So how did 2013 turn out for you? For me there was a huge unexpected ending over the last three months that caused me to really stop and have to put many things aside, including regular blog writing. I was in maintenance mode, mostly maintenance of and for myself. If you know me that is not usual. In fact that failure to care for myself was one of the factors… Read More »New Beginnings
I apologise because I cannot remember where I originally found this to attribute it. But it will take just 37 seconds to read and change your thinking. Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The… Read More »Change Your Viewpoint
With poetic apologies to Theodore Seuss Geisel but I so enjoy reading the original to my daughter I dug out my original birthday tribute to the man. Congratulations! Today is your day. Theodore Seuss Geisel ! It’s your 107th birthday! You have attributes that stand out. Skills that show you’ve paid your dues. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you… Read More »Oh the places your personal brand will go!
You must have been on a different planet if you did not see something this past week or two related to Breaking Bad. There are almost 2 BILLION web references on Google, nearly 6 million Facebook likes and #GoodbyeBreakingBad on Twitter was being added at over 100 per minute during the season finale, which broke records, delivering 47% more viewers than the last season finale. I have yet to see… Read More »5 Steps to Breaking Bad Personal Brand Habits
Some of the top professionals and career experts on LinkedIn are making a very basic and in many cases obvious mistake with their profiles. The danger for all of us is if this continues, LinkedIn becomes more of a flea market than a professional network.
But you might be doing the same, without knowing. This collection of well taken headshots are all purported to be of various professionals on LinkedIn. One of them even recently reached out to me to make a connection. But I noticed that her image had a watermark from one of the stockphoto services which immediately made me suspicious.
I uploaded their image to Google Image Search and discovered the same image was available for purchase on Shutterstock and 123RoyaltyFree as well as being used on a national women’s association website and in an industry magazine. She was also used on more than one LinkedIn profile.
Usually when receiving a new request for a connection I do not immediately recognise I look to see who else in my network might know them. Considering other perspectives I wondered if this was this being done out of a desire for some level of privacy? Or was my instinct correct, were there other phantom profiles? Sure enough I started to find some of Amanda’s ‘friends’.
What was even more shocking was how many leading career experts and professional ‘gurus’ (some even networking and social media experts) had these types of profiles as 1st level connections. How was this so? Maybe it was a…….
Read More »Do You Make This Profile Damaging Mistake on LinkedIn?
I want to make my blog more relevant to your needs and interests. To do that, I need to know more about YOU. As a result, I have created my 2013 Reader Survey. Would you please take a few minutes to fill out the survey? By doing so, you will ultimately be helping yourself. Why? Because you will be helping me make my posts even more interesting and relevant to you.… Read More »Please Take My 2013 Reader Survey
I almost felt like I was living the 12 days of Christmas at a recent networking meeting; 12 Mortgage Agents lending, 11 Realtors listing, 10 Financial Planners investing……… You get the idea. When you have a large event there will always be multiples of businesses, vocations and specialties. So when that is the case, how do you stand out? Meet Donald Lofthouse of Keybase Financial Group. He likely… Read More »This little piggy went to networking…….
“Even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue. It’s got to keep going without me.” Terry Fox He firmly believed in his vision and made it a mission of the Terry Fox run to allow anyone to run without registering, or having to pay fees or raise minimum amounts. "When I started this run, I said that if we all gave one dollar, we’d have $22 million… Read More »How strong is your vision?
I have just returned from speaking for the CCCA (the in-house counsel association) at the Canadian Bar Association's conference in beautiful Vancouver. We really could not have picked a better week for weather. Hello to everyone who has joined this e-zine from that event. Like me, you probably find at conferences that you encounter many different ways and means of people trying to communicate their message. Sponsors, trade booth… Read More »Is your business card a turn on or turn off?
Olympic Winners from Paul Copcutt on Vimeo. This past two weeks the Olympics has been a great spectacle. Obviously I am a little biased given my UK heritage, but team GB did fantastically as host nation and in the medals. I loved what the Royal Mail did for each GB gold medal won. Overnight they produced a stamp of the winners and then painted all the mail boxes in the winners home towns… Read More »Do you make memorable personal brand connections?