Monday, October 17, 2016

Defining Your Brand

Work is hard. Successful work is even harder. For those that have moved up the ranks, or aspire to one day, there is a new requirement that must be addressed.

That "requirement" is staring back at you in the mirror every morning as you contemplate your jam packed day ahead. (The same day that you say is so busy you don't have time to work on the requirement....but that's none of my business.)

You Have A Story
My story really kicked into gear when I googled myself a number of years ago. Sure, I found a "Jay Kuhns"...unfortunately the only one I could find had been a physician in Hawaii in the 1940s.

That's right. Despite being a Vice President of Human Resources at a well respected hospital, I was invisible.

Hello, reality check.

Reinventing Myself
The stark reality of having a strong career but nothing to show for it outside my organization was downright depressing. I was beginning to realize the power of personal brands (I prefer the term Leader Brand); and how a person's brand could be used to differentiate themselves and their organizations in the market.

To make things worse, I often said I was a "brand ambassador" for my hospital, yet I was not posting, retweeting, or sharing any of my own organization's content. 

Massive failure on my part.

By the way...the SAFEST content to share is from your own company. It has already been fully vetted and approved...so why isn't every leader automatically sharing it?

Here we go...

Step 1. Eat a massive helping of humble pie. I do it regularly to keep myself grounded.

Step 2. Start building your social profiles on the big three.
twitter
Linkedin
facebook

Step 3. Post content every day. Once you get comfortable with it you'll need less than 10 minutes. I know you have 10 minutes, so don't use the "time" excuse.

Step 4. Be amazed as you "suddenly" become someone that is viewed as a contemporary thought leader who understands and uses modern tools for business. 

Oh, and every person you'll ever hire again is using these tools, so imagine what they'll think when they are researching whether or not they want you to be their boss?



How About You
There is so much more to discuss about building your brand, but in order to go deeper you must first get started. Start today. No more excuses...no more jokes about social media being a waste.

It is not a waste. It is an incredibly powerful tool for business that you must start using now. I will help you. (I get kind of fired up about this stuff.)

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.

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