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Brand YOU–What’s the BIG IDEA?

March 22, 2006 by Liz

What’s Your Big Idea?

Personal Branding logo

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.
What’s the big idea? People talk about the big idea of someone’s personal brand quite often really. You’ve probably even made big idea statements yourself. They sound like these.

  • Call Mario. He can do anything.
  • That Vanessa, she’s so sweet.
  • If you want it organized, Anne’s the one.
  • Martin’s a whiz. He’ll have this figured out in minutes.
  • I don’t know about Cat. She can’t find anything. Look at her desk.

There’s no question that folks who make such statements have a big idea about the people they’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 brand–everything you say or don’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 it’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?

It’s a tough question, I know. However once you decide, you will have found your big idea–the focus of your personal brand. That will be what everyone sees when they see you, your work, your signature. It’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

Related articles

Filed Under: Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Motivation, Personal Branding, SS - Brand YOU, Strategy/Analysis, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, big_idea, personal_branding, self-awareness, self-promotion, strengths_and_weaknesses

Personal Branding: Strengths Assessment Tool

March 21, 2006 by Liz

Strength and Weakness Assessment

Personal Branding logo

Here’s a tool to help you assess what you have to work with.

Capitalizing on My Strengths

  • What am I asked to teach others?
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  • What responsibilities are delegated to me?
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  • What kinds of meetings and tasks am I asked to lead?
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  • What special skills do I have that others rely on?
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  • What parts of my job would be hardest to fill?
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  • What traits make me a valuable member of the team?
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  • What are the things that only I can do?
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How does each strength meet a need in the marketplace?

Strength _________________________________________________________

Means that ________________________________________________________

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Strength _________________________________________________________

Means that ________________________________________________________

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Strength _________________________________________________________

Means that ________________________________________________________

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Strength _________________________________________________________

Means that ________________________________________________________

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Strength _________________________________________________________

Means that ________________________________________________________

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Strength _________________________________________________________

Means that ________________________________________________________

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Making My Weaknesses Irrelevant

  • What weaknesses do I have that correspond to my strengths?
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  • Who might I talk to that has a strength where I have a weakness?
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  • When might I do the following?
  • Volunteer for jobs that play to my strengths.

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    Find opportunities to learn about shoring up my weaknesses.

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    Find people to work with who have strengths that balance my weaknesses.

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    Remind myself to check tasks for what strengths and weaknesses I’ll be using.

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My Personal Brand

With what I already know about capitalizing on my strengths and weaknesses, I can say this about my personal brand.

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This is one kind of assessment tool you might use to get ideas from your head onto the page where you can look at them to make decisions about what to keep and what goes away.

Like any great city builder, you want your personal brand set on a foundation of concrete, not on sand. You can’t promote yourself, your brand, or your business, until you know who you are. If you take the time to think through these questions you’ll be farther than most folks are.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles
Building a Personal Brand–YOU
Brand YOU–Capitalize on Your Strengths
Brand YOU–Making Your Weaknesses Irrelevant

Filed Under: Checklists, Marketing /Sales / Social Media, Personal Branding, Productivity, SS - Brand YOU, Successful Blog Tagged With: bc, blog_promotion, business, personal_branding, promotion, resume_planning, self-awareness, self-promotion, strengths_and_weaknesses

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