Okay, so first off, my birthday was yesterday, but I was at a conference in Las Vegas, and I flew back on a red eye. That's not an excuse. I could post yesterday if I wanted to, but I'm not even sure. I haven't blogged in whenever. Why should I? I've got a newsletter. I've got two.

Blogs are dead.

Or are they?

That's all you get. I'm writing it in my newsletters.

What is My 3 Words About?

The My Three Words idea is simple. Choose 3 words (not 1, not 4) that will help guide your choices and actions day to day. Think of them as lighthouses. "Should I say yes to this project?" "Well, does this align with my three words?"

How to Choose Three Words

I started this process back in 2006. Back then, my 3 words were "Ask. Do. Share." I picked these very simple words and they served me very well. One of my best years ever. When I asked questions, I learned. When I took action based on what I learned from asking, I made more ground and took over more of the universe. When I shared what I learned with everyone, I made connections and some friends.

Choose any three words you feel will guide you forward. I can tell you a few things about this:

• Don't make it a phrase. "Publish the book" is a terrible choice. "The" is wasted.
• Try to make the words actionable. "Expand" is better than "bigger."
• The more utilitarian the word can be, the better. These words have to be your compass.
• Stick with the 3 words all year. Every time I've changed one a month or two later, the year mucks up. I can't explain it. But I can report it.
• Years where I've tried "fancy" words with layers of meaning, I lost the thread. Use plain words, maybe.
• BUT the words don't have to mean anything to anyone but you. Don't worry about explaining them.

Review Them Daily

The more you review your 3 words, the better. I have mine built into my daily planning guides and action stacks. I try using them for a mantra when I can. Sometimes on walks, I just repeat them over and over. I like to reflect on them and meditate a little with those words in mind.

Past Iterations of My 3 Words

2006 - Ask. Do. Share
2007 - Seek. Frame. Build. Bridge (yes, that was 4. It also was a less successful year.)
2008 - Believe. Loops.Farm
2009 - Equip. Armies. Needles
2010 - Ecosystems. Owners. Kings
2011 - Reinvest. Package. Flow
2012 - Temple. Untangle. Practice
2013 - Walt. Ender. Monchu
2014 - Lifestyle. Monchu. Black.
2015 - Plan. Leverage. Fabric.
2016 - Home. Shine. Win.
2017 - Move.Voice.Game
2018 - Ritual. Execute. Value
2019 - Station. Stacks. Movement.
2020 - Push. Structurequence. Package
2021 - Showrunner, Monk Options

And now, let's look at 2022

My 3 Words for 2022

Scout - I don't often choose nouns, but I do when I want to pack some pointers into words that will guide me through an intention within an identity. A scout fits my role as Chief of Staff at Appfire, because my job is to move ahead of the main troops, to survey the landscape, to recommend paths of action, and to communicate a cohesive plan based on what I bring back. In my profession, that makes sense. The most famous scouts in the real world were also very physically capable, so I'm tucking my obligations to get my health back into this word. It has to carry a lot. (And yes, "scout" is also a verb - thanks, Samantha!)

Co-Create - This idea is a lot more simple than scout: what do I intend to co-create with other people in any given situation? When I work with the Executive Leadership Team at Appfire, I tell myself certain things before going into my meetings. When I talk to owners with Rob Hatch, I set out to co-create a very different type of experience. Sometimes, with my kids, I get a bit lost in the actual intentions of the moment, so this relates to me there as well. My job is to co-create situations where my kids can grow and thrive, as best as I can.

Pluses - This one's the hardest for me to explain to you because I'm still working on it. I'm practicing a concept that's between "manifestation" and also intentional living, and as part of that, I'm learning how to spin up and maintain a flywheel of positive energy. The enemies to that kind of energy are many: people having a rough day, negative people, situations where you have to wait on others to catch up to a checkpoint, and on and on.

This idea, roughly, is to seek out the pluses (+) in every day's opportunities. If I hit a wall or a roadblock, waste NO time, but instead go around, switch tasks, move to the next state of being. If something bad happens, shrug it off and find the next plus.

This one will be the hardest of all 3, but if I pull it off, all will go rather interestingly for me in 2022.

What Are YOUR Words for 2022?

It's your turn: either type up a blog post, or share it wherever you like to share. Use the hashtag #my3words to find other people's shared experiences, and if you're a last minute person, don't worry. Start when you're ready.

See you in 2022.

Yeah, so I'm taking a role inside a privately held company for a little while as Chief of Staff. That means that I report directly to the CEO and am responsible for keeping the Executive team rolling along nicely, leading strategy initiatives, and communicating with the board externally and with all the various other teams internally.

I haven't worked for any other company since 2009, so that's interesting, but I don't really mind/care/think much about it. I'm really tuned into the mission. That's what got me excited. Well, that and the fact that I get to work with all the C-level titles and do all kinds of executive leadership development.

Am I still going to write books, keynote speeches, etc? Yes.

Just also doing this really fun-ass job with my friend and now boss, Randall Ward.

Carry on.

For all the years you might have followed me, I never sit still in one place for too long. That's tricky to wrap your head around, especially in a world that really feels we need to categorize and understand everything. For me, I've always just chased after whatever problems seemed fun to solve, and I didn't think much about any larger overarching narrative. If there was anything in common, it's the easiest way to sum me up: I like being helpful and sharing what I know with others.

Over the years, what I've done with companies has changed a lot. I taught a lot of huge companies what business value might come from engaging people via the social networks and social media channels. I created content for companies and showed a few how to do it for themselves, assisting marketing departments and others in devising ways to reach out and connect more in a world that values different types of media.

Chris Brogan: Strategic Advisor

For the last several months, I've worked using some of my strengths in a really specific and pointed way. Strategy at its simplest is: "what's the plan?" I spend a lot of time creating plans, sharing plans, ensuring that we're working on the right parts of the plan, and often asking "does this fit into the plan?"

It's a lot of language work. If we are going to show off how well the company's products function in a "hybrid work environment" like everyone has these days, then I make sure we add in phrases like "and anyone can participate no matter where they're working today."

The client I'm working with is Appfire and I've been reporting directly to the CEO for a while now. They are a software platform comprised of over 200 apps that companies use to build better software to support businesses. Most of my meetings in any given day and almost all of my projects surround moving Appfire's strategic goals forward, and it's been fascinating. I'm learning about financial stuff, mergers and acquisition, and all kinds of detail around what it takes to guide a company from 200 employees to 400 and beyond.

Where Are You Focusing Your Attention, Chris?

This has changed a bit. While I still run Owner Media Group with Rob Hatch and that focuses on small business, I'm doing a lot in larger scale business and B2B companies these days. Appfire works on top of the Atlassian ecosystem, and doing my strategic work has led me to pay more and more attention to larger companies and strategy around that, as well as paying attention to how companies structure acquisition deals, and so forth.

Technology-wise, I'm really interested in just how far people haven't come with digitization of common business practices. Both in B2C and B2B, I'm floored how many times a business process dips back into things like paper and telephones. (I can't stand paper.) I feel like there are so many opportunities to do big work right now with helping companies digitize and work more like we should be in the future.

I watch all the gadget and tech updates all the time, but a lot of what seems to thrill other people (Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces) isn't all that interesting to me. I'm fascinated with how we can move data closer to the real world application of it, and how tools like VR/AR (XR) will change how we can display data and information in the real world.

Oh, and I'm still very happily running The Backpack Show along with Kerry Gorgone. That show continues to be a gem.

So that's me. What about you? Come chat me up. Email me at chris@chrisbrogan.com or Tweet me at @chrisbrogan :)

The other day, Kerry O'Shea Gorgone and I launched a new cryptocurrency called the Backpack Show Coin (or just $BKPK, if you want to be like the cool kids). It's built by a company called Rally and was part of a project they launched called Creator Coins. The idea is that if you nurture a community like we do around the Backpack Show, then you could build your own micro-economy and invite participants and members of that community to buy, sell, hold, and trade a special currency.

What does ANY of that mean?

At the highest level, "Hey, if you buy $BKPK coins, it supports the Backpack Show, but also, you get the benefit of possibly earning even further rewards than you would if you just sent in typical money. WE get a reward for you buying the coin, but you ALSO get a reward for holding it. Kind of like two people benefiting instead of one.

A little more "in the weeds:" cryptocurrency, you've maybe already heard about. Coins like Bitcoin or Etherium or the currently popular "Doge coin" are other types of cryptocurrency. So, the $BKPK coin is basically a small decentralized (meaning everyone has control of it, not just one person) tool to pass value (in this case, money) back and forth between people who accept that type of currency.

What can we do with the coins?

You can buy sponsorship spots on the show, backstage passes, special heavily discounted private coaching, and more. We're working up more and more offerings and ways to have fun with the coins as we speak.

What do you want me to do?

We can approach this two ways. I shot a little video for you, but I'll explain it right after the video, too.

There are just a few steps to the process:

1. Set up a free account at Rally.io
2. Find the Backpack Show coin page.
3. Buy some coins if you want to just hold onto them. (Click BUY) OR
4. Click one of the offerings like "Buy a Power Hour of Coaching" to buy a specific reward
5. Once you have the amount of coins needed for that offering, click SEND, and send those coins to "TheBackpackShow"
6. And if you get stuck, just email chris@chrisbrogan.com

And you don't HAVE to send us the coins you buy. That's only if you want to buy something like a backstage pass or sponsorship or whatever. You can just hold onto them and see what happens with the market.

VERY IMPORTANT: Cryptocurrency is a very volatile environment. The value of any crypto coin can go up and down drastically and we have no control over that. If you put in $10, you might find $100 the next time you log in, or you might find $5. It's a bit like the stock market. If you're unsure of whether you want to try this out, it's okay if you don't want to, and that's quite understandable.

The Cool Part (So Far)

Just by HOLDING onto the coins (meaning, you buy $10 worth or something like that and do nothing else), you add to the value of the Backpack Show community. And because of that, there are even rewards.

Each coin has a rewards pool that can be earned weekly (and I still don't really understand how this all works). So for instance, on my personal "chrisbrogan" account, I have coins from seven or eight different creators. I bought some of my friends' coins to show support. Each one of those coins has the chance to earn some rewards, and when they do, coin holders get some of that money sent to their account, too.

Meaning, you have the opportunity for the coin's value to go up and down AND you have the opportunity to earn even more rewards just because you're holding onto coins.

(Disclaimer: I know only a tiny bit more about crypto than most of you. Learn more if you feel antsy.)

Going Forward

While we continue to experiment with this, there are lots of new opportunities to try things out. I'm working with some friends and partners to come up with ways to offer rewards to people simply for holding the coins, plus ways that I can tack on value for OTHER people, if you choose to pay them with our $BKPK coins.

For instance, let's say a friend is throwing a concert. You can pay at the door using their coin, or you can pay at the door using the $BKPK coin. If you pay with BKPK and show us the receipt, we'll give you additional rewards just for choosing our currency as your payment method.

Another instance is if we hold a virtual event, the cost might be as inexpensive as buying a small amount of every speaker's Creator coin to get in.

And so on.

Want to Join an Economy Experiment?

It's all a grand experiment. It's wayyyyy too early to know what to make of all this. But if you want to have fun *and* support Kerry and I and The Backpack Show, consider picking up some $BKPK coins today.

1. Go to Rally.io and make an account
2. Go to the $BKPK page and click BUY (or buy the reward you want directly)
3. EITHER hold the coins and feel good about it OR click SEND if you're sending coins to buy a reward

It's that easy! :)

I had an interesting experience the other day that has me laughing and a bit befuddled. A guy wanted to interview me for his show, and then canceled saying that he couldn't come up with a few questions to ask me. It's obviously quite the insult, if I were to care all that much. I mean, what would you ask a New York Times bestselling author who has worked with the biggest companies in the world and who has presented to a princess? What would you ask someone who's written 9 books and who interviews 10 new people every week for a daily video show?

So, maybe you need some questions (not about me). Maybe it'd benefit everyone that this person couldn't come up with a few questions to ask me, after asking me to be a guest on his show. So I'll help while I'm still in a certain mood.

Interview Questions to Ask Anyone

=

1. Tell me a bit about where you grew up. What was important back then?
2. What kind of challenge do you love to dig into?
3. Who would you hang out with at a party? Or do you even go to parties?
4. Describe a typical work day for you
5. What makes you most proud about your career so far?
6. Were you a shy kid?
7. Do you travel? What's your ideal trip?
8. What makes a successful project for you? How do YOU measure it?
9. Do you listen to music while you work? What's your go-to?
10. Are you a systematic kind of person or a "let's just wing it" type?
11. If you had a free two hours, what would you do with it?
12. Who do you think of as a mentor? What did you need to learn from them?
13. What's changed for you since the pandemic? What had to adjust?
14. Why do you do it? Why not stop?
15. How do you know you're right?
16. What brand do you think is cool? Do you want to emulate them?
17. What is a life lesson you have learned from a video game? from Jonathan
18. What is the biggest misperception of you in your last role? from Scott
19. What type of work makes up the happiest part of your day? from Angie
20. If you could disappear and reappear at any point in time, when and where would that be? from Geri
21. Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned from it? from Lori
22. You do x, y and z today, and have had a lot of cool successes. But we’d love to hear, how did you get your start? from Ben
23. If you could only take one technology item with you to a desert island, what would you take, and why? from John
24. What's the biggest myth that you see shared as advice over & over again? from Julia
25. What's something you've learned this week? from Brittney
26. Where do you feel most comfortable?
27. Who plays you in a movie?
28. What does failure look like for you? What do you do with it?
29. What gets you down? How do you bounce back?
30. What's the time span of a typical project for you?
31. What do you know for sure? from Brent
32. Tell me about a time you screwed up royally, what you learned from it, and how you fixed things after. from Kerry
33. If you didn’t have to work and money wasn’t an issue, what would you do in your life? from Rafal
34. Do you remember the moment when the light switch went on and you went yeah, that's it with regard to your life/career? from David
35. Are you close with your family?
36. Where do you go when you need a reset?
37. Ask me a question.

You can use these all you want. If you use some of the questions provided by other people, feel free to Tweet them a hello and that you liked their question.

And if you loved this material, consider grabbing my newsletter. It's the best thing I do all week.

Thank BUDDHA that it's 2021! Since 2006, I've been recommending that people choose 3 words to guide their actions and choices over the year to come. You've shared with me 14 years of your experiences with more to come, I want to share with you how this works because I want you to choose your own 3 words and share them around. (We use the hashtag #my3words when sharing so that others can find your examples.)

What is My 3 Words About?

The My Three Words idea is simple. Choose 3 words (not 1, not 4) that will help guide your choices and actions day to day. Think of them as lighthouses. "Should I say yes to this project?" "Well, does this align with my three words?"

How to Choose Three Words

I started this process back in 2006. Back then, my 3 words were "Ask. Do. Share." I picked these very simple words and they served me very well. One of my best years ever. When I asked questions, I learned. When I took action based on what I learned from asking, I made more ground and took over more of the universe. When I shared what I learned with everyone, I made connections and some friends.

Choose any three words you feel will guide you forward. I can tell you a few things about this:

• Don't make it a phrase. "Publish the book" is a terrible choice. "The" is wasted.
• Try to make the words actionable. "Expand" is better than "bigger."
• The more utilitarian the word can be, the better. These words have to be your compass.
• Stick with the 3 words all year. Every time I've changed one a month or two later, the year mucks up. I can't explain it. But I can report it.
• Years where I've tried "fancy" words with layers of meaning, I lost the thread. Use plain words, maybe.
• BUT the words don't have to mean anything to anyone but you. Don't worry about explaining them.

Review Them Daily

The more you review your 3 words, the better. I have mine built into my daily planning guides and action stacks. I try using them for a mantra when I can. Sometimes on walks, I just repeat them over and over. I like to reflect on them and meditate a little with those words in mind.

Past Iterations of My 3 Words

2006 - Ask. Do. Share
2007 - Seek. Frame. Build. Bridge (yes, that was 4. It also was a less successful year.)
2008 - Believe. Loops.Farm
2009 - Equip. Armies. Needles
2010 - Ecosystems. Owners. Kings
2011 - Reinvest. Package. Flow
2012 - Temple. Untangle. Practice
2013 - Walt. Ender. Monchu
2014 - Lifestyle. Monchu. Black.
2015 - Plan. Leverage. Fabric.
2016 - Home. Shine. Win.
2017 - Move.Voice.Game
2018 - Ritual. Execute. Value
2019 - Station. Stacks. Movement.
2020 - Push. Structurequence. Package

And My 3 Words for 2021 Are:

Showrunner - Not only do I mean this literally. I'm running The Backpack Show and at least three other shows in 2021, I'm using the concept of a showrunner to explain how businesses need to think about their brand strategically in all their communications, marketing, and interactions. It's a big word for me in 2021, so I'm not worried that I'll falter on it.

Monk - 2020 gave us the gift of a lot less noise. We thus could see where our lives were still a bit too messy. I plan to operate far more intentionally and simply in several areas of my life. For instance, I'll get rid of my car entirely (Lyft's fine for how rarely I need an actual ride). I'll pare my wardrobe down to 6 of everything and just do a load of laundry on day 6. I'll eat simply. I'll meditate and journal (I started 12.9.20 and going strong so far.)

Options - Somewhere near the end of 2020, I reflected that "leadership is option management." If your team has too many options, they lose focus and flounder. If they feel stuck (lack of options), they feel pressure and anxiety. I survived 2020 because of always seeking the option. Looking for a next move. Those next moves kept me housed and fed in 2020. I'll do even better with my options in 2021.

Your Turn

Share your #my3words ideas on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, wherever. Spread them far and wide. This gets SO much more fun when I get to see your words and hear their meanings, and understand how you plan to make your 2021 amazing. Remember to use the hashtag so that all of us can find it. Okay?

--

One last thing. If you liked this post, please consider getting my newsletter. It's the best work I do every week, and it's FREE! !

This post comes from a conversation with Chloë Forbes-Kindlen, where we ended up talking about the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast. She said that the part she hates the most about that movie is that the Beast transforms into a normal human at the end, and why do that? The Beast was fine as he was. So, I asked Chloë to collaborate with me about it. She ended up writing such a great and passionate piece that I don’t want to add a thing. Here’s Chloë: 

Beauty and the Beast was one of my favourite Disney films growing up but even watching it at age 5, it just felt so disheartening watching the Beast be transformed back into a Prince at the end. 

The message was supposed to share the importance of seeing people for who they were and valuing love, kindness and acceptance over the superficialities of external appearance. 

So why at the end of the movie would they turn the beast back into a Prince?

I’m mad at Disney. 

The beast wasn’t the monster in this story.

In the movie, Prince Adam is transformed into a Beast for being arrogant. That seems like a slightly harsh punishment but I guess they figured it would be fitting to have his outward appearance match his internal persona. I get it. 

As soon as he became a beast, the villagers (including the truly arrogant hunter Gaston) no longer looked up to him. They feared him. In an instant, their perceptions changed. 

The Beast is supposed to be the monster in this scenario. A questionable theory given he was the exact same character, just a different appearance. 

Some *may* argue the group mentality of the villagers who followed Gaston’s lead and were quick to dismiss, cast aside and stereotype the Beast without a second thought, are the truly arrogant, and ignorant ones. 

It left me questioning who the real monsters were.

We are all Beasts.

Granted, the Beast was a little rough around the edges. He presented himself as the version society portrayed him to be. He started to personify that character as a consequence of being judged and stereotyped.

Belle saw who he truly was behind his hardened exterior - armour he used as protection. She saw all of him including his heart and his potential. She showed compassion, understanding and a willingness to open her heart and mind. In doing so, she was able to show the Beast how to do the same. How to let down his guard and be vulnerable. 

Vulnerability is arguably one of the more human emotions there is and it’s an emotion most of us struggle with. 

We are all some version of the Beast. We are all flawed. We all put our guard up sometimes. When we are judged, we react more often than we respond. 

That’s the point, the one Disney missed when they decided to change the beast back into society’s version of what a Prince should look like. 

The true story is better. 

Now, you could argue that the Beast started off as a Prince so it was only right he transformed back into his original form. That’s such a backwards way to look at life though especially given that life is a one-way system.

Not only does it completely dismiss the core lesson, you can’t go back and you can’t just bippity-boppity-boo away all the struggles that we all go through in life. 

Beauty and the Beast was based on real life events. In 1547, a man named Petrus Gonsalvus was shipped to King Henry II of France as a gift for the king's coronation.

Petrus suffered from a condition known as Hypertrichosis. It’s a condition that causes excessive hair growth, sometimes all over the body hence why people thought Petrus resembled a beast.  

This was a real man, with a real condition, who was not punished for being arrogant but rather, for being different. For having a condition he had no control over.

King Henry II did not judge him on his appearance. Instead, he taught him how to act like a gentleman. Petrus went on to marry a ‘beauty’ named Catherine and have children, some of which also had this condition and were given away as ‘gifts’.

I didn’t know this watching as a 5 year old. I just knew the beast turning back to the Prince seemed wrong. He should have remained as the beautiful (yet still flawed) version of who had grown to be. Loved as he was, for who he was. 

Knowing this and knowing the message, I’m mad at Disney. They completely failed to see that this was an opportunity to teach children (and adults) that it’s not about being a different version of yourself but rather, a better version of yourself. 

The Beast was handsome in his beast form.

Whether it was those long luscious locks or his kind eyes or all his little slip ups on his journey to being a better version of himself, the beast was extremely handsome. I say that jokingly but in all seriousness, having the courage to be yourself is extremely attractive. Even more so, sharing the true version of yourself with others so that you can empower them to also be themselves. 

Beauty comes from within and I think deep down, we all perceive it that way. 

If this is in fact a tale as old as time. I think we need to write a new one. Redefine what it means to be ‘normal’. 

‘Normal’ shouldn’t be a red velvet rope we are all trying to get through by waving some entry ‘See, I belong’ band you paid way too high a price for. It should be more like an all access party where everyone gets to show up and share their story of what normal looks like for them. 

Chloë Forbes-Kindlen is a web designer and Squarespace Expert living not all that far from the kind of castle that might have a Beast roaming its upper halls. She's a writer and poet and creative business expert.

To build a strong company culture for all employees challenges leaders when working from home (WFH) becomes the norm. Most leaders say that "corporate culture" ranks very high up on their list of priorities, but if I looked at 100 managers' budgets, I'd find almost no money at all dedicated to creating a culture (or even reinforcing the existing one). Further, if you ask most employees to describe the culture of their workplace, they'll rarely say what the bosses wish they'd highlight as competitive advantages based on the culture.

Core Values Are The Heart of Culture

Does your company value fast? Are your norms based around accuracy above all else? Is this a top-down organization or a performance culture? Without knowing this, how on earth would you communicate it out to your remote or even local teams?

If empowerment is important, for instance, your desired culture won't emphasize a hierarchy. If you want a culture of innovation, then reward failure every bit as much as success. Teamwork thrives when every employee values accountability and a culture of leadership.

Start here:

• Work either with the senior team or the whole organization to draft what you believe the core values of the team should be.
• Highlight any inconsistencies where you'll have to improve the culture to match the goal.
• Keep these values posted visibly and talk about them in alignment with projects, briefings and updates. For your work from home (WFH) employees, mail out postcards with the values printed on them.

Successful Culture Tips for Remote Workers

We must adapt some values for remote work anyway. If trust is a core value, then "always available" employees runs counter to that. Just because leaders panic now that "butt in chair" management can't be monitored, if you say trust matters, don't force countless status meetings and ultra fast response times.

Instead, motivate and reinforce the leadership and communications values of your organization and point out that you want team members to send their own status updates to match company culture goals.

Employee retention comes from the feeling that employees are understood, seen, and valued. This requires leadership to connect and communicate and deliver even more feedback and praise while employees work remotely. When the team isn't gathered, it's easy to feel invisible and left out. Add extra "attaboy" experiences where it makes sense.

Emphasize cultural values often in communication. "As keeping our customer well informed is very important to us, we ask that the customer never go more than an hour without a status update until their problem is resolved." Make the norms match the daily language. "It's only a win if all your teammates also feel confident that they can lead if you're away for a few days. Can we train them up to feel even more prepared?"

Remote work thrives on everyone acting accountable to their projects, their teammates, and their leadership. Reinforce this wherever possible.

"Play" is Part of Company Culture

Or it should be. Developing a culture with many remote employees means that spontaneous hallway conversations are at a minimum. While the whole Zoom Cocktail Hour experience feels a bit tired already, finding ways to build in non-essential interactions becomes vital for successful culture.

Even working memes into company culture would help. As we build desired culture elements, leave in personal interactions, family talk, and all that. It's vital. Again, people want to feel seen and understood. They want to know that their contributions belong. And part of this involves a sense of acceptance as a whole person and not just the role at hand.

Work Culture is a Verb

Remote workers have tasks and schedules and meetings and status assignments. None of these have a "build culture" task assigned to it. That means it's up to you as a leader to keep culture in mind at every turn. With your knowledge that company culture improves employee retention, speeds instructional comprehension, and encourages stronger team dynamics, it becomes your project to keep it rolling forward at every turn. It's simple but not easy. But the payoff is quite worth the effort in this regard.

StoryLeader™ is built around helping leaders use stories to improve their skills around remote leadership. If you want to talk about training concepts, get in touch.

Personal branding is something I've thought a lot about for years. Branding is about a business, product, or service. Personal branding is about helping the person behind the product to stand out. It's a way to drive a strong perception of the type of person you are and by extension, to earn a little credibility in the process. The goal is for people to see themselves and see you in the product or service you're selling.

Brand Yourself But With Your Buyer In Mind

The weird yo yo trick of personal branding is that the best people in the world at personal branding are the ones who make YOU feel like the star. This work isn't about saying how great you are. It's talking about how wonderful the people you serve are, but in such a way that people think about you.

In brand positioning terms, you're a service brand or a community brand or a lifestyle brand (or all 3). Katie Robbert and Kerry O'Shea Gorgone created Punch Out as that place you go to learn about the rest of the lives of your favorite marketers. Their personal brand thusly becomes about being generous, lifting up others, enriching the brand promise of other people. They act as a community brand.

Tone of Voice is Critical

I built my own strong brand identity around a few bedrock details. These translate into the "tone of voice" of my brand. See if this sounds like me:

• My personal visual brand is casual, cartoonish, and almost a bit sloppy
• My core values are service, honesty, and inclusiveness
• The branding concept of me is "anyone could do this - YOU could do this"
• An emotional connection is core to all the material I share with people
• The only "consistent brand experience" you'll find with me is that I'm always experimenting

To shape your brand is to demonstrate what you stand for and for it to be a recurring part of your expressions. If you're frugal, don't show off your matching Teslas. If you're trying to say you're down to earth and spontaneous, don't be buttoned up all the time.

Think through this:

• What does your word choice say about your brand? Are you using big words when your brand is supposed to be down to earth?
• Even if you're shy, you need to show yourself. Can you dress in a way that matches what you believe and how you want to be perceived?
• Beyond selling (but also during selling) what do you talk about? What do you share? Does it match what you want people to think about you?

"Influencers" are the Devil

Before we had people trying to be "influencers," we had people trying to be "authentic." (After I typed that, I took my hands off the keys to accentuate air quotes - two pumps of my fingers each - because that word is Satan.)

The ways that people try to walk around and represent your brand are almost always about positioning and telling a story that isn't true. If you normally eat hot dogs, you're not a foodie. If you're ever trying to be something you're not, and it's part of a business pursuit, I'll save you time: it rarely ends well.

Communicate Your Brand

Ze Frank once said "a brand is an emotional aftertaste" that comes from experiences. You know "show, don't tell." That's the point. The more you talk about what you are, the less likely you are that thing. So show it.

Establish brand experiences by talking about the kinds of people you serve in terms that echo your intended brand voice. "We're moms who love to help teachers get time back in their day. We know you're busy! Let us help you get better results with your students. Your students are our kids. Let's be on the same team!"

"You have smarts that someone else needs. Sell your brains."

The best personal branding revolves around "you" stories (the kind that enrich your buyer) but that reflect your part of that equation.

How to Build Your Personal Brand

For your brand to thrive, you need the following:

• Clear and unique voice and perspective as it relates to the people you serve
• Consistent publication of media that reflects that voice
• A recurring delivery of value from the media you create and share

Think about that before your next Instagram post. "Am I saying something in my own way or am I someone else's echo?" If someone else reads this, is there a chance they'll take something from it?

"But can I build a brand and stay anonymous?"

I mean, you can build *a* brand, but it's not a personal brand. The word personal and the word anonymous really don't mean the same thing whatsoever.

What people want from you as it applies to personal branding is the following:

• Are you like me?
• Do you share my values?
• Can I trust you?
• Will you help me win?
• What happens when something goes wrong?

Think about your own experiences. When your car needs engine work, do you wonder about those five questions? The last three are definite. The first two might depend on what you're buying for some people. I want someone to be honest like me, obviously. I want them to be understanding.

The last and maybe most important step about personal branding is perhaps the hardest.

Can You Be "Sticky?"

The most powerful part of branding is whether what you create is memorable. Advertising is a powerful tool when it comes to this. Think of all the ads you remember to this day:

• Who is the "quicker picker upper?"
• Plop plop. Fizz Fizz. _______
• The best part of waking up is _____

Advertising works through a combination of something being memorable to begin with and then being repeated enough that you can't forget it. That's an element of personal branding that gets lost often.

The key to being sticky, then, is a formula. An equation maybe. Luckily, Julien Smith and I wrote The Impact Equation for just this purpose. I'll give you the quick rundown here:

Impact = Contrast x Reach + Exposure + Articulation + Trust + Echo.

• Contrast - Does what you say or do stand out
• Reach - How far does your message carry
• Exposure - How often do people see it
• Articulation - Can you say it succinctly
• Trust - Are you believable
• Echo - Can people see themselves in you

That's the impact equation and it really means a lot for the personal branding effort. More than most anything else I've written thus far. If you master that little gauge: CREATE, you will see the value of putting your marketing and outreach efforts through that lens before publishing.

Beyond saying something useful, you have to say it in a memorable way. That's the gold.

Brand Management for Personal Brands

I don't know if this is "management" per se, but what I mean is that it's upon you to create information frequently and share it often, information that serves their pursuits. "They" being the people you serve, naturally. The management aspect of personal branding is that it's so easy to fall out of being top of mind. What stops that from happening?

Reach + Exposure from the Impact Equation help. Take your Articulate and sticky phrases and share them often and far and wide, especially if they help others. Do this often. Do this in new ways with new words. Don't let anything get too old, but say things repeatably enough that others can sing along. Write the hits. Play the hits.

And now you're well on your way to mastering personal branding. It takes work, practice, and all the luck of saying something that catches the attention and imagination of others. I hope this was useful. If it was, share it?

Finally, I'm always available to help you with this through coaching. Just use my contact form or drop me an email: chris@chrisbrogan.com