Following a dinner best described as highbrow surf-and-turf, William Arruda closed out the first day of our conference with a pitch for the value of personal branding. The scope of his program sounds a little exhausting–frankly–but he makes a compelling case for its usefulness.
The alliterative process includes three steps:
* Extract. Start by unearthing your unique promise of value–how is what you offer different from those with similar interests and experience? When we connect our passion with what we do, says Arruda, we’re unstoppable.
* Express. Build a personal media plan to heighten your visibility with those who can make you successful. Be clear about who you are, and who you’re not.
* Exude. Convey a consistent message in every aspect of your life, from your appearance to the design of your office to the briefcase you carry. Everything sends a little message about your brand.
I can’t argue with Arruda’s premise that personal branding–done well–has the potential for a great payoff. I absolutely agree with him. But I wonder about the effort it takes to stay on message 24/7. Despite the fact that it’s about being authentic and true to yourself, the execution sounds so deliberate, almost artificial.
What do you think?
I agree with you. Part of my personal brand is being authentic. Self-consciously consistent people annoy me. But then again, maybe that’s just part of my authentic yet carefully constructed contrarian brand. Maybe my refusal to be consistent is, in itself, a kind of consistency. My bag isn’t SUPPOSED to match my website, which isn’t SUPPOSED to match my lipstick. You just can’t win. I tend to run away from people who are always expressing their value. And if these people are also building a small media empire to express their value, I try to avoid ever meeting them in the first place.
Hey Kelly. I’ve been doing a lot of what William advises for a long time. He has some fantastic ideas. But I worry that taking consistency to the nth degree might trip me up. And maybe, like you, that’s because my brand is more contrarian.
Seems to me that if you’re really embracing whatever quality in yourself is truly authentic as well as differentiating, it wouldn’t take too much effort to make it part of your personal brand and “wear” it consistently. But then, I haven’t quite figured out what my own brand is, so… I’ll have to get back to you on that, Christian. ;]
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