Chapter Two
Be Real
KNOW
Snap 1
Be the Real Deal:
Be YOU!
All strong brands are founded in authenticity. Branding is not spin.
Done right, branding is genuine. Unique. Real. It’s not packaging or creating a false image for the outside world. Being YOU is empowering, energizing, attractive, and satisfying. It is the driver that helps you deliver value to your employer. It is the key to successful branding.
Oscar Wilde once quipped, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” To truly be yourself you must know who you are, where you want to go, and what drives you. You must also understand others’ perceptions of you. Only after deep introspection and regular pursuit of feedback can you gain true knowledge of yourself and true clarity about your reputation.
That clarity—that authentic comfort in your own skin—builds a confidence that is magnetic to others. We all know people at work who radiate authenticity and confidence, and we like to be around them. They are natural leaders; they make us feel better and do better.
Sometimes being yourself is as simple as taking your passions to work. If you leave what you love at the door, you’re incomplete. People sense that you’re inauthentic, not because you’re playing a role, but because you’re not fully you.
Deb worked with a client who was a calm, quiet leader. He felt his career had leveled off because he was not seen as an energetic driver. Yet in his off-time, he was an expert marathon runner, downhill skier, and motorcycle racer. And in every sport, he was an intense and deliberate planner. For example, when planning his marathons, he determined exactly how and when to train, and plotted every nuance of the course—when to sprint, when to rest, when to take water breaks. He completed every one of the 14 marathons in which he competed—and finished some in fewer than three hours! He and Deb made a plan to weave his marathon running into his leadership style. His personal mantra “Set the pace to win the race” became a professional persona that connected his marathon methodology to his business ROI. What some had misinterpreted as a plodding management style was soon appreciated by teams and leadership as a clearly valuable, trusted asset. Score!
Anne Morrow Lindberg said, “The most exhausting thing you can do is to be inauthentic.” Use your authentic self—your values, passions, and vision—to guide your career and lead your team. You’ll become a magnetic “must-have” resource.
Shakespeare wrote, “To thine own self be true.” Are you ready to let people know who you really are?
DARE
Stop being who you think people want you to be. Just BE. Really. Try it. You are SO worth it!
Snap 2
Focus on the Future:
Be Goal Oriented
Executive brand management starts with focused aspiration.
As an experienced executive, you start every project with a goal. But have you established the goals for your career? And we aren’t talking about the commitments your company asks you to write each year!
Just as a business plan guides your company, your career goals give your brand direction. Without goals, you lack the focus necessary to turn an unknown brand into a clear winner, and a solid job history into a stellar career.
We often speak with executives whose default goal is to be VP, become partner, or make it to the C-suite. But when they think long and hard about it, they find that’s often not what they’re really after.
What do you want? What do you really want?
The first step in executive brand management is to start at the beginning by visualizing the end. Once you know where you want to go, you can identify milestones that can get you there. And you can turn those milestones into actionable steps that you can take every day—moving you closer and closer to your ultimate goal.
William started his company, Reach, with the singular goal of putting personal branding on the map. With that goal in mind, he steadfastly focused on the milestone that would make it happen: Connect 10 million people, in 10 years, to the Reach personal branding methodology.
To enable his goal he planned key action items:
• A non-stop global public speaking schedule
• Building the Reach certification program (transforming coaches and HR executives into Reach personal branding experts)
• Raising the program’s visibility (by joining several career and executive coaching networking groups, delivering keynotes at career conferences, writing Personal Branding for Coaches, and more)
William’s focus on a clear milestone and specific actions made it easy to say no to opportunities (however enticing) that would detour him from his goals; for example, when he was offered several corporate branding consulting gigs, he immediately referred them to others in his network so he could continue to attract and train a community of personal branding professionals who would rapidly extend his voice and accelerate his goal. Today, there are hundreds of Reach-certified Personal Branding Strategists in 31 countries, and they have been instrumental in putting Reach Personal Branding on the map.
Like William, when you identify your goals; keep them fresh and visceral; and engage in daily, deliberate brand management, even the most audacious dreams can be achieved.
Do you know where you’re going? Are your daily decisions direct routes to goals, or off-brand detours to distraction?
DO
Document your goals; they are your treasure map—the guide to your richly satisfying future. Post them where you’ll see them, and read them every day. Your goals are gold!
Snap 3
Passion Is for the Bedroom and the Boardroom:
Be Passionate!
Passion is fuel. Fill ’er up!
When
