YourIndividualBrand

"Screw it, I'm just going to do it"

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:51:12 -0700

If you want to get something done, give it to the busy person. Real busy. In other words, not paper pushing excuse makers, but difference makers.

I love hanging out with get 'er done personality. Get 'er done personal brands are winners. Fortunately for me, my wife is the best at getting it done. Julie runs JS Design producing custom products for the wedding industry, primarily. As a successful seasonal business, most sales and activity take place during less than nine months of the year.

When everything seems to happen at once, it would be easy to push off less time sensitive projects. Here is where you can make magic happen. By the time Julie would organize the request for future dates, she just does it. She often says "screw it, I'm just going to do it" and does it.

Clients don't care how busy you are or how a wish is not time sensitive. To them, it might be. If the project is within your scope of service, DO IT! Do it now!

You will find happy clients and excellent customer service all while minimizing your time commitments. That's right and Julie is proof. She works less, not harder, because she just gets it done NOW.

Be a get it done now brand...answer the phone when it rings...return calls now, return emails now...

Happy Independence Day!

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 07:48:50 -0700

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

Nice Collection of Personal Brands

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:35:36 -0700

There is a new school being launched out of the Metropolitan State College of Denver called Center for Innovation.

The Center for Innovation seeks to foster cutting-edge and effective curricula utilizing creative learning tools that make entrepreneurship education a college-wide and community-wide experience. The mission of this initiative is to:

service the College and its unique constituents, including minorities, women and urban youth,
transform the way the College prepares students and community members for success in the rapidly changing American and Global economy, and
enable any student or community member, regardless of their field of study or business, to have access to entrepreneurship and innovation training.

Such an undertaking and difficult when considering mixing entrepreneurs and educators. This early success is where the magic is happening. The Executive Director, Mick Jackowski is a long time Marketing Professor who has the internal relationships and knowledge of higher education. He is also one of the founders of a student run business called Brand Spanking New and has working knowledge in industry and entrepreneurial ventures.

The board of the new center adds to the nice collection of personal brands that make sense. Christina James has done a magnificent job building a diverse, connected and talented board. Not to mention passionate.

As a team builder and personal brand strategist myself, I am always fascinated to see how talent migrates to committees. On this board, there are multi-talented individuals who would make a significant impact on one or many of the committees from fund development to marketing/PR/Speaker bureau to curriculum. But when you know the talent and the interested combined, you can predict where people want to play making for a well built team that is dedicated because they are contributing in an area of passion.

The other interesting decision to watch is the personal brand looking to flex talent muscles in areas they don't get to develop as much in a day job or on other boards. A talent that needs a light shined on it for that personal brand's own development. When you have a culture that encourages growth and accountability, amazing people show amazing talent. When the personal values based mission and vision match with that of the organization, magic takes place. It is going to be a lot of fun to be a part of a team doing something amazing for the Denver community and beyond.

"The Great Communicator" Remembering D-Day

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 17:45:33 -0700

One of the great speeches that maintained the personal brand of "The Great Communicator", President Ronald Reagan on the cliffs of Normandy.

Same Flight, Two Personal Brand Experiences

Mon, 19 May 2008 11:02:25 -0700

My Frontier Airlines flight from Orlando, FL to Denver, CO Saturday was a great example of how a personal brand can dictate the attitude one has with a company and profession. In this case, Frontier and Flight Attendants.

The flight was a challenging environment because of the number of tired and cranky families headed home from loaded activity at Disney World, etc. It was hot and humid on the plane while delayed because of the number of strollers and basic needs parents had in order to situate young kids for a long flight.

Here is where the simple separation begins.

A common question as we prepared to take off was "why is it so hot in here?" Another common question I noticed was clarification on whether or not there would be snacks on the long flight. Frontier has a new policy with more available snacks, but for purchase only.

One flight attendant was working a section of rows in front of me. She did her job as you would expect, but was short and even sarcastic with people on what she perceived as obvious questions she had to answer over and over again. She contributed to the frustration.

Just behind me was an identical scene accept the flight attendant had a fun loving and inspiring way about her. She had explanation and empathy. It seemed to me, as a solo traveler observing, that she was taking more time with people, but they were settling in faster. She was helping organize carry-on bags and creating positive reinforcement.

As I looked forward to see what was taking place just in front of me. The flight attendant here was in a sea of frustration as she seemed to be in the way as apposed to helping organize the overhead compartments. She was talking over people in a mad rush to get kids seated and buckled in. It was not working.

In a matter of a few moments and just a few rows of people, there was a different feeling within the same circumstance. One group may not be thinking twice about the fact we were only ten minutes late pulling from the gate while the other group may be telling others about the hot annoying delayed flight.

Big difference and a great impact from the leader just behind me. What little thins can you do different to make a big experience swing for those dealing with you?

Great Secretaries, Great Culture Brand

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:09:08 -0700

As described on Wikipedia, National Secretaries Week was created in 1952 through the work of Harry F. Klemfuss of Young & Rubicam, in conjunction with the National Secretaries Association, now known as the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP). His goal was to encourage more people to consider careers in the secretarial/administrative support field. Using his skill and experience in public relations, Klemfuss promoted the values and importance of the job of administrative assistants. In doing so, he also created the holiday in recognition of the importance of administrative assistants.

The brand of leadership recognizing the partner relationship with a great secretary shows a direct relationship to productivity and professionalism, in my experience.

As I have had dialog with as many executive assistants as I have with executives, I experience the excellent customer service and respect for time and culture from the good ones. I have seen executives change companies in their career while negotiating secretary compensation as part of the move. The team is a package deal! Respect I admire!

Just like any other profession, there are good and great professionals in this field of choice. The great ones make a significant impact in the success of a team. Celebrate the people who make you look better and are the front line in experience for everyone who interacts with your company.

"Job Hunting in a Brand You World"

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 07:07:37 -0700

Dan Schawbel and team release issue 4 of Personal Branding Magazine to the public on May 1. This promises to be another great issue on personal brand topics with a cover story interview with Robert McGovern, Founder JobFox and CareerBuilder.com.

Articles:

- 3 Tips for Visibility, Memorability and Credibility in Your Job Search

- How Can We Use Technology to Recruit Others?

Interviews With:

Joel Cheesman, Blogger, Cheezhead.com

Chris Russell, Founder, Jobs in Pods

Ben Yoskovitz, Founder, Standout Jobs

Paul Forster, CEO & Co-Founder, Indeed

Phillip Merrick, Co-Founder and Chairman, VisualCV

Jim Ambras, CEO and Founder, Notchup.com

Sam Blum, Founder and CEO, Razume LLC

Alex Rudloff, CEO and Co-Founder, Emurse.com

Sanjay Sathe, Founder, RiseSmart

Sold as an electronic PDF only and only $12.95 for an annual subscription (4 issues)

50% of the proceeds benefit the
American Cancer Society

Go to Personal Branding Magazine now to get your copy.

Define Your Customer for Success

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:43:29 -0700

Confidence in what you have to offer is valuable and an important discovery.

If you have not uncovered who will buy your skills before or along the way, you may find yourself barking up the wrong tree in your job search and/or business development activities.

Understanding your customer involves focus on understanding the customer problems and needs and validating you are the solution.

Learning about who your customer is and whether or not you are solving a problem important to them is critical - take the guessing game out of your job search and business development process.

Who specifically is your customer? Who is the decision maker and who influences decisions at companies you target - those people are your customer - who are they? Your customer has problems - what are the problems in their words?

What is it about you that solves your customer problems?

Those who invest in defining themselves and customer have a clear understanding of a unique value proposition they can target to the needs of their target company - and are quick on their toes. That brand of confidence gets hired!

David Sandusky owns Your Brand, LLC and is a public speaker on personal brand, career and business strategy. Participate on the free business and career forum at www.PersonalBoardofAdvisors.com

War for Talent means War for Talented

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:13:51 -0700

I don't need to tell you about the job loss and other scary economic statistics because the media is covering that well and opinions about the "war for talent" tag line is all over the blogosphere.

I know, it is scary when the company and industry where you are an expert is cutting back and the job loss vs. job creation ratio seems to be against you. The fact of the matter is there are strong industries and even those industries cutting are hiring the right talent and in some cases even struggling finding the right fit. I see examples of this all over the country and certainly right here in Denver.

You are now asking who is hiring? Fair question. This is where I hold you accountable because YOU need to be familiar with your current and forecasted environment. Answer this question instead - who is hiring YOU?!! YOU need to tool yourself and invest in yourself for marketability and transferable skills. That is what the talented do in good and challenging times. It is part of the personal brand awareness. When you do your homework, you learn and add value when networking.

When you do your homework, you position yourself with knowledge and confidence your competition lacks and that is what companies hire even when they are not...hiring. That is right, the talented know what they offer and have the confidence to target companies that may not even be hiring.

I experience your struggle as a candidate marketing yourself to me for my own companies, interests including clients. Pay attention. I have always seen a direct relationship to those who complain about not getting a response and those who do not invest time targeting their value proposition to the company needs, vision and culture.

Even in this ultra competitive environment that is not going away, I see people as recent as today that don't make the minimum investment in themselves for opportunities they know I am leading recruiting activity or at minimum a great networking source for them. Even potentially qualified people communicate a brand of disrespect and laziness...don't be this brand during your career search:

"To whom is may concern" on letters and email. - I got one of these today and my email is david @ YourBrandPlan . com and another referencing a job description with my name on it and even the company for research opportunity.
Highlighting experience that hurts you more than helps you for the company you are targeting. Equally, passing along an obvious one size fits all letter and resume.
Misrepresent your current situation.
Not picking up the phone
Not following up

These, and many others, are the easy activities for you to do. If over looked, it is easy for those in a position to hire you to discount you. Take it a step further in your due diligence and professional communications and even if the timing is not right, you will create a network of value. Multiply your efforts times 100, and you will find the right deal in any market.

David Sandusky owns Your Brand, LLC and is a public speaker on personal brand, career and business strategy. Participate on the free business and career fourm www.PersonalBoardofAdvisors.com

No Excuses

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:20:30 -0700

Yesterday on Your Brand Radio, Mark and I had a mixed conversation with a common theme around changing roles in your career and/or business.

Where does your brand sit in the mist of change? If your brand is a collection of values, not much. Your value proposition, competencies and even strengths may change over time so how you express and market your brand will change.

Change is often a result of your external environment. The place where it is easy to place blame and become a victim of circumstance. Market. Jobs. cost of living. Bad boss. On and on...If you are in control of your brand and environment, these don't matter as much...they are only challenges of time and strategy.

Do you make excuses or solutions?

To Tweet or Not to Tweet

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 17:22:57 -0700

Since becoming somewhat active with Twitter, I find myself considering communicating my every move. I don't mainly because I am not always online due to other commitments (life, business and client confidentiality) and I am on the phone alot. Others tweet everything (selective no doubt) and show more of the personal brand.

Today I was excited to announce my new PR and speaker booking team, but waited until the other candidates were aware of my choice so not to learn via twitter. If I wait to long, it is not authentic tweeting culture.

Not just for the personal brand by the way. Companies (made up of individual brands) are promoting their culture as well.

Fun new culture. What is your tweet strategy? That reminds me to see if KnowMoreMedia.com and which authors are on twitter and Lijit for search and stats.

Pros Understand the Personal Brand

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:10:25 -0700

Have you ever had a conversation with a pro athlete, rock star, political leader or famous actor about their career? How about the anchor on your favorite nightly news, popular radio show host or best selling author? If you have, you notice that not only are they always on brand, but you realize they are conscious of their brand at all times. You also recognized that they have learned from pros from the beginning of their profession that personal brand awareness of consistent and projected success have always been part of a strategy in staying relevant.

Whether the brand or values of the brand reach you or not, you notice the discipline and constant innovation of self. You notice big time decisions on growth that the competition follow. You notice a vision and confidence as a result.

The professions mentioned above provide ease to identify the stars because of media culture, but the lesson remains the same. Identify the famous personal brands that impress you and ask yourself what they do to keep popping in your mind. What can you learn from them and apply to your career? How do you communicate to those you influence?

With the Internet medium, the game is more open is it not? I'll bet the personal brand that came to mind has a significant presence online - check. They may even be way ahead on communication tools like twitter - as an example, I started getting active on twitter just recently. Most people are not aware of twitter yet, but the highly influential bloggers out there have huge followings in short time because of their reputation of adding value online. The same people have a great presence online because of the content and experience they bring offline as well. The content came first in other words. The brand is easily extended online.

Personal Brand Manager - Building Brand Awareness

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:22:20 -0700

Final post in Personal Brand Manager series starting with "There is No ing in Brand"
Your personal brand changes as you the individual learn more details about your natural talents and build on your core competencies. It also changes along with your environment. Today, those changes are happening faster than you can accomplish your current tasks on the job and in your community. The perception of what you have to offer could be great one day and irrelevant the next. That perception can also be different from how you see it vs. your market and even from person to person as they experience you. That is why there is no "ing" in brand.

Your personal brand exists in it's current state. Not everyone is going to get it. But does everyone respect you? Are you proud of who you are? Do you communicate a focused brand to an audience who can benefit? Do people trust you - do you have confidence in yourself?

When you re-brand, meaning changing your promise of value and experience people have with you, you are in a cycle of change. It is here where you prove your vision of who you want to be is your greatest asset. Living and talking (BEING) that brand will make your transition seamless. Communication, marketing, networking your change is a process that will take time in the masses. But with existing trust and your confidence shining to those who don't know you, your brand, continues to be present in the moment.

You are not branding...you are. The question is, do people know who you are?

Do they know how you can ad value, RIGHT NOW? Do they know how to help you get to where you want to be?

Building brand awareness is as easy as being authentic in adding value to yourself, family, community and business. You build brand awareness by adding value and doing a GREAT job consistently - by being a connector. The rest is marketing. here, there and everywhere on and offline where people will listen.

Be you - be great and make it an "Absolutely Incredible Day" for someone!

Personal Brand Manager - Pricing Strategy

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:46:20 -0700

How much to charge for services and how much to pay for services can be a time consuming due diligence task if you are not aware of your value and environment. It is also a tough sell if perceived value and trust is not where it should be - your brand. In other words, price can be an easy indicator of fit or deal killer early. The fear of paying too much or too little is found out over time. Too little results in lack of motivation and active searching for a better fit; too much holds poor expectations resulting in adjustments (firing) over time.

That said, there are multiple ingredients to what makes a fair compensation agreement. It is a good idea through negotiations to learn all parties motivations. Unique benefits and risk/reward scenarios come into play - understand what a true win:win looks like.

Traditional employer/employee situations have ranges that are easily understood so skills vs. needs tend to find each other rather easy. Salary.com and the 2008 Inc Magazine Executive Compensation Guide will give you an idea. Look for these studies each year for trends. If your personal brand shows an obvious premium or learning curve - negotiate appropriately.

Consultants have other cost and cost savers for the client to consider. The otherwise salary being replaced is a starting point. Consider business development and other non-paid time in your equation and know how your higher rate saves the client company money under traditional hire situations - your value proposition.

Finally there is your products and services and how they should be priced in the market. Not much changes here. The market will help determine your price and you help communicate value in terms of ROI. If you offer something new to the market, clearly more research and testing may be required.

Happy negotiating!

" There is No ing in Brand" series continues with more about each brand manager topics identified - stay tuned!

Personal Brand Manager - Build Product/Service Solutions

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 16:00:20 -0700

We understand the concept of being the CEO of ME, Inc in this fast paced and ultra growth competitive age. It is a hot topic Oprah has covered in a series called Investing in Me, Inc and if you Google discussion forums about personal brand, you are sure to find many discussions and ideas.

Great idea in theory, but what if you are a commodity with no known competitive advantage or your talents and passions don't line with your skills? What if you have no perceived value? What if your brand is negative because of a poor experience others have with you?

Your career is in the service business so it is worth repeating:
Careers are our own business - a business that we create, brand, own and manage. Our careers go through the same service model cycle a business does. So it is logical to think that any professional needs to plan, manage and brand a career. The Classic disciplines required such as those listed above are not required core competencies of the career and community minded professional. But the strategy as a tool is required to build and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage.

What do you sell?

Without a solid answer to this question you can not have the confidence to pitch your offering to people. You must believe in yourself first before you can start communicating your brand. As you continuously learn and build market trend and identify needs, you too can tool yourself with a competitive advantage packaged with a promise of value.

"There is No ing in Brand" series continues with more about each brand manager topics identified - stay tuned!