SubscribeWhat’s your brand? How do you set yourself apart from your colleagues and competitors? What makes you unique? And how do you share your differentiating qualities with your colleagues, clients, and those you encounter and engage?
While the concept of personal branding has been around for a while, it’s gained lots of attention in recent years and is being promoted as a highly effective way of managing one’s career and/or building one’s business.
Ten years ago, FastCompany.com’s article “The Brand Called You” drew useful parallels between one’s personal brand and that of big name organizations and offered a method of discovering the essence of one’s own brand.
Last month, A Brand New You, held a day-long summit on personal branding featuring presentations by many leaders in the field. While I was unable to participate, I was happy to see that the presentations were recorded and are available for download or to listen to online or via podcast.
And, last week I participated in a teleclass on personal branding, featuring William Aruda and Kirsten Dixon, co-authors of a new book on the subject: Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building Your Brand. The team talked about the importance of taking ownership of your career and responsibility for your career development. Through their book, they offer strategies for using personal branding to do so. While I haven’t read the book, I have added to my reading list. Once I do read it, I’ll be sure to provide a review.
What I liked about the branding concept is that it isn’t about packaging. It’s about you … getting really clear on who you are, what’s most important to you and understanding how to leverage those things to enhance and manage your career and/or business. It’s about discovering your unique talents and sharing them with those who need to know about them.
Have you developed your personal brand? If so, I ‘d love to hear about your experience in doing so and how it has impacted your career or business.