Posted in REPUTATION on Dec 19th, 2007 No Comments »
I’ve gone around town (and now on YouTube) for saying “the most popular blogs are by bloggers who blog about blogging.”
And yet again, Forbes’ Web Celeb 25 confirms my conjecture (vast majority fit my bill, especially the Near Misses). How many do you know without clicking their names?
Posted in REPUTATION, Charisma, LEVERAGE on Dec 18th, 2007 No Comments »
Yesterday I was meeting with a colleague, and potential client. But half-way through the conversation I realized that he wasn’t quite ready to leverage his personal brand.
Personal branding is getting a lot of buzz, and most of the time we talk about the tactics, techniques, and sometimes strategies. But all of that is the HOW.
None of the tips, tricks, and thumb-rules that we implement are important without the WHY.
I tend to ask a lot of questions during my 1-on-1 sessions - especially during the first couple of meetings. And definitely during my “sales process.” My colleague was answering my questions to the best of his ability, but something just didn’t feel right to me. And while their answers aren’t irrelevant, what they say isn’t as important, as their emotional response, our rapport, and how I’m feeling on the inside. After all, more than competency and character - it’s about our charisma.
Branding, especially personal branding, is an emotional experience: For our prospective clients, and for us. If we don’t feel our passion and purpose, then how can we expect our clients to?
So I asked him, and I do with most of my clients about their projects, “WHY are you doing this? What’s the point, the purpose? Why is it worth it to you?” And more to the point, “Are you passionate about — not the end result, but the process… the crap that will have to be done?” In other words, “do you have the Craving?”
There are many C’s to personal branding… just scroll down to the lower left and you’ll see the Categories. The pre-C to all of the techniques of personal branding, is whether or not you are ready to build and leverage your personal brand. If you don’t have the inner craving to be rich and famous in your niche target market Community, then don’t even bother.
Business, life, and especially personal brand marketing, is about having fun. As you live your purpose, you exude the passion, and attract the profits. What’s your passion? What are you yearing and Craving for?
Posted in REPUTATION, Character on Dec 6th, 2007 No Comments »
‘Tis the season to give gifts. And everybody loves getting gifts. It’s also a great way to promote your personal brand: I don’t mean giving gifts with your logo on it (though, done with class, is not such a bad idea). Rather, your personal brand relationship with that other person.
Having said that, gifts and cards should be personal. At the very least, personalized. Obviously I love the wonders of technology and mass-customization, but still, micro-customization - our handwriting - is still a great personal touch. With a tablet or other e-writing pad, you can also digitize your signature (like my book). More importantly, a personal note makes the greeting card extra special for each of us.
We shouldn’t feel obligated to give cards and gifts. We should feel honored that we can share our love & appreciation.
But be sure that the amount of gifts and its costs are within your professional compliance and ethics regulations. Obviously we’re gifting for the right reasons; it shouldn’t bite us in the arse!
The best gifts are ones that are for that person alone… bottles of wine, etc. are fine… and perfect if s/he is a connoisseur or sommelier… but for the rest of us… it wreaks of lack of thought. But I’ll take the free bottle of wine! Rather, if you’ve been listening and paying attention to your clients, colleagues, partners, or employees through-out the year… they’ve given you clues as to want they would really appreciate. Hint: Look around their offices for gift ideas.
Done with appropriate class and taste, you may opt to make a special impression and give a gift for the whole family. Likewise, what would your client’s spouse appreciate? What are their hobbies? And what are the kids into? Not only are you able to share a special moment as you present the gift (in person preferably), but now… the parents are able to give a gift to their kids (make sure you include all of them). Make it fun, age-appropriate, and personalized…
Gift giving is a wonderful character trait. Congratulations for considering it. But it’s also an opportunity to really show that we care, how we care, why we care, and what we appreciate in the other person. Appreciate their personal brand.
So where’s my gift?
Posted in REPUTATION, Consistency on Dec 4th, 2007 1 Comment »
Last Thursday, I took my cousin to visit Wharton (University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Business). I was amazed and impressed by the experience given to us. It also gave us a glimpse at how Wharton differentiates itself from its “competitors” and offers a better “distinctive value proposition” than the dominant B-school: Harvard.
Harvard tends to have a ‘brand perception’ of high-quality education, high-quality brand, and high-quality graduates. They also give off a snooty, snobby, and hifalutin “Hah-ved” personality. That may or may not be so… it’s my impression, and perception shared by many.
Likewise, Wharton is one of the top-rated graduate b-schools in the country. Their MBA students are also recruited by the top firms from the first day they are on campus. Wharton also clearly produces excellent leaders, not only in business… but in nearly every field.
My point is not to herald Wharton, Harvard, or any business education. But rather to illustrate how we can and should express our brand distinctiveness. Here are some of the points Wharton students and administration stressed:
Note: Statistics have shown that when a student is accepted to both schools, the vast majority still choose Harvard. Nobody mentioned their most dominant competitor by name (Harvard). But I felt it was a constant undercurrent to EVERYTHING that was said.
For example, we had lunch with 3 first-year students. We were to ask them questions about their application process, their experience as students, and their goals as professionals. 2 of them mentioned that Wharton classes did not follow the “case study method” exclusively, but rather followed that approach “when it was appropriate.” They went on to mention that some classes are more suited for a lecture format, and others for a ‘real-world case’ study format. In fact, one student specifically mentioned that he chose Wharton because he prefers the lecture format over the case study approach. Harvard is famous for driving the case study approach to business learning; they even have a course on creating case studies. I felt their repeated insistence was a direct differentiation statement against their dominant competition.
Another example: The head of admissions began her description of benefits by using the word “scrappy.” She mentioned that they like to roll up their sleeves, get the job done, work together, develop life-long relationships, and not stand on ceremony, status, title, or even student hierarchy. Harvard, rather, prefers to stand on their tradition… and appreciates their elite heritage… not being scrappy.
Both schools administration decided to allow students to vote on whether or not to disclose grades/scores. 96% of Wharton students have decided not to disclose their grades. (My cousin and I assumed that the other 4% were doing so well, they wanted to brag). Well, it turns out Harvard students have overwhelmingly voted to DISCLOSE their grades. I believe this is a literal metaphor to the 2 different student cultures: Wharton students prefer to leverage each others’ strengths and work together as comrades. Harvard prefers to emulate the competitive nature of natural business world. Both have its merits.
Harvard Business School is physically separated from the rest of their campus, away from the undergrads. Wharton is fully integrated into the undergrad environment - the undergrad business building is right next to their new MBA building, and is sometimes used for space. Different; better is the customer’s (student’s) choice.
Wharton is proud that most of their students live right in the vicinity of the campus. Most other business schools have many commuters. Wharton lubricates their community through … free beer and pizza. It’s a horrible reason to choose this high-class program over others, but the mundane is often profound: The free beer and pizza - every Thursday - helps to congeal busy professionals. It fosters the camaraderie that is truly life-long. It also provides prospective students an opportunity to mingle with 1st and 2nd year students. It’s a safe place for the MBA students to express their diversity: Each night has a theme… ours was Asian (with Asian beer & food sampling)… some nights have a Greek theme, or a Gay theme (where they encourage professors to cross-dress)! Their humor and unpretentiousness is in stark contrast to the Harvard brand image.
Finally, Wharton operates on a Monday-Thursday week… Fridays are off. This allows students to catch up, spend time on extracurricular groups, projects, family, or professional interviews. It’s different than a typical M-F week.
Of course both have a great network of alumni. Wharton - in alignment with their “here for each other” brand impression - stressed how open and willing their alum are. Students and administration repeated this point often. Harvard didn’t mention it at all. It should really go without saying… we know many b-school alum opening doors for each other: But Wharton repeated it, Harvard (proudly) ignored it.
From their student guides to the admissions administration, Wharton gave a consistent and unified brand experience, stressing (repeating) specific value elements. They purposefully positioned themselves differently - and IMHO, better - than their dominant competition, Harvard. After all, the real bucks to be made is not on the tuition … but in their life-long donations. (Wharton’s brand new MBA building was fully funded through alumni contributions).
I’ll be joining my cousin on his other b-school adventures… let’s see how the other top b-schools position themselves:
Have you had similar experiences when you’ve been courted? How is your alum school better than all of these?
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