Managing the Power of You as a Brand -- The Most Important Project You Will Ever Undertake!

By Ernie A. Cevallos

Fortune 500 firms appreciate the importance of brands. Today, in the age of Globalization where digitization, virtualization, and automation of almost everything is possible you have to manage brand You more than ever to survive in this competitive global environment. Is brand You representative of Google, American Express, Oprah Winfrey, or are you symbolic of Yugo car, Firestone tires, Hugo Rafael Chavez? As you know, brands stand for something, and it can go the full spectrum from great to mediocre to bad. What do you stand for?


The time is right to take a lesson from the successful brands, a lesson that is true for anyone who is interested in what it takes to stand out and prosper in the workforce. Regardless of age, position, or the business we happen to be in, all of us need to appreciate the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own lives. To succeed in business today, our most important job is to be chief marketer for the brand called You. Management of brand You is the most important project you will ever undertake. Tom Peters popularized the subject about 9 years ago, which brought this personal marketing success strategy to front headlines.

The upside of things is that everyone has a chance to attain greatness. You have a chance to learn, improve, and acquire skills. Every individual has a chance to be a winning brand, but only if you want to invest time in developing, and executing a branding plan. It is not too hard, it requires commitment, and it is very essential to success! So, how do we turn ourselves from ordinary brands into winning brands?

What is your Pitch?

You know the cliché “don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle.” It is also a principle that every corporate brand understands clearly. No matter how impressive your talents, no matter how great your principles and mission statement, you still have to market the heck out of your brand -- to customers, bosses, and your network of associates. For most branding campaigns, the first step is visibility. If you're Microsoft, Ebay, or Coca Cola that usually means an avalanche of TV and print ads designed to deliver a winning message that creates a positive image and awareness. In managing brand You, you have the same need for visibility, but zero budget to buy it. So, how do you turn yourself from an ordinary Joe into a great brand? Here are some basic branding ideas to consider:

• Cultivate people -- become a master networker or a connector of the sort described in the “Tipping Point”. Connectors know a great deal of people and cultivate acquaintances. The social power of this network can provide invaluable access to new ideas and creation of new opportunities. Your network of friends, colleagues, and clients is the most important marketing vehicle you have; what they say about you and your contributions is what will ultimately gauge the value of your brand
• Think about great gigs -- sign up for an extra project inside your organization, just to introduce yourself to new colleagues and showcase your skills -- or work on new ones. If you can get them singing your praises, they will help spread the word about what a remarkable contributor you are
• Master something -- competence in many skills is important, but it is not enough. The act is finding the stuff you love and getting so damn good at it that you become an indispensable asset to the organization
• Focus on results -- brand You is about execution and delivery of results. An uncompromising attitude to do whatever is necessary to deliver results is crucial. This test of character will leave no doubt that you are committed to success and no less
• Personal visibility -- everything you do, and everything you choose not to do, conveys the value and character of the brand. Everything from the way you communicate, to the way you dress, to the way you conduct business in a meeting is all part of the larger message you are sending about your brand
• Loyalty matters -- loyalty really matters in business and relationships. But it is not blind loyalty to the company. It is loyalty to your colleagues, loyalty to your team, loyalty to your boss, loyalty to your project, loyalty to your customers, and loyalty to yourself. I see it as a much deeper sense of loyalty than mindless loyalty to the Company Z logo

What's the Real Power of You?
If you want to grow your brand, it is recognized by experts that you have got to understand your own power base. In fact, power for the most part is a misunderstood term and a misused capability. What kind of power? It is not ladder climbing power, as in who is best at securing the top job. It is not who has got the biggest corner office by four square inches, or who has got the fanciest title. It is indeed influence power!
It is being known for making the most significant contribution in your particular area. It is reputational power. If you were a leader, you would measure it by the number of people you successfully developed. If you were a sales rep, you would be measure it by the number of decision makers who view you as a trusted advisor and award business to your firm. Getting and using power intelligently is an essential skill for growing your brand. One of the things that attract us to certain brands is the power they project. As a consumer, you want to associate with brands whose powerful presence creates a halo effect that rubs off on you.
Regardless of what you do and who you are, you have got four things to measure in order to track your success. First, you have to be a great teammate and a supportive colleague. Second, you have to be an exceptional expert at something that has real value. Third, you have to be a visionary. Fourth, you have to be a remarkable business person – you have got to be obsessed with great outcomes, and excellence.
Most important, remember that power is largely a matter of perception. If you want people to see you as a powerful brand, act like a credible leader. When you are thinking like brand You, you don't need permission to be a leader. The fact is you are a leader. You are leading You!
You are in charge of your brand. There are many paths to success. And there is no one right way to create the brand called You. Except this: “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got”.