Some of the most interesting realizations I have had in developing personal branding tools are that:

• We cannot be all things to all (wo)men; nor do we need to be – specialization helps others understand you quicker and more intensely;
• Balance is still important – few people want to be empty-handed in certain parts of the required skill sets of the modern worker.

Talking with participants of the TMWK BrandBoard process, invariably a person wants to showcase Head – Heart – Hand attributes. These map against:

• Thinking – intellection (Head)
• Feeling –  emotion (Heart)
• Doing – action (Hand)

Oh, what do we have here? Harald Jarche illustrating the same triangulation of concepts through other prisms, including Malcolm Gladwell‘s Tipping Point explanation of:

• Maven – knowledge (Head)
• Connector – relationships (Heart)
• Salesperson – influences (Hand)

In TMWK, we find that most people’s brand has a specialization in one ‘H’. But, within that brand, there are subtle indicators for the other ‘H’ brand types. We help people articulate these.

If it is the case that few people have authentic balance in Head-Heart-Hand (and that is our experience), then another way of cutting the data is to see if the team has balance instead.

In my team, for example, after undertaking the personal branding process together, we realized we were heavy in the Head (creative) dept., lighter elsewhere. We then hired an intern – and a key determination of who we hired was their Hand-action orientation. We needed doers, not thinkers.

What does your brand say about you? If, counter to your wishes to have Head-Heart-Hand balance you were, instead, specialized, which ‘H’ would you be?

←This Much We Know.→