Building Your Personal Brand by Robin Russell McCasland Dallas TX

Building Your Personal Brand

IABC Houston LuncheonIABC Houston LuncheonJuly 22, 2010

Robin McCasland

What’s Your Personal Brand?What s Your Personal Brand?

• You have distinctive qualities• You have distinctive qualities – Some you know well

Y t li h th– You may not realize you have others

• Recognize what’s inside of you– You’ll develop a personal brand– Better opportunities will come your way

© 2010 Brain Biscuits Strategic Communication. All rights reserved. 2

Five Things To RememberFive Things To Remember

• Be choosy be specific be• Be choosy, be specific, be memorableY i f i d• Your ego is your friend

• Pay attention to what others observe

• Be involved; become part of the ; pclique

• Get inspiration if you need it© 2010 Brain Biscuits Strategic Communication. All rights reserved.

3

Get inspiration if you need it

Be choosyBe choosy.Be specificBe specific.

Be memorable.

Who Are You?

I’m Anita Newjob and I have 12I m Anita Newjob and I have 12 years of experience in communication and marketing. Actually, I do it all. I’ b i k ti d ti i PRI’ve been in marketing, advertising, PR, I’ve been a writer, I can do film editing and photography. I love event planning! I am interested in any work, really…I can do it all. I’m a good editor. I used to work for a healthcare company and before that I was with a autocompany, and before that I was with a auto manufacturer, and I started out in city government.


Could You Be More Specific?Could You Be More Specific?

• In your own company there is a job• In your own company there is a job opening that requires significant corporate

t l i kill d tievent planning skills and creative communication experience – Of the people you could recommend for this

role, would Anita be in the top three? Why or why not?


Anita Tries It Againg

I’m Anita Newjob and I have 12 years ofI m Anita Newjob, and I have 12 years of experience in communication and marketing. I have many testimonials to

bilit t d ti ti lmy ability to produce creative promotional events that generate significant new business for my employers. I have strong writing talent, too, which comes in handy when developing promotional materials. I can develop the creative concepts and implement them withcreative concepts and implement them with targeted promotional communication.


Y E I Y F i dYour Ego Is Your Friend

ConfidenceEgoINFLEXIBLE

Self-EsteemCOCKYNot Self-Aware

EgonomicsDavid Marcum and StevenDavid Marcum and Steven

Smith• Insights into developing the traits that can move individuals and teams to “Level Five” leaders as identified in Good toFive leaders, as identified in Good to Great by Jim Collins

• Signs of not enough vs. too much egoego• Finding the right balance• Improve your effectiveness as a leaderleader

•The same techniques in Egonomics can apply when choosing to maximize your


talents

Contributing vs ShowcasingContributing vs. Showcasing1. Reminding people of your experience -- frequently

S f2. Sharing strong opinions on most topics, regardless of expertise 3. Leading with answers rather than questions4. Demonstrating impatience with othersg p5. Dominating discussions with people who have similar talents6. Micromanaging to be involved in everything7. Thinking you’re the only one who has the necessary expertise 8. Noticing that no one else speaks up when you lead a meeting9. Occupying most of the time in most conversations9. Occupying most of the time in most conversations10. Taking too long to make your point, or repeating it...again...


Pay attention to h t th bwhat others observe

about you.y

Choose Three WordsChoose Three Words• Describe yourself in three words:• Describe yourself in three words:

• How do you think others describe you?

• Ask someone to describe you:


Pick Up On The QueuesPick Up On The Queues• You may think you have a particular expertisey y p p

– Ask yourself why you do or don’t use it

– What are you afraid of?

– You may have natural talent

• Everyone else thinks you’re good– Test it, try it, practice it

R b j t b ’ d t thi d ’t• Remember, just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you’re stuck doing it forever (see next slide)


I don't think most people associate me with Former U.S.

First Lady leeches or how to get them off. But I know how to get them off I'm

First LadyNancy Reagan

how to get them off. I m an expert at it.

What’s Not Necessarily ObviousObvious...

• When you’re tooWhen you re too close to something, you may not see what’s right in frontwhat s right in front of you

P l b i• People observe in you what you can’t always see for

lfyourself


Be involved Join the cliqueBe involved. Join the clique.

Altruism is OverratedAltruism is Overrated• Why belong to professionalWhy belong to professional

organizations?

To network– To network

– To learn and improve yourself

To build your business– To build your business

– To give back to the profession

It’s OK to get something out of the deal• It s OK to get something out of the deal


Individual vs. I di ti i h blIndistinguishable

• Seek opportunities to contributepp

– Volunteer for leadership roles

Professional development organizations– Professional development organizations

– Social/spiritual networks

• Be remembered for what you do best

– Skills you probably enjoy most

• Gain real professional references (not the

“gimmes”)


“gimmes”)

Make Yourself Memorable• People won’t necessarily remember exactly what you

do or say

– They’ll remember that they enjoyed working with you

– They had a positive experience

– They thought you were... y g y

(fill in the blanks)


If you don't know ywhere you're going,

you're probablyyou re probably going to wind up someplace else."

--YogiYogi Berra

Ask Yourself...Ask Yourself...

What have I been asked to teach or demonstrate?• What have I been asked to teach or demonstrate?

• For what things do people rely on me?

• I’ve become a “go-to” person for....

• If someone took my job today, they’d have trouble y j y y

replacing my....

• How do my one-of-a-kind traits work to myHow do my one of a kind traits work to my

advantage?


Acknowledge Your Intuitive SkillSkills

• How do you communicate withy– Adults in general– Peers– Young kids and teens– Your pets (I’m serious)

• What makes you a more effective communicator with one group vs another?with one group vs. another?


Get Inspiration If You Need It

Strengths-Based Leadership

Tom Rath and Barry ConchieConchie

• If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything

• If you focus on people’s weaknesses, they lose confidenceconfidence

• Focus on what makes you great and then emphasize y g pthe heck out of it


It’s Not A CompetitionIt s Not A Competition (well, maybe just a little bit)

• Your “competition” is good, but so are you – so stop thinking too competitivelythinking too competitively– Instead, set yourself apart– No one is exactly like you

• You don’t want every opportunityJ t th th t ll i ht f– Just the ones that are really right for you

– With the right personal brand, you’ll be in the top three


Cement Your Brand• Contribute what distinguishes you most• Pick up on what others observe about you• To be memorable, focus on a few unique traits

Y d ’t h t k d i thi b• You don’t have to keep doing something because you’re good at it

• Your ego is a good thing; work it• Your ego is a good thing; work it• Maximize your professional circles; support them• Self-help guides can be helpful• Self-help guides can be helpful


Great Time to Reinvent; Build Your Brand

• Yeah, times are hard. So what?• New horizon for career opportunities• Ask for what you want

– As long as you can really do it– If you hear “no,” try another avenue

• Keep building your personal brand; you’ll k h it’ kiknow when it’s working


Robin McCaslandRobin@brainbiscuits [email protected]

214-277-9778

Twitter:@robinrox@robinrox

@brainbiscuits

…everything else is just gray matter.SM

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Building Your Personal Brand by Robin Russell McCasland Dallas TX