Here is a link to episode 3 of The Story Behind The Stories, which includes my latest film review of The Equalizer 2, a video worth watching for those who like masculine films with a heart for integrity, and a comment on Henry Cavill’s GQ Australia interview about his fears in dating.
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I was walking down a corridor when a woman stepped in front of me and shared her amazement for the depth of my soul. I took her comment as a compliment until she added, “So why don’t you live more like the stories in your book?”
The book she referenced was a series of true life events that I had experienced, which meant I did live like the stories in realtime when I actually lived out those moments. But for some reason our casual meetings had never allowed her to see any of those attributes of mine.
She was convinced that I was a shallow man. At first, I thought it was her fault for never taking time to get to know me. But after pondering the idea, I realized that I was in control of what I presented and withheld.
In that moment, I realized I was the only one in control of my personal brand. It was my responsibility, and the neglecting of it was a choice that could promote the opposite of who I am.
“A personal brand is really a story that highlights your attributes,” says Frank Cutitta, founder of the Center for Global Branding. “This story will help others understand who you are and where you fit into your industry’s or company’s marketplace.”
While many people have created personal brands for themselves via their choices of what is published on Facebook, they really aren’t aware of how the style or imagery represents them. Few people know how to assess their posts, which becomes the foundation of their personal brand or story.
Raynard Jackson, President & CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a D.C. public relations/government affairs firm, who is regularly on CNN, MSNBC, BET, FOX News, and C-SPAN, giving his analysis on subjects from politics, culture, foreign policy, and economics, recently addressed the black community about their personal brand.
“What have Black folks done that causes police to totally undervalue our lives and causes others to feel threatened by our mere presence and immediately feel the need to call the police?”
In a controversial statement, Jackson put the onus of brand on the individuals. He also suggested things that fuel misperceptions can create an artificial reality, including the television shows like Empire, Insecure, and The Quad that showcase and popularize Blacks in very negative roles.
“We glorify the thug life in our music; scantily-clad Black women have become the standard in music videos,” he says. “Put yourself in the shoes of a White person riding public transportation that sees a train full of Black teenagers with their pants hanging halfway down their butts, calling each other n–gers, and constantly grabbing their crotches.”
“Or the police pulling up to a crowded park and hearing loud rap music being played talking about ‘f-ck the police’ or ‘b–ch this’ or ‘b–ch that.’”
“We have almost thirty years of negative images about Blacks throughout every media platform available and now you want to act surprised that people have these negative perceptions about us? Come on, man. Let’s be real.”
“Don’t tell me you are a hoe and then act surprised when I treat you like one. Don’t introduce me to your best friend by saying, ‘this is my b—ch, Jennifer’ and then get mad when I call her a ‘b–ch.’”
“Maybe Whites believe in the old adage that says, ‘when a person shows you who they are, you better believe them.’”
“So, what I am saying to Black folk is pull up your damn pants, stop calling each other n–gers in public and private, stop calling each other b–hes and hoes and thinking these are terms of endearment because they are not.”
The film, television, and music industry is known for focusing in on stereotypical angles of life for any given community to save development time. Breaking away from these misperceptions can be done with a personal brand.
A personal brand matters and happens every time we communicate in business and socially.
Your personal brand will develop your online (and offline) reputation, increase trust in your authority and ability, make you more memorable, and open networking opportunities for your future. Therefore it is worth our time to take responsibility for our personal brand and not leave it to stereotypes or the media.
The following steps will help you take control of your personal brand.
The goal is integrity, to make sure you seem like the same person across all of your social media sites. If you want certain things to remain personal, then adjust your online settings to keep it private. The key is taking responsibility for your image or personal brand, and not leave it as prey to be gobbled up by stereotypes or the sum of misperceptions.
This past week I gave a talk on how creativity fuels innovation, which in turn generates departmental and business success. Several business owners were thrilled to hear more about the steps they need to take in order to compete in this new socially-driven marketplace. Many have heard about disruptive technologies, but the core ingredient to the marketplace disruption process is what I call disruptive creativity.
I’ll lay out how disruptive creativity drives success using the New-Different-Better-More (NDBM) principle below.
The introduction of new products and services only lasts 90 days in today’s society. Once day 91 hits, the item or service is no longer new. It’s therefore the goal of every marketer and salesperson to take advantage of their opportunity window. However, to be successful the product or service must be new.
The definition of “new” gets a little slippery when companies attempt to come out with something that already exists. If the offer is a first for a certain group of people or demographic, the product or service might be considered new regardless of preexisting competition. A safer release would be of a new product or service that can easily be differentiated from the competition based on it being unique, superior, or of greater value.
Offering the same thing as the competition will not drive business growth. By only shifting the color, model, or offering leaves little room to distinguish a company in the noisy marketplace. The product or service must be positioned using something that clearly differentiates it from the competition.
The best type of difference in products or services include an intuitive interface or process; additional or unique features; and, easily obtainable benefits from using the product or service. Clarity can also drive delineation from the competition by using mascots or the endorsements from celebrities and public figures.
Building the better proverbial mousetrap is an age old scenario that has perplexed businesses for decades. The first company to market always gets a greater share of business, but so does the company who finds ways of improving on the product or service. The groundswell of early adopters drives more development monies into businesses, but it’s only the company who determines how to make things better that survives for the long haul.
In today’s society, better must also be disruptive. The goal of every new product or service must be to reinvent how the marketplace will embrace the offering, while displacing the competition. Survival today means changing the playing field to favor the company. In the same way, the company that convinces the client to let them help write the RFP going out for bid will be able to seed the document with requirements that match their strengths.
Buffets have been successful for decades because the hungry person sees them as being far more beneficial than ordering a simple meal. Discount restaurant coupon books also give a great perception of a two-for-one value since most people dine with a friend or loved one. The idea of getting something more from a package or offering grabs the potential customer’s attention.
The “more” can be an increase in value, quantity, or add-on benefits. Many online sellers offer bonus products within a certain ordering time constraint to increase the product’s worth. When the offering includes a how-to book, the “more” can be additional details that brings overt clarity to the reader’s next steps, compared to the competition’s short, high-level book that alludes to the right answers.
The NDBM principles are a direct extension of disruptive creativity in action. By creatively putting NDBM into practice, a business can position itself well within its market and drive away or absorb competitors. The key is making sure each step of the NDBM elements are built creatively and not copied from another business. The company’s style must shine through when presented.
CJ's Corner 