BACK in 1997, Tom Peters talked about “Brand You“. Tom told us that big companies understand the importance of brands and that today, in the Age of the Individual, you have to be your own brand. This is absolutely true, but it is only part of the story.
You are not a walking brand, you are an individual who can create, develop and (if necessary) modify your image to help you provide significant value to others.
You are the big gun, the top cat, the ringleader, the head honcho, the Chief. And as the Chief Executive Officer of You Corporation you are responsible for figuring out who you are and, based on your discoveries, to then confidently create, package and sell what you have to offer the world. There are 5 matters that you will need to attend to:
- Resources: You are responsible for sourcing the best materials available to help you do what you do best every day. Butchers need the best meat, bakers the best flour, consultants the sharpest insights, and lawyers the deepest and most accurate legal knowledge. Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?
- Talents: You need to capitalise on your strengths in order to distinguish yourself. If you have a remarkable flare for fashion and find yourself working as an accountant, ask the CEO to find you a different role.
- Passion: Your passion is the internal energy and powerful emotion that you need to steam roll the obstacles that stand in your way. Some people say that motivation doesn’t last, this is true, but neither does bathing. Do it daily. Get motivated and then get moving.
- Branding: Your brand is the word of mouth; it is what people are saying about you when you’re not in the room. A positive brand works in your favour because other people will be happy to open doors to help you on your way. The more work your brand does for you, the less you will have to do for yourself.
- Relationships: You are in the business of value creation, and you will inevitably work with other people to obtain value, create new value, or to offer this value to the world. Build strong trust based relationships so that you can focus on the value creation process and not on who gets what, and who so what to whom.
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