personal-branding Archives - Page 7 of 41

Bloggy Question 51: I Gave Him that Idea

June 10, 2007 by Liz

His Success Really Belongs to Me

For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week. I offer this bloggy life question. . . .

Marty and Steve were best friends since childhood. They started their first business at age 8 — it was a lemonade stand. By the time they graduated from college, they owned two bicycle shops — a thriving business in the city.

Marty is out front, the cheerful guy that everyone loves . . . he handles sales, marketing, and vendor relations. Steve takes care of the back office, the guy who handles repairs, fulfillment, and the paperwork.

Steve, a certified CPA, has a side business as an accountant. His latest outstanding effort for that business was a marketing program. An image of an accountant on a bicycle made unnanounced appearances on blogs. He gave free tax advice to that blog’s readers for an entire day. The campaign was a hit and an immediate traffic bonus for the blogs that were visited by “Steve’s SuperCyberCycling Tax Man.”

With that win, you thought that everything was booming and wonderful for Marty and Steve.

Today you found out that Marty and Steve have ended their business relationship. Marty is running the bicycle shops. Steve is staying with his accounting practice.

Yesterday in a conversation with you, Marty called Steve a jerk and made sure you understood that the “SuperCyberCycling Tax Man” campaign was Marty’s idea, not Steve’s. It was obvious that Marty was unhappy that he given Steve the benefit of his thoughts and that he wished Steve had not had success in his accounting business.

This was a side of Marty you had never seen. Marty said he was going to blog about his part in making Steve a “cycling success.”

How do you respond?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

How to Recognize a Friend

June 7, 2007 by Liz

Identity and Relationships

Since SOBCon, a lot of conversation has gone about friendship and what it means. Many words and phrases have been used to describe it.

As you read this, I’ll already be on a plane on my way to New York, where I’ll meet friends again — three already in my heart (two I’ve met, one I have not yet); two I’ve talked to on the phone; one I hardly know; and some I’ve not imagined. I’ll miss them all when I head home again.

With those thoughts in my head and my heart, I’m moved to write about how to recognize a friend when you have the luck to meet one.

Friendship isn’t hard to spot.

It’s an action, a feeling, a way of being all at once.

It’s a perception and a reality that is exchanged without speaking.

It’s the comfortable white space between the words in conversation.

It’s the smile in the eyes of someone that says, “We just met, but I know who you are.”

It’s that “come out and play” kind of feeling.

You can recognize a friend, because no matter what happens, with that person you are someone you want to be.

Questions to Get Closer to You: Question 2

May 31, 2007 by Liz

Get Closer to You

This is a series of questions, I don’t know how many. They are the ones I ask when I help folks get closer to their personal identity.

Imagine it’s an ideal world three years from now. You don’t need money, only job satisfaction. What are you doing for a living?

I’ll answer first to get things started.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Bloggy Question 50: The Safety of the Human Race Is Up to YOU!

May 27, 2007 by Liz

Compu-Sphere

For those who come looking for a short, thoughtful read, a blogging life discussion, or a way to gradually ease back into the week. I offer this bloggy life question. . . .

In the spirit of the biosphere projects, a team of reseachers has asked you to join a world-wide program. Each year close to 200,000 people are tested to see whether they are healthy, fit, and stable to withstand a one-year test of an emergency life plan.

The program, which is funded by several nations, is a method of supporting the human species in times of severe threat of attack. A high-security computer system connecting 150,000 locations worldwide via a cloaked and encrypted section of the Internet is being constantly being monitored. The participants who pass the testing are asked to sign up to take a turn at one of the 150,000 remote sites.

The terms of the program are simple. You are asked to live away from civilization for a period of 1-3 years. You may bring one other person with you, provided he or she can pass the testing also. Food is grown in the facillities where you will be living and meals are prepared by the only other human living where you will be. Your bills and financial obligations at your current home will be convered while you are gone. A monthy stipend in your name will be deposited into an account in your name.

You will be allowed to take on an assumed name and profile on the Internet under a cloaked IP. You will not be allowed to reveal who you are to anyone you know or to contact anyone directly during the time you are on the project. People can know you have enlisted in government work — that is the limit to your ability to explain your absence.

When you ask about the terms of confidentiality upon leaving at the end of your proposed stay, the answers your receive are vague and confusing. They seem to say, “We’ll talk about that when the time comes.”

How do you respond?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Questions to Get Closer to Your Brand: Question 1

May 23, 2007 by Liz

Questions to Get Closer to Your Brand

This is a series of questions, I don’t know how many. They are the ones I ask when I help folks get closer to their brand.

When you talk to your friends, what do you talk most about?

I’ll answer first to get things started.

What do you notice about my comment?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

The Finest Way to Introduce Your Brand or Live a Life

May 22, 2007 by Liz

Branding and Relationships

We all have things we do, behaviors, that we do over and over. In many ways those behaviors define who we are. You probably know quite a few about me. I know one or two about you. On their own, most are not positive or negative. For example, the behavoir of mine below can be a strength or point of argument.

I have a behavior pattern of balancing other folks’ ideas. If my husband says, “That’s the reason X and Y don’t belong together. Bad ending for this movie,” I’m likely to say, “Have a little faith. Suspend your disbelief.” If he says, “That’s the reason X and Y will live happily ever after,” I’m likely to say, “Nah, X will get bored and leave Y within the first year.”

Testing, I’m constantly testing. Because we’re always growing, we’re always changing. We need to be aware of patterns in our lives that we know who we are and what people see. If we note our own behaviors, we can be aware of how we impact others. That’s not only a great brand strategy, it’s a great strategy for life as a decent human being. Here’s how to do that.

Identify your behavior patterns. Choose the strongest ones, those that resonant as self-defining. For each of those, follow step 2, if possible. Turning bad habits into good ones — by starting with a paradigm shift; then implementing a new use of that skill — is far easier than eradicating a patterned response.

Define and name the behavior as a strength. I call the pattern above “balancing other folks’ ideas.” That gets me thinking of the pattern as a strength. It also frames the behavior in a way that I might use it effectively — in this case, when ideas NEED balancing — and in words that can explain it. “I’m sorry. I have a habit of unconsciously trying to balance ideas in a discussion. I’ll try to check that. Please go on with what you were saying.”

If a behavior has no redeeming value, be lethal. Name it and define it. Make a plan to replace it with a new behavior. Find out all you can about the behavior. Return to the inventory and review this single behavior against your history, physical responses, feedback worth keeping, positive inputs, and the truth. Be honest about what happens when you get caught in the behavior in question. Make a plan to replace that behavior with a specific, new response — “When someone irritates me in that way, I will now stop; look at my hands; and breathe until I have counted all ten fingers.”

Our relationships with us — mine with me; yours with you — set the pattern for our relationships with other people. If we look to ourselves and our behaviors and find a way to see strengths, if we look at the patterns that hurt us and find a way to replace them, imagine how much more equipped we are to relate to the people we meet. We show up with built in understanding. We’re thoughtful in how we see and treat every other person we know.

Folks see that understanding and thoughtfulness when they look at us. They see that we know ourselves, that we have dealt with our strengths and our weaknesses. That makes us consistent and predictable, even when we’re spontaneous, joyful, and outrageously silly. We have room for ourselves, so it’s likely that we have room for other people as well.

An invitation seen in your actions.

Is there a finer way to introduce your brand? or live a life?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

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