In the Toronto Star this past weekend was an entertaining and in some cases insightful look at the next council members. Each had been asked to attend a photo shoot and bring with them one or two objects that would show the electorate who they were. The new mayor and several councilors refused to attend or even respond, placing a trivial or perhaps fearful emphasis on the exercise. But this… Read More »Possession is nine-tenths of the law
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." Winston Churchill Remembrance Day always has a strong connection for me because of my families involvement in serving in both of the major world wars. Even with conflicts of today, I think many of us find it hard to really understand what soldiers at those times, or even now go through. A colleague… Read More »Five Times a Normal Toonies Worth – Thank a Veteran This Week
The usual response to the question of "Are you a giver or a grabber?" is you would hope to be labelled a giver. But according to Craig Parkes a professor in Washington State University's Department of Psychology if you are not asking for much in return then you might be damaging your personal brand more than enhancing it. In his Harvard Business Review article 'Your Most Helpful Colleague (Don't… Read More »Are you a giver or a grabber?
"Uncouth, uncultured, suburban, journalist-chasing, drunk driving, marijuana-possessing Air Canada Centre ejectee and lone wolf"- these were the words that kicked off an article by Chris Selley of the National Post about the Mayor elect of Toronto. Hardly the attributes you would think of associating with the leader of Canada's largest municipality. But all the negativity associated with these words and the person they were attached to have been put… Read More »Vote for ME – you know it makes sense!
This is a Vuvuzela – the African horn that is being blown incessantly at the World Cup soccer matches, it sounds like a cross between a car horn and a persistent mosquito! There has been a lot written and said about how annoying it is and that it should be banned – but this is counter to the brand of South Africa as host of the World Cup, I do… Read More »OH – Canada! played on the vuvuzela
A short while ago I had the pleasure of presenting at the National Technology Youth Leadership Conference put on by the bioscience students at Queens University for grade 11 and 12 students from across Canada who are interested in pursuing bioscience. The group were an incredibly enthusiastic and engaged bunch and I really enjoyed their energy. Also I was blown away by their ability to very quickly grasp… Read More »What do 11th & 12th Graders Make of Steve Jobs or Bill Gates Personal Brand?
Watching the political drama unfold over the last week in the UK has made me a little homesick. But it also had a number of lessons for personal branding, do these apply to you? Say one thing and then later do another. David Cameron was apparently asked during the campaigning what his favourite joke was. He said "Nick Clegg" – now he has formed a coalition government with the same… Read More »(S)He Blinded You with Poli-Science
Getting clear on your personal brand is about as easy as trying to get a flight out of Western Europe at the moment! And like getting up in the air too soon, jumping in to communicating and publishing your personal brand online could mean that your brand ends up spluttering a little, not performing optimally or at worst causing you to stop all together and come tumbling back down to… Read More »I Can See Clearly Now The Cloud is Gone!
You probably were not on the invitation list for last weekends Academy Awards ceremony, in fact most readers of this probably only got as close to this as I did – the TV. Although one of my former clients has had the pleasure of going and has been involved in the all important tallying of the votes – apparently it's not quite as exciting as you might think! Here are three… Read More »The Oscars Connection to Personal Branding
Santa is a great example of a strong personal brand, because he satisfies the 3 C's of branding – Clarity, Consistency and Constancy. Clarity – He is very clear about his message. He wants to bring joy to all children of the world. Consistency – in various forms he has been delivering presents to the children of the world, every December 24th for over 100 years. Constancy – he does… Read More »What Is Santa’s Personal Brand?