Brand YOU–Images and Sound-Bytes Tool

March 30, 2006 by Liz

Making Images and Sound Bytes

Internalizing your brand is knowing it inside out, being able to talk about it without an extra thought. Use this tool to collect images and sound-bytes for the key concepts of your brand that you want people to remember.

ME as a Leader

Pick a hero, real or fictional–living or not–someone you admire and aspire to be like. Choose one from history, your favorite superhero, or just make one up. Describe your hero here.

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Make a List of Sound Bytes

Imagine that leader preparing to take a team on a mission. Make a list of what traits and strategies that leader uses. Write them down as a list of sound bytes.

A true leader

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ME as a _____________________________

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ME as a _____________________________

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–ME “Liz” Strauss

Images & Sound-Bytes of a Brand YOU Leader

March 29, 2006 by Liz

What’s Your Big Idea?

Knowing your Big Idea , showing what you believe, and capitalizing on strengths, making a personal branding brochure have brought you 99% there. LetÃ¢â¬â¢s talk about how you might explain your personal brand using images and sound-bytes that people will remember.

Suppose youÃ¢â¬â¢re at a networking event and your conversation partner asks your opinion of what makes a true leader. Could you answer in a few words that show you knowÃ¢â¬âbecause you are one?

Picture Yourself as a Leader

Leadership is at the heart of every personal brand. You’ll be asked questions about your idea of leadership throughout your entire working career. You’ll want your own answer–one that is as unique as you, one that expresses what only you bring as a leader. That means the definition needs to come from YOU. You need a leadership brand that is as personal as developing your own logo might be.

Start with an Image of a Personal Hero

Pick a hero, real or fictional–living or not–someone you admire and aspire to be like. Choose one from history, your favorite superhero, or just make one up. Now imagine that leader on a quest–something larger than life–Marco Polo about to travel to the Far East, Joan of Arc about to lead an army. You get the idea.

Make a List of Sound Bytes

Picture that leader preparing to a take team on a mission. Make a list of what traits and strategies that leader uses. Write them down as a list of sound bytes. My list looks something like this.

A true leader
1. knows where the team is going and why the team is going there.
2. plans the operation before setting out.
3. explains the plan to the team–the team might need to improvise along the way.
4. delegates to each membersÃ¢â¬â¢ strengths and skills so that every member feels a vital part of the missionÃ¢â¬â¢s success.
5. supports the team and gets the job done, without a thought of glory.
6. lights the way.

So What Was With the Picture?

I used the picture to see what a leader would do. Now the picture helps me remember the sound bytes on the list. Even better, when a question comes out of the blue, I can not only answer, I draw a picture of leadership for whomever I’m talking to. Folks might not remember all of the sound bytes, but the picture of my idea of leadership stays in their head, long after I’ve gone away.

That picture serves in another way too. I’ve internalized my answer so my conversation partner gets a chance to respond and be a pert of the conversation too–which I’ve found is always a nice gesture.

The 3 Big Ideas of Your Brand

Spend some time thinking about your brand. Make mental images of the traits you want people to understand and gather your sound bytes. Then you’ll be ready to draw anyone a picture of why you are a unique and valuable asset that they should be learning more about.

It’s not hard to do and it only works in your favor. You can promote your brand, your business, your blog the very same way. You could promote me too. Imagine that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

BusinessWeekOnline Agrees

March 24, 2006 by Liz

I just got this in my BusinessWeekonline email.

It seems that Carmine Gallo, corporate presentation coach agrees. Click the screenshot to reach his presentation tips.

Thank you, Carmine. The facts are the facts. 🙂

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Brand YOU–You Are What They See

March 24, 2006 by Liz

Covers Sell Books

People say, Don’t judge a book by its cover. People judge books by covers. Covers sell books. We only have so much time to look at books, and the cover is what gets our attention. This photo lets you know how important a cover can be. As a publisher, I’d edit that old advice to say, Judge a book by its cover, but also judge the book builder too.

A book cover makes a promise about what you will find when you open the book.

Your image works the same way for you.

What’s Your Cover?

What people see about you, your first impression, your image, is like the book cover to your personal brand. Your first impression literally makes a mental image. Your image makes a silent promise about who you are and what people can count on when they get to know you. That mental image lasts. Pictures stay longer than words.

When there’s a question about what to believe, your image might just tip the balance. That’s a powerful reason to be sure that the big idea of your brand carries through into all things that people see around you. Here’s a checklist that might help you make sure your image supports your personal brand.
For the sake of this checklist let’s imagine that you want to be known as one who is always on top of information.

Your personal image. Do you dress the part? Do the clothes you wear and your haircut look pulled together? Do you sit and stand like one who is always ready to take notes? Have you got the right energy level? Do you carry the tools you need? Notebook, pens, list of phone extensions to use when outside your office? When you’re asked, can you look things up and find them?
Your workspace. Is your workspace organized? Is your computer desktop organized too? Have you put the things you use most often closest to where you use them? Have you placed the things people are likely to ask for in a place where you can find them quickly? When you stand at your doorway, does your space look like the workspace of one who handles information well?
Your skills. Have you mastered information software programs, such as spreadsheets and databases that might be useful in your job? Do you know more than usual references that people might use to answer questions that come up?

Once you start thinking in this direction, you’ll start to see that everything you do is an opportunity to enhance the big idea of your personal brand. It’s not so hard to develop habits that form around your big idea. That’s the key learning to live your brand.

People do judge books by the promise of the cover. Make a promise they will value. One that you will keep–and they’ll notice it for sure.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Critical Skill 1: Strategic Deep Thinking

March 23, 2006 by Liz

No More Faster, Faster

We live in fast food culture, where now and yesterday seem to be the timing of every answer. “Faster, Faster,” was great when I was at the carnival as a child, but I’m not sure it’s the best answer for making decisions about my business or my future. I’m all for doing strategic deep thinking about important decisions, but our environment doesn’t do much to support or even to teach how to think deeply or strategically.

We sort everything into top ten lists. We find out the what of things and sometimes the how, but hardly ever the why. We ask for things done, but not necessarily done right. We stop looking as soon as we find the first answer. These are not the traits of a deep, strategic thinkers.

Thinking Deeper

Thinking deeply and strategically isn’t popular, but it is valuable. The folks who can do it are prized and sought after. They are also incredibly secure. How do they get to the thoughts that are past the surface? Here are some of the things that strategic thinkers do. These are all things anyone can do.

Go past the first answer. When you’re faced with a problem, once you find answer 1, keep looking for answers 2, 3, and 4.
Get a friend to find the holes in your thinking. Pick someone who wasn’t involved in finding the solution. Anyone involved in the thinking can’t see the flaws in it.
Set your thinking on the back burner and revisit it in an hour or so. This is the same concept as letting yourself sleep on it. Research has proved that it works. Tell yourself that you’re going to put the idea in your subconscious to work on it. I always touch the back of my head when I do this. When I return to the problem later, I find new information to work with.
Try on your thinking as you try on your clothes. Remember, we’re outside of the box here. This might sound silly at first, but it works. Take an inventory of how the idea feels in your gut, in your fingers, and in your toes. If something doesn’t feel right, explore what that is. You’d be surprised how much knowledge you carry in the cells outside of your brain.
Discount the obvious, and look for the invisible. Ask yourself outright, “What am I missing here?” When you find it, adjust your old solution to cover the new information too.
If someone disagrees with your solution, include his or her thinking as part of the problem. This IS one case where two ideas can work to become more than the whole. Keep your own goal, but add the new ones to the mix. You’ll find the new solution stronger than the one you originally reached.

These are just a few ways to take your thinking deeper than what I call the “skin of the pudding.” I like to think deeply, because I like to know that my answer will stand when I have to defend it.

It might not be faster, faster, but it’s worth it to know that the answer will last and last.

What parts of your brand could use some strategic, deep thinking?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Brand YOU–What’s the BIG IDEA?

March 22, 2006 by Liz

What’s Your Big Idea?

Now that you know how to capitalize on your strengths and make your weaknesses irrelevant, you can work on the big idea of your personal brand.
WhatÃ¢â¬â¢s the big idea? People talk about the big idea of someoneÃ¢â¬â¢s personal brand quite often really. YouÃ¢â¬â¢ve probably even made big idea statements yourself. They sound like these.

Call Mario. He can do anything.
That Vanessa, sheÃ¢â¬â¢s so sweet.
If you want it organized, AnneÃ¢â¬â¢s the one.
MartinÃ¢â¬â¢s a whiz. HeÃ¢â¬â¢ll have this figured out in minutes.
I donÃ¢â¬â¢t know about Cat. She canÃ¢â¬â¢t find anything. Look at her desk.

ThereÃ¢â¬â¢s no question that folks who make such statements have a big idea about the people theyÃ¢â¬â¢re describing. The descriptions might be accurate, or they might not be. The point is that the people talking believe them. The people being described have communicated those traits strongly over time.

The big idea of your personal brand is the most powerful point of your unique value. It’s the one sentence that folks can believe in it and can share with others easily. As I said earlier

Everything about you contributes to your personal brandÃ¢â¬âeverything you say or donÃ¢â¬â¢t say, what you wear, your tone of voice, the look of your space, the look on your face, the way you shake hands. The quality of your work is an immense part of your brand, but not, by any means, all of it. Even there it matters whether itÃ¢â¬â¢s on time, done with friendliness, with teamwork, with innovation and flexibility.

I Promise

Now is the time to decide the answer to this question

If you were known for one attribute, skill, or competency what would you want it to be?

ItÃ¢â¬â¢s a tough question, I know. However once you decide, you will have found your big ideaÃ¢â¬âthe focus of your personal brand. That will be what everyone sees when they see you, your work, your signature. ItÃ¢â¬â¢s the promise that you stand for. Think of your big idea as a promise that you know you will always keep.

–ME “Liz” Strauss