What is your personal vision statement?
Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn asked “What is your personal vision statement?” – this was my response. [youtube id=”7kKc8UTWork”]
personal leadership brand
5 Helpful Tips For After Attending a Conference
Travelling to my first European speaking engagement in Slovakia really opened my eyes to the benefits of being a ‘Conference Guerilla’. I was travelling almost 14,000 km in the space of 4 days to speak for approximately one and a half hours. Just like when going on vacation, I tried to clear the decks before I went. In the end a few things had to get left unfinished and I had to accept that.
It was most important to me to ensure that everything was taken care of back home. This was key to being able to focus on the conference and my wonderful girlfriend really stepped up and took on the responsibility for my two kids. I am really grateful because I knew they were in good hands.
There are three distinct phases of conferences – Pre, During and After. In ‘How to be a Conference Guerrilla – Part 1’, we looked at the pre-Conference activities and in ‘How to be a Conference Guerrilla – Part 2’ we discussed optimizing the time while at the conference.
Overall I felt that Pre & During I did a fairly good job. What I tend to find though is that once I return home, it can all start to fall apart.
So what happens once you get back home or to the office?
Will Volunteering Boost Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn?
Adding volunteer experience can be a great way of communicating your personal brand to your professional network. Three benefits to you of being able to see other peoples volunteer experience; You can see who in your industry, voacation or network has similar interests to you. Particularly if you are looking to connect with that person, it is another area of commonality in which to make that first approach. You can search by… Read More »Will Volunteering Boost Your Personal Brand on LinkedIn?
Are You Ready to Hog the LinkedIn Publishing Limelight?
“Have you been published? Do you have a book?” are common questions I am asked when I deliver keynotes and workshops. I should collect my approach to personal branding into a book, and the idea has crossed my mind a million times, but I seem to have as many excuses not to.
I had an interesting discussion with a fellow speaker at a recent conference when we talked about this whole notion that a book does not generate significant revenue, but can help clarify in your own mind what you stand for and can help clearly position your expertise and knowledge.
My first ever blog post was December 2003, so it’s not that I don’t like writing or run out of things to say! I am also one of those people that prefers the kinesthetic feel of a physical rather then digital book. Market research suggests that the old fashioned book is not the rapidly dying media that some would have us believe.
But our social media streams are increasingly becoming a visual collection of videos, high quality images, You Tube links and GIF’s (Graphics Interchange Format).
“Visual media is the new headline.” – Unknown
The poll that I ran in one of my articles showed the following results when it came to the various visual media that people used as part of their publishing;
Read More »Are You Ready to Hog the LinkedIn Publishing Limelight?
Get Noticed And Appreciated By Your Boss With These 7 Personal Brand Exercises
It is critical to your success that others know about your personal brand and what it stands for, here are 7 ways to help you do that.
Jane was a Senior VP at one of the banks. She had been there for 15 years with regular career moves and promotions. Now she was frustrated because her last performance review made her realize that her desired promotion to the C-suite was blocked.
She came to me for coaching and we soon determined the reason why she was not being considered for this key move. She was invisible. Not to her colleagues or boss in the local office but to the people making the C-level decisions in New York. The solution was clear. We had to raise her profile in New York even though she was not based there.
We put in place an action plan to raise her credibility and visibility with the decision makers. Within 9 months she was promoted to the CFO role.
This was a classic case of the right people not knowing about Jane and her personal brand. This may be the very reason that you too are not progressing in your career or getting invited to join the latest project or team. More of the ‘right’ people need to know about your personal brand.
Here are 7 key things about your personal brand that you need to ensure everyone (who matters) knows about you;
Read More »Get Noticed And Appreciated By Your Boss With These 7 Personal Brand Exercises
7 Best Practices For Being a Conference Guerrilla
The following story is an example of how the actions recommended in this series of articles can work for you. Whilst they are intended mostly for longer conferences they can apply and work equally well to one off events.
How to be a Conference Guerrilla – Part 1 – Pre-Conference can be read here.
In our time-crunched lives and with the option of virtual events, physically attending conferences can be a hard decision to make. Approach events with more than just looking at the speaker line up, the complimentary networking sessions or in some cases to get the professional development credits checked off. Instead actually measure the ‘return on investment’ of attending a conference. Start using this mindset and you will see the value to your organization and your personal brand in getting out there.
I once went to hear Keith Ferrazzi, author of “Never Eat Alone” speak at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Business. I learnt about the event from the organizer who had booked me to speak there a few months earlier.
I followed Keith’s advice in his book about ‘bumping‘ the speaker before they go on stage and engaging them quickly to gain a follow-up. I had brought my copy of the book and asked him to ‘sign it before he became famous’ – a quote from the book. He commented that I had obviously read the book and I said it was (and still is) my most referred and recommended book on networking. I have even given several people copies as gifts. I then told him that I would like the opportunity to follow up with him to discuss how to make his book the #1 business book in Canada. “Absolutely” he said and handed me his card.
As I walked away, someone behind him had taken my lead and asked for their book to be signed. I heard Keith ask the person….Read More »7 Best Practices For Being a Conference Guerrilla
Part of My Personal Brand is Canadian – Eh!! – Happy Canada Day!
[youtube id=”vI3AjswLgk4″] When I arrived in Canada, 20 years ago today, I did not expect to ever embark on an entrepreneurial journey and my roller coaster of life, but would I change it? – probably not. An Englishman’s day is in April – St George’s Day which celebrates the patron Saint of England. Although after our exit from the Euro 2016 Football Championships there is little celebrating going on at home. … Read More »Part of My Personal Brand is Canadian – Eh!! – Happy Canada Day!
How to Be a Conference Guerrilla – Part 1 – Pre-Conference
Recently I was the keynote speaker at the HR Leaders Conference taking place on a boat on the River Danube in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was a great conference and of course the location was pretty unique!
In our time crunched lives and with the option of virtual events, physically attending conferences can be a hard decision. I consider the speaker line up, the networking sessions or in some cases the professional development credits. I also consider the cost, both in terms of dollars and ‘lost production’.
However very few people actually measure the ‘return on investment’ of attending a conference. This is important because ‘getting out there’ adds value to your organization and your personal brand.
There is a lot more to it than showing up. Here’s how to plan like a conference guerrilla.
Pre-Conference
The meetings and conference industry runs into the $100’s of billions each year, so there are always plenty of conferences to choose from. With so much latest research and information available to access and use at the click of a mouse, going to a conference to hear the latest leading edge speakers should not be at the top of your priorities.
The true value of attending a conference are the relationships that you develop.
What is your goal? Is it to find new business for your company, network to find your next job or are there certain industry contacts you want to make? Are there less expensive ways you can accomplish this goal other than conference attendance?
You might also want to review where your personal brand stands right now with a Personal Brand Audit
Review & Research
First step is deciding which conference to attend. There can be a number of factors worth taking in to account;
Read More »How to Be a Conference Guerrilla – Part 1 – Pre-Conference
What the LinkedIn Acquisition by Microsoft Might Mean to You
There had been rumours in the past of LinkedIn seeking strategic partners or an acquirer, with several technology companies being the possible ‘one’. Yesterday saw the news that the successful one will be Microsoft.
My initial thought is I hope this has positive results for many of the areas that LinkedIn seems to be falling short on with technology and that Microsoft does not allow this purchase to squander or suffer like it has with Skype and other poor past acquisitions.
The challenge with any merger, big or small is the merging of leadership styles and cultures. Everything said initially is for the benefit of the stakeholders – investors, employees and users. The reality rolls out differently over the coming months, after all the deal does not close until the end of 2016, so don’t expect any wholesale changes until well in to 2017.
Naturally this was big news in the business world and a lot has been said, with much more to be said over the coming days and weeks. I have collected a few thoughts from the main parties involved as well as some social media, social selling and LinkedIn experts, here is what they had to say;
Read More »What the LinkedIn Acquisition by Microsoft Might Mean to You
Lead, Be Free, Find Success at Work
If you feel like a square peg in a round hole at the office, like the person who believes collaboration will lead to more success than competition, like people and passion come before transactions, and that your experience at the office can be different, then keep reading.
I’ve been invited to join an amazing lineup of experts who have come together to share their knowledge and strategies for how work can be done differently – both for you as an individual and for your company.
The Corporate Rebel Series is free interview training series for professionals who want to lead, be free, and find success at work – all at the same time.
It all kicks off tomorrow (June 15th) And guess what? (This is the awesome part!)
It’s free to join. Grab your spot here.
This training series is for you if…..