Growing up we had two tortoises, long before they were ever banned as pets. When it came to pets they were hardly the most exciting, engaging pair but if they ever managed to escape from their pen it amazed me as to how quickly they were able to get to the garden fence and start burrowing out. When you first saw them slowly making their way to one side of… Read More »Slow and Steady Wins the Personal Brand Race
Oh, boy, have I been procrastinating! I looked back and the last time I wrote a blog post was a few months back, I could make excuses and reasons why, but at the end of the day I can only blame and kick myself for not investing the time in you. I have had plenty of opportunities to share good examples of personal branding and how it might relate to… Read More »Procrastination, Power Blending, Promise and Personal Branding
At school, I spent my very first and last days in the headmaster’s office. Today I bid my two teenagers good luck on their first day of school this year, a daughter in Grade 9 and a son to Grade 12, Today I bid my two teenagers good luck on their first day of school this year, a daughter in Grade 9 and a son to Grade 12, I… Read More »What Would You Tell a High Schooler Today?
This year is the 20th anniversary of Tom Peter’s article in Fast Company entitled “The Brand Called You.” 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. If you Google “Brand Called You” the article still appears at the top of the rankings. He wrote; “Regardless of age, regardless… Read More »7 Things You Need to Know About Personal Branding
Below is my TED-style talk at the Haste & Hustle conference earlier this year – includes the Pinata BBQ Accountant story. It is imperative that you understand how to leverage LinkedIn’s benefits for the sales AND marketing of You Inc. and build a profile that stands out. Paul Copcutt will show you how to use LinkedIn to communicate your personal brand in 5 minutes a day, as well as offer… Read More »Connecting Sales, Marketing & You Inc on LinkedIn in 2017
You will likely be lucky to go all the way through your career without making a job move that you later regret. It’s not easy choosing a company or leadership team that fits exactly with the way you think, act and want to operate. Technology is creating new industries, fast growing companies and increased opportunities and responsibilities that can sometimes cloud our judgment. Take Uber for example. A market disruptor… Read More »Don’t Accept Your New Job Until You Take These 7 Actions
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
Read More »The One Question I Always Get on Personal Branding
By the end of the day, one of the candidates may well be looking back to today as one of their best days at work, at least so far. Of course, the work for the successful President of the United States is only just beginning, some future days maybe best days and some may be the worst, it’s not an easy job for sure. The best and worst seems to be how many of you look at your own jobs and careers.
Presenteeism, time spent at the workplace while not productively engaged in work, is the new absenteeism
The conclusion of a 2015 Canadian study, The True Picture of Workplace Absenteeism, with 1,300 people including just over 1,000 employees, found that 80 percent of respondents self-reported experience with presenteeism. 81 percent indicated that they had gone into work while they could not perform as well as they would have liked.
The reasons for doing so included physical sickness (47 percent), stress or anxiety (40 percent) and workplace issues and/or problems with co-workers or managers (22 percent). Depression was specified as the cause by 15 percent of respondents.
A quick Google search of #BestWorkDay uncovers plenty of top 10 lists on ways to ensure you have your best days at work. The common advice to these problems seems to fall into two camps.
Read More »Will Today be Trump or Clinton’s Best Day at Work?
One constant in today’s work world is change. Look at the jobs available now and in the future and the older you are then the more likely they have little relation to what you thought you might be doing when coming out of school. Making yourself a viable candidate in this changing landscape falls to you. You have to take charge of your own career, and own the definition of who you are because no-one else is going to do it for you.
Here are 8 steps to help you survive in the ever changing world of work:
Read More »Easy Marketing of Brand You Even a Newbie Can Do It
With the Olympics, the great thing about living in one country and coming from another is I get to cheer for both, because I have double the chance of celebration. Go Canada, Go Great Britain!
Having worked with a number of former athletes, the Olympics give me the opportunity to witness great triumphs and disappointments that are accompanied by wonderful stories. I appreciate and admire an athlete’s struggles and sacrifices. I am also struck by examples of this year’s younger winners being inspired, even mentored by some of the more established and successful athletes.
Joseph Schooling first met Michael Phelps when he was 13, during the Beijing Olympics when Phelps visited his local swimming club. Eight years later, he beat Phelps in the 100 metre butterfly to win the first ever gold medal for Singapore.
Over the years, the Olympics has become much more of a commercial venture, at least in some aspects. Although host nations seem to be almost guaranteed to lose money, brands like Nike and Under Armour and top athletes usually win. Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt have become huge personal brands, with significant endorsement deals and rewards for winning. Even Joseph Schooling earned $750,000 for his medal.
However, I am sure that most Olympic athletes do not ‘do it’ for the money. The investment in supporting them to get to world-class levels can cost a country’s association way more than the bonus for medaling.
For me, one of the best examples of the win being everything was the sheer surprise and joy on the face of 16 year old Canadian Penny Oleksiak when winning a gold medal. Money was not in that picture.
The Olympic brand and logo does have huge monetary and recognition value and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is almost manic about its control. This is in part to help protect the sponsors and the huge investments they make in wanting to be recognised and associated with the event.
Read More »Achieve Personal Brand Victory with These Olympics Lessons