The last category design case study is about ourselves – the story we tell to others about our particular genius, the promise we make for others to say “YES!” The right people want you (to work with them, for them). … Continue reading Category Design Case Study VII: Your Personal STORY.
I am a generalist. A slice of talent and a dollop of white male privilege has created a monster that can move around in various institutional environments adding value here, there and everywhere. Being a MarComms professional means I can work … Continue reading Personal Journey Mapping
I recently read about Morioka Shoten Ginza, “a tiny bookstore of “a Single Room with a Single Book” in Tokyo. It sells only one book; more precisely, multiple copies of one title that changes weekly…” Wow. The bravado, the chutzpah! … Continue reading What Book Would You Sell In Your (Autobiography) Bookstore With A Single Book?
One of the first products we made in our personal branding investigation was The Brain! There is a plethora of books on the market about decision-making, y’know Gladwell, Kahneman and Lehrer an’ all. It made sense to take some of the simple … Continue reading We Think We Are In Control. Not So. That Would Be Our Brain.
A couple of people have contacted me in the last weeks – New Year’s Resolutions? – enquiring about BrandBoards, about making a mark. Most excellent. I began the BrandBoard process a couple of years ago as a process of sharpening … Continue reading New Year’s Resolution: Brand Building!
I am helping some young people – students and recently graduated – with a personal branding class, producing mini-BrandBoards. One of the input questions is “What is your work philosophy?” There are some good answers (well, all answers are good … Continue reading Ponder, Ponder, Ponder, Collaborate, Re-think, Revise, Submit. A Young Professional’s Story.
One revelation of the process of researching and activating personal branding, for me, has been a turnaround in perspective about HELP.
I have always been loath to ask for help. Always thought I could do it myself (fool!). Tied up with this is an idea that the main reason to talk about yourself is to network hard and get into people’s rolodexes / contacts so that you can pick them off one by one and ask for the help. Some childhood stuff going on there probably, but here’s the Aha!
Continue reading “Personal Brand: Get One To Help And To Get Help”
Recently I wrote a few posts about how to start out on the personal branding journey, after a late night conversation with a (successful) friend who wanted others to ‘get him’ more. It goes roughly like this: Reflect on who you are (Subtley) Insert outcomes of above into your daily conversations Get lucky No rocket science, just a little applied thinking. Well, turns out it works. The same friend let me know that he had been letting others know how he shows up and where he adds most value and what he is really good at. He had a few phrases he … Continue reading “This Is Who I Am” Lets Others Say “This Is Who You Are.”
Working out loud and one’s personal brand are inextricably linked. As I often state, your personal brand helps to answer this question: How can I help? It does so because you have shared your work / attributes / beliefs. Your audience has consequentially (re)oriented itself around you, and can answer that question by making suggestions, asking clarifying questions, asking for more or, indeed, saying ‘No thanks!” Conversely, if you have not shared your work, your attitudes, interests and focii, well, what is anyone to make of you? They peer at your job title, mostly, and make their own suppositions. The … Continue reading #PKyvr33 Day 10: Working Out Loud Impacts Your Personal Brand
This week I was involved in an online conversation with fellow CAWWers, including the inimitable Luis Suarez, concerning Sharing Economy services such as AirBnB and Uber, and Luis made this point: It’s more down to P2P, right? As in People … Continue reading A Personal Commitment To The Person To Person Economy
Your personal brand begins with reflection. You sense ideas of your brilliance. Now, you need to make them come alive. If you are an “analytical” accountant, well, so is every other accountant. So exactly what was your process or insight that allowed you to do that great work? Dig around for words, dig around for stories, especially. Share those stories. Others may not remember your direct strengths, but they will relay a good story about you. These stories are data points. They weave together to build your narrative, and as John Hagel so eloquently explains, your personal narrative is never finished, … Continue reading Personal Branding: Solidify Through Stories
Yesterday I wrote how this blog is a reflection of me, my set of still-forming ideas on how to change the world, my personal brand promise no less. It is a work in progress, but then so am I. If the TMWK blog is purest essence of “Jonathan”, then it stands to reason that it could become my resume / CV (especially if I get to talk about my BrandBoard, which gets me really excited…) Well, let’s test this out. It happens that once in a while I get recruiters dropping by on LinkedIn to say hi and to sense … Continue reading Ha! Let’s Test This “Know The Blog, Know Me” Idea
This Much We Know 