or insight that can be beneficial to others. Writing a book can also be a great business tool that can open doors for you to a new industry or create buzz around your personal brand.  Whatever the function of your book, the process isn’t cut and dried. Do you go through traditional publishers,… Read More »Showcase Your Personal Brand by Writing a Book

The Top Business Skill You Don’t Use Enough

The storm that blew through Bruce County a few weeks ago left a trail of downed trees including 7 on my partner’s property. It’s always a shame to see any tree disappear because of the benefit they have on the environment and we will be replacing them x3 at least. What it did mean was a lot of lumber that needed cutting up, chopping and splitting. Of course, this wood… Read More »The Top Business Skill You Don’t Use Enough

3 Steps to Help Stop This Year Being a Turkey For You

I couldn’t quite believe my eyes on a run the other morning through the streets of Hamilton. I knew the days were drawing in and so the light was less, but I could see this black mass running toward me on the sidewalk. My first thought was ‘skunk’! I was ready to turn around or sprint across the road. But it was too big and it certainly did not have… Read More »3 Steps to Help Stop This Year Being a Turkey For You

How on Target is Your Barista?

Thank you to everyone who responded to last week’s newsletter, it’s always nice to know you are missed! My message of what constitutes a good vision seemed to resonate with a number of you. If you missed it you can read it here. One of the most influential books I read last year was Atomic Habits by James Clear. A suggested tactic he offers to move toward longer-term goals or… Read More »How on Target is Your Barista?

ONLY Do These 7 Things in 2019

Do the holidays already seem a fading memory? Last years work and business success or impact might already be a distant memory too. If the end of 2018 for you was anything like it is for many of us, you found yourself having to try and wrap up some key projects, drive in some final numbers, perhaps even complete performance reviews and other year-end tasks. Then, before you can catch… Read More »ONLY Do These 7 Things in 2019

How Much Do You Hate the Idea of an Elevator Pitch?

A client reached out to me this morning and asked if I had some suggestions for positive reactions or resources to the whole concept of elevator pitches. We are regularly told that we need to have a good elevator pitch or as some call it now a personal brand statement, yet many of us still stumble when it comes to telling people what we do in a succinct manner. Wikipedia lists… Read More »How Much Do You Hate the Idea of an Elevator Pitch?

The One Question I Always Get on Personal Branding

brand-called-you

Image Fast Company Magazine August 1997

Next year will see the 20-year anniversary of the Fast Company magazine article “The Brand Called You” by Tom Peters. This was two years before his book series, which included “Brand You 50” were published. Most recognize the article as the ‘birth’ of personal branding or at the least the first time that the concept of having a personal brand appeared on the business radar. When you Google “Brand Called You” the article still appears at the top of the rankings. Read the article here

Many people still minimize the power of personal branding and some label it as egotistical and ridiculous. The criticism is legitimate towards those who have likened branding yourself to branding a bar of chocolate. In fact, the intention is to show the contrast between a person and a corporation when it comes to branding.

It probably took ten years after that article, for the notion of owning your personal brand to be embraced as an accepted way of managing your career, business, and even life. Celebrity branding has exploded with constant exposure and an unquenchable thirst for more. This leaves many people feeling inadequate unless they too garner the same visibility. Sadly credibility can sometimes take a back seat.

Social media has been both a blessing and curse and can be blamed for some of the hype, expectation, and disdain that personal branding attracts. But fault can also lie at the feet of the ‘gurus’ and experts who tell you to “Fake it until you make it” or encourage you to turn your social media streams into a one-way flow of personally branding me, me, me that should never be turned off.

When it comes to personal branding the one question I always get is

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Do You Connect Like a Real Human Being?

Dave Howlett Book

It was at a senior executives networking event a number of years ago that I first heard Dave Howlett speak.  His subject and approach intrigued me and even now I can clearly remember his power of 3 philosophy.

What was interesting to me, before that day, on three separate occasions from three different people I had been recommended to hear his talk.  This is at the heart of what Dave talks about, the value of someone recommending you, talking highly of you when you are not in the room. As he says “Remember you can’t call yourself a good guy or an amazing woman (only other people can) but you can always act like one.“

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How to Hog the LinkedIn Limelight With 3D Activity (Part 1)

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Read How to Hog The LinkedIn Limelight with a 3D Profile – Part 2 – click here

Growing up, my lasting memory of cinemas was birthday outings when we got the chance to see 2 full length movies with , bags of popcorn and the usherette at the interval selling mini ice cream tubs with wooden spoons that always made my tongue send shivers down my spine.

What are your lasting memories of the movies?

Fast forward a few decades and now we have movies (professional or amateur) everywhere we look. Streaming movies on demand, access through just about any technology device and a cinema industry that is constantly innovative in order to remain relevant and attractive.

For some of us, even visual stimulation is no longer enough.

Read More »How to Hog the LinkedIn Limelight With 3D Activity (Part 1)

The #1 Mistake (Nearly) Everyone Makes on LinkedIn and What to do About It.

If someone is going to search for your name on Google are they going to type in First Name, Last Name and a series of random letters and numbers?  Of course not! Then why do you continue to label your professional profile on LinkedIn this way? What most people do not realize is that you can custom the web address where your LinkedIn profile is placed, it is like your… Read More »The #1 Mistake (Nearly) Everyone Makes on LinkedIn and What to do About It.