by Patti Nuttycombe Cochran
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenneth_hynek/ / CC BY 2.0
Your Personal Brand…when does it matter? Oh, only on days ending in “Y”!!!
Yes, you must consider your Personal Brand 24/7. Brand is synonymous with Character. And not to get too philosophical here, but Character is the ONE THING you build in this world and TAKE WITH YOU to the next. Okay, let’s avoid the afterlife debate and focus on the importance of one’s Personal Brand.
What do you want the world the think about you?
Do you have an “elevator pitch” to describe and define who you are and what your value proposition is? Ask your closest friend to describe you…that can be an enlightening activity!
Personal Brand is the new age term for Reputation. It takes a long time to build a good reputation (Personal Brand) and only one simple slip to ruin it. As “old school” as this sounds, you must take your reputation (Personal Brand) extremely seriously. YOU are the CEO of YOU. Your ultimate success rides on your Personal Brand being pristine…above reproach…consistent…and UNDERSTOOD.
Are you paying attention to your actions, however minor or seemingly irrelevant? Take Facebook. You may have heard this piece of advice before, but with the number of stories of people who ruined their personal brand thanks to this social networking gem, it bears repeating: What does your profile say about you? Would your Grandparents be proud or shocked by what they learned about you on Facebook? You can still enjoy sharing information about your life and activities, but first you’d better learn about using filters so you can be strategic about whom you allow access to your galleries and posts. And even then, you’d better be careful. Because mistakes happen, privacy filters may malfunction, and you never know when the wrong person may see something meant for another’s eye. (Don’t believe me? Check this out.)
Google yourself. It’s not an egomaniacal thing to do…it’s “recon”. Find out what’s “out there” about you! You need to know what you don’t know!
You need to be uber self-aware of your actions and their impact on your Personal Brand whether you’re at work or enjoying personal activities.
Be sure your Personal Brand messaging is clear and consistent, and positive. And stay tuned for future posts by me with more information about how to create a positive Personal Brand...
Patti Nuttycombe Cochran is Vice President-Client Services Consultant at Right Management, a global provider of Career Transition services and consulting expertise on Talent Management, Leadership Development, and Organizational Effectiveness. Patti is an avid networker interested in building the region’s business and philanthropic communities.
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Tags: elevator speech, Facebook, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, Reputation
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