personal branding – The Story Co.

May

Tower Talks

Wow, that was fun! I was thrilled to be the inaugural speaker for Tower Talks – the brainchild of Matt Geiger, Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications at Harvard Developments.

The event was open to any of Harvard’s downtown tenants, and what a great way to care for your tenants by bringing them knowledge and inspiration about the topics they care about! Many thanks to Matt and his helpful team for making the event effortless and fun (generally, when things seem effortless, you know someone put in a lot of work)!

Sign-up for the event was brisk right from the start. I had a feeling it was going to be something special, and it was.

We dove into what it means to be a purpose-driven leader, exploring how many leaders want to fulfill their potential, cultivate high performance in their teams, and be the best version of themselves. Understanding how to actually do that can feel daunting!

But, like most things, we can get there if we take it step by step.

We started with understanding what it takes to build a practical road map to become a values-based leader in business and life. How do we remove the obstacles that might prevent us from having the impact we know we can have?

We got down to it! Discovering our personal values and what they would be like in our everyday lives if we started living them right now.

Sharing all kinds of practical tips and stories on how to integrate your personal work purpose with the purpose of the business or organization you work for, starting right where you are today (yes, that is a bit of a theme that you can get started right now to be a purpose-driven leader)!

It was an uplifting session because the leaders in the room were fully present and engaged.

If a keynote is one-sided, it falls flat, no matter how good it is. Participants make it three-dimensional, memorable, and meaningful. I am so thankful to every leader in that room for enhancing the experience for everyone.

And as the session ended, there was a buzz.

It is motivating to have a clear idea of how you can live and lead on purpose and have the impact and influence you were meant to have, breathing new life into your work and meaning into your life.

The world of work is changing on purpose – are you ready to live in yours?

We welcome the opportunity to talk to and work with leaders and their teams, so you can live your story on purpose. Email janet@thestoryco.ca for more information.

Mar

Personal Branding is Not Bragging

Once a term like personal branding becomes a “thing” it becomes a misunderstood “thing”.

The question I hear most is, “Isn’t personal branding just another form of bragging?” And in our insta-happy, Facebook perfect, selfie world that could certainly be true.

But don’t be fooled.

True personal branding could not be further from bragging.

Personal branding is about finding the best way for you to help others. It is about becoming more of you, not a new you, not an improved you, or a thinner you. It is not you in a red power suit and Louboutins.

It’s about the courage to look deep and say, “This is my set of uncompromising values, this is what I do best, this is what I stand for and stand up for. This is how I am different and like no one else. This is how I can best help you.”

That is powerful, transformative stuff.

Ready to create your personal brand? Click here

Feb

How to Be a Brand Within a Brand

As a marketer I look for gaps where opportunities lurk. It took me 20 years to find a glaring gap.

As a brand strategist, (although the most endearing title I was given was brand therapist!) I have built many strong, insightful and actionable brand strategies. Most met or exceeded the goals and objectives set.

And those are the best of times!!!

Some failed miserably.

That broke my heart.

Why would some thrive and some flop? The work was sound. Sometimes it was resource based, or commitment, or leadership. Maybe they just weren’t ready, or was that an excuse not an answer. I had this gnawing feeling that there was something else at play.

I dug deep into research, read, and listened to podcast after podcast. I surveyed clients, and talked to business owners. It wasn’t until I came across the work being done on personal branding that it all came together. The missing link: unless you understand your own personal value proposition, you can’t further along the corporate value proposition.

Unless you can confidently stand up and say, “here is what I do best and this is why you need me on this project” and conversely be able to say, “this is not what I do best and I will likely not be successful on this project.” Personal branding is not for the faint of heart and has nothing to do with the car you drive. It has everything to do with the engine that drives you forward and the values of your personal dashboard .

Challenging times can result in businesses wanting to be all things to all people. Suddenly that means employees have to be a jack-of-all-trades too. Blending in becomes a much safer option than standing out; and as we all know, safe is never where success thrives.

However, when people connect and stand up for their unique personal attributes it is a game-changer. Engagement is real. Morale skyrockets, strategies that flopped became strategies that sail.

Finding, defining, and communicating your personal brand will transform you, your work, and how others see you.

Want to create your personal brand? Click here.