Personal Branding

I was reading through our Scriptures early this morning and came across this passage where, King David, writing many, many years ago, says these words to the Almighty God – "You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous. How well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb."

I read it and re-read it and thought over those words, "Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous." This is beginning to be so much truer each day as science unveils new findings in the complexities of human beings. As we see the uniqueness of each person's DNA and to recognize that each one is different, yet uniquely put together. There aren't two individuals the same and yet, with God's fingerprints on us, we are divinely created.

That made me think that each one of us, even on this call, is a unique person. We often don't see that uniqueness in ourselves for various reasons, whether we think it's not good to look at those things or talk about it or recognize it or whether it is out of humility or being self-deprecating. Yet, as we look at the world which we live in, we find that it is of utmost importance that somehow, we are able to let other people know that we are unique. Ultimately it is what makes you different that makes you stand out from a crowd and makes you hirable in an organization.

 

Randi Bussin puts it well. She says, "Personal branding is about identifying and then communicating what makes you unique and relevant and differentiated for your target audience so that you can reach your career and/or business goals. If you understand your strengths, skills, passions and values, you can use this information to separate yourself from your competitors and really stand out."

How true! You are in an office with a particular job responsibility because the company recognizes that you have the skill to deliver better than anybody else. That skill needs to be visible.

Tom Peters puts it so well. He was the one who really began to talk about branding way back in 1997; the first article that actually came out called 'The Brand Called You' published in Fast Company magazine. He challenges us to take a piece of paper and write down in 15-words-or-less, what it is that makes you unique. He says, and it's a real challenge, "If your answer wouldn't light up the eyes of a prospective client or command a vote of confidence from a satisfied past client, or  - worst of all- if it doesn't grab you, then you've got a big problem. It's time to give some serious thought and even more serious effort to imagining and developing yourself as a brand." You've got to have something that would light up people's eyes, create confidence in people or even grab you and say, "I'm unique. I can do this better than anybody can."

So he says, "How do you go about branding yourself? Start by identifying the qualities or characteristics that make you distinctive from your competitors. See what are the features that you have, that are not part of somebody else's features. Look at yourself and ask yourself – what are things that are unique about you? Do you deliver your work on time, every time? Are you a dependable person? Do you give reliable service that meets strategic needs? Do you anticipate and solve problems before they become crises? Your client saves money and headaches just by having you on the team. Is that true? Do you always complete your projects within the allotted budget? Forget about your job title. Ask yourself: What do I do that adds remarkable, measurable, distinguished, distinctive value? Forget your job description. Ask yourself: What do I do that I am most proud of? Most of all, forget about the corporate ladder. Ask yourself: What have I accomplished that I can unabashedly brag about? Finally, one more question: What do I want to be famous for?"

He continues, "Once you have that, then you've got to start making it visible. We all know the cliché: Don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle." When you see and hear the sizzle coming through the restaurant, everybody wants to get that steak. It's also a principle that every corporate brand understands implicitly. You've got to have visibility in the things that you can do.

How do you get that visibility? Dorie Clark wrote an article for Harvard Business Review, "How to Promote Yourself Without Looking Like a Jerk." She gave some points that really brought out exactly what one needs to do.

1.     You've got to understand the whole value of self-promotion. It is a win-win situation for everybody. Sometimes we think, especially from an Asian culture, that self-promotion is bad. Yet, people cannot totally optimize all that you bring to the table if they don't know what it is. So, to a certain extent, you need to self-promote, to let other people know what you can do uniquely.

2.     Focus on the facts. Let people know exactly what you can do, but also don't just be general about it. Say that you're passionate about social media, that you've been blogging for a decade, or that you have X number of Twitter followers. That's fine. But don't call yourself a 'social media expert.'

3.     Demonstrate your expertise with stories. If you're in a group of people and the topic is about 'investing' and you've had something to do with it, bring that in.

4.     Ensure that those stories are relevant. Don't just bring them up out-of-the-blue. People don't like that.

5.     Couch it in humility. Don't express it in such a way that you put people down. You have to be careful about how you promote yourself.

Why is personal branding important? That's a question that we all can answer ourselves.

·       When you go through personal branding, you create self-awareness. You, yourself, understand what you bring to the table. It's a good exercise every now and then to follow what Tom Peters said. In fact, I would recommend that you read that article. We then begin to understand what is the WOW factor for myself.

·       It also helps you clarify and reach your goals,

·       Helps you bring visibility and presence.

·       It's also about differentiation: What makes you different from everybody else?

·       It helps you create wealth

·       Offers resilience.

All these were pointed out by Randi Bussin. But here's the thing that really grabbed me. If you and I are made so beautifully and wonderfully by God, then that's something that should not be put down, but should be actually enjoyed. When we enjoy it, we need to be able to let others enjoy it as well. There's a part of you that God has invested in you and me that is unique, different from everybody else. That's what gives us our ability to be somebody in this world. Among billions of people, you and I are different and unique and we bring that uniqueness to the table, to the companies that we work in. it's incumbent upon us to be able to talk about that differentiation.

So, my challenge for you and me today is to really just say, "Are we willing to talk about what makes us unique? Do we know what makes us unique? Do we really know what we can be proud of in our own lives? What is it that we want to be famous for or known for when all is said and done? If you don't know those things, maybe it's time you tried to figure it out, because if you don't know it, then others will not know it as well. Personal branding is important because we are uniquely made. God made us wonderfully and uniquely. That's a uniqueness that we need to pass on to others as well. Let it be visible so that it can be well used.

Can I pray with you? Almighty God, bless each one on this call. Help us to see ourselves as unique individuals, not just one among a mass of people, but uniquely made with a unique set of skills that makes us different from each other. Help us to showcase that uniqueness so that we are better used in the areas that you have placed us in. I pray your blessing on each one on this call. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

•       Psalm 139:13-15 NLT

•       Randi Bussin, "What is Personal Branding and Why is it so important." http://www.aspireforsuccess.com/what-branding-is.php

•       Tom Peters, "The Brand Called You," http://www.fastcompany.com/28905/brand-called-you

•       Dorie Clark, "How to promote yourself without looking like a jerk." https://hbr.org/2014/12/how-to-promote-yourself-without-looking-like-a-jerk