Paul Copcutt - Just My Toonies Worth

I'm bored! - Could you survive without technology?

"I'm bored" were two words that were not uttered once on our recent family vacation at Camp Wanakita.  In today's hyper connected world this was perhaps even a little more unusual as our children had deemed the week a 'No Technology' zone.  No I-pod's, Laptops or Blackberry's.

It certainly was not a case of 'Survivor' but we survived!  In fact we thrived and perhaps even lived a little more. I will admit it was hard at times, not every family at the camp had decided the same course. But overall it was a really enjoyable and fun experience, not to feel tied to an e-mail or phone call. We also got to try new activities and sports, that perhaps in other situations, we may not have got off the sun lounger or drag ourselves away from the screen to try.

We even got up every morning to take a swim in the lake and earned our Polar Bear Dip badge! And yes I did do it even though the photo suggests I am wrapped up and dry, I was responsible for getting the hot chocolate and coffee each day!

Technology is our world and for future generations and is a key tool in the communication and management of your personal brand. But there are certainly times and opportunities to not use it and have a greater impact and reward.

What can you be doing this summer to do that? Do you plan to try a tech no-go zone on your next vacation?

 

 

What is holding you back from your personal brand?

Through my wife's business I have had the opportunity to be connected to Keith Kochner at Mentorfish.com for the last few months and have found his teaching exactly what we need in the 21st century. Lots of great content, he is prolific with new insights and learnings - even for someone like me who tends to explore and read a lot! 

Keith is coming to Toronto next week to hold a live evening event so you can get a full experience of what he has to offer. Cost is just covering running costs of the event, but I know you will get way more value - hope to see you there. 

100 Toonies Worth

With consistency and progression comes change. As you spend more time consistently delivering on what you say your brand is and find your career progressing in the right direction, you are going to reach a point where new challenges and opportunities arise. New skills are developed and new ways to communicate your uniqueness present themselves. 

This week see's the 100th edition of the Tuesday Toonie weekly e-tip, which I feel is quite a milestone. Thank you for reading, commenting and recommending to others for the last 2 years. 

It is also a great time to announce some small changes to the format and delivery of this weekly resource. When we started the Tuesday Toonie the rise of Facebook and Twitter was really starting to gain traction and people subscribing to news and blog feeds was rising. Now this weekly Tuesday Toonie is only being read 10-20% of the time by people via the e-zine delivery method - the rest of the time you are reading it or getting to it via social media or directly at the blog. 

This does not make the content any less valuable but with our inundated in boxes and busy lives it does beg the question about sending it out in full format in an e-zine rather than a quick mailing, linking to the blog for the full content. So going forward the Tuesday Toonie is going to be a 21 second or less read. Enough for you to maybe stop and think for a moment about your career and if you want to understand more then go to the blog to get more on that weeks topic.  

We will be continuing with the monthly Inukshuk e-zine that delves deeper in to the subject of career management and personal leadership branding and provide in there links to all the previous months weekly Tuesday Toonies for anyone you might have missed. We also continue to blog and post other very latest links and resources via social media - especially our Facebook page and my LinkedIn updates, or you may just prefer to be made aware of the Tuesday Toonie via one of these methods - so if you have not done so please connect with us at;

www.facebook.com/personalbrand and http://ca.linkedin.com/in/paulcopcutt 

Thank you again for reading and we look forward to continuing to serve you. 

Cancer is personal, so it's part of my brand

"You're not alone, in fact this type of cancer is the fastest growing type of oral cancer in men under 55, who do not smoke and are not heavy drinkers"

That word "cancer" immediately causes a heightened level of awareness as well as obvious concern.

Last October after a great summer vacation with my family in Jamaica and what I thought was a viral lump in my neck gland had seemed to go away and come back, I finally went to see my family doctor.

Within 72 hours I had most medical exams and tests you could imagine for this and was told that nothing appeared sinister and that I was being referred to an Ear, Nose, Throat Specialist. After two appointments with him and two inconclusive biopsies, he felt it was better to refer me to a head/neck colleague.

The appointment with this Dr came within 5 days (I figured not a good sign) and just a few days before Christmas last year, he sat down with me and very calmly and with much care said "I'm sorry, but I am 95% certain this is HPV cancer."

The week between Christmas and New Year the results of his biopsy came back and he confirmed that the lump in the lymph node was the secondary site of a head/neck cancer and that I was going to be referred to the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton for next steps. As you can imagine my mind went in to overdrive - all the negative, worse case scenarios as well as positive and even humorous takes on the whole situation.

The early January meetings with a round robin of Dr's resulted in mixed courses of action; surgery, immediate radiation, etc but the senior Dr wanted to take a little more time to see if the primary source could be located. He won out the day and after a left hand side tonsillectomy it was confirmed the tonsil was the primary source AND that it was HPV (Human Papilloma Virus). Believe it or not I was actually quite excited for a couple of reasons. Having lost my step mother to a cancer where they were never able to find the primary source and therefore treat it effectively, with me this meant we knew what we were dealing with. Secondly through the power of Google I was becoming quite well informed about HPV cancers in men, various treatment approaches, clinical trials - prognosis and success rates were encouragingly high.

After the surgery, a course of radiation and chemo treatments were recommended and at the beginning of March, I embarked on the first of three chemo and the first of 35 consecutive weekday radiation treatments. The treatments are now concluded and I am awaiting further tests to determine levels of treatment success and next steps.

Overall the whole process was probably better than was first laid out to me, side effects and the severe burning (like extreme sunburn outside and inside the whole neck throat area) have quite quickly subsided. Although I need to put back on some weight and muscle tone, my levels of energy are improving daily and I am back to eating almost normally.

But what I have also discovered on this journey so far, are a number of far more impactful things;

1. Most people, that I have come across, who are diagnosed with cancer ask a question of themselves along these lines - "If this was it, am I going to be happy tomorrow doing what I am doing today?" - for me this was probably in part one of the easiest questions to answer because I love what I do - helping people realise the impact of personal branding. I am going to be re-designing my business model in a number of areas over the coming weeks and months and priorities for some things are going to less and for others more (you will be reading more on all this in the blog over the coming months), but personal branding will still be at the centre.

2. You're not alone - everyone you speak to has been touched either directly or indirectly by cancer and have stories and words of encouragement to share. Do not be afraid to reach out and ask for perspective and insight from others.

3. I am very grateful and blessed to be surrounded by a loving and supportive family, fantastic network of friends and colleagues and many more I hardly knew but who have become more to me through this experience.

4. There is always someone who has it way worse than you, it may not make easier to bear, but it puts it all in perspective. You can find much strength from others who face the same challenge, there is a 'club' to which you belong and immediately you have a new set of cheerleaders.

5. Kids especially can help that perspective, we were very upfront from the beginning with our two about the whole situation, not hiding facts or conversations from them. They have been amazing and the card that my daughter gave to me within days of knowing what was happening says it all for me "Be happy and healthy - I will always love you" - I will be reading that in my father of the bride speech in 20 years (or hopefully longer!).

I spent a lot of time considering whether this type of post or topic has a place in a blog that has always had a business bias, but the more I realise what it is I offer, the more it made sense.

In the re-worked words of Larry Winget - "They call it PERSONAL branding for a reason" - cancer is very personal, but its part of my brand - thanks for reading.

Branding a hotel in Las Vegas

Certainly many people know of the Bellagio fountains, enjoy the show.......

 

Would you like chips with that?

 
So my first ever visit to Las Vegas has come to an end, three positive and negative reflections;

Positives

1. There is certainly not a shortage of visual stimulation, bright lights, shows, even the old game of people watching - many at no cost! Its interesting and often fun.
2. The city and those working in the tourist industry know how to 'sell' Vegas, the customer service was good and people friendly and helpful, you certainly feel Welcome to Las Vegas
3. One of the cleanest North American cities I have visited, enough that it was noticeable.

Negatives

1. The visual stimulation can eventually be overload, you almost wish for a serene lake, group of trees, clean 'real' air (with no smoke) and peace and quiet.
2. Seeing somebody slumped over a slot machine at 5 am in the morning and evidently having been there all night seems sad to me.
3. There is more to life than gambling and excess alcohol. Not being a party pooper by any means but lets balance a bit!

 

The Ultimate City of Promotion

 
In my presentation yesterday at the Promotional Product Professionals International Conference, one of the challenges that promotional product professionals face, especially with access to global supply, is that many are able to source the same products at similar prices. So when competing in the market how do they differentiate? The usual answers for many facing similar challenges are:

• Drop the price my reducing margins or offer discount plans
• Quicker turnaround by holding inventory or faster or free delivery
• Try and get the latest product first and milk it for less and less time

The problem with this approach is that there will always be someone beating you or prepared to do better. This is why personal branding was such a topic of interest, helping the promotional product professional identify their own unique skills and strengths and leveraging those to be more successful.

In a city like Las Vegas, where the conference was held, you can witness the slippery slope of 'one up manship' ;

• Unlimited buffets where you can eat more and more for less and less
• Gambler membership programs with club access, rewards and incentives that all seem the same
• Latest or Retro celebrity shows and events that are more extravagant, longer, more frequent, but as I witnessed last night I can get for anything from 20-70% off the ticket price.

They are all chasing a slice of the same size pie, but the relationship and connection is all superficial, not good for long term brand value.

Is that how you want your personal brand to be viewed?

 

 

 

 

 

Goals are your guiding light

 

One of my key goals this year is to do more speaking across North America and beyond as I believe that 2011 is a year many people will be ready to take control of their careers and lives more than ever before, personal branding can help them do that. So this week I am in Las Vegas and getting an opportunity to speak at one of the huge conferences that are held here and get to see a city that I have never experienced before.

That key goal of speaking more came about as part of my annual review process, in December I do three important things that get me ready for the next year;

1. I take two days away from my business as a review and planning retreat. The objective is to take some time to look at what has gone on in the year, compare it to other years past, but more importantly see how I did against my plan that I drew up the year before. It also gives me an opportunity to look at the work I did and ask the following;

a. What did I enjoy doing this year?

i) Why was that?

ii) Do I want to do more of that next year?

iii) How can I find more work like this?

b. What was more of an effort this year?

i) Why was that?

ii) What could I have done to change that?

iii) Do I want to be doing less of this next year?

c. What was a good fit for the business at the right level and can do again next year?

 

2. I meet for 1-2 days with some close business colleagues in a type of mastermind group setting and we review each others businesses and plans, offer ideas, critique and some accountability.

This is a very powerful exercise, because it really sets my business on a desired path from the start of the new year.

3. The third thing is to make sure I take the holiday season off as much as possible, to spend time with my family, recharge, but also to reflect on that review process and double check that it is still relevant come the new year.

Well my passion for personal branding remains strong, I really love what I do and what it can do for others. So going forward in 2011 I am looking to do the following:

• More opportunities to deliver keynotes and workshops to corporations, associations and conferences around the world so that more people become aware of the importance of personal branding. Over the last year I have worked with a number of corporations including Research in Motion, Scotiabank and Enbridge, spoken at many different associations and conferences and further details can be obtained at my speaking website www.paulcopcutt.com
• Help more people who are interested in the subject of personal branding and want some assistance with the process. To do this I am consciously reducing the number of one on one clients that I work with, which whilst rewarding limit the number I can reach in any given time, and establishing more collaborative group programs in association with a number of associates.
• Have various types of self directed programs that mean more people can tap in to the personal branding process and not let time or means restrict their access. These will be available in various formats.

Much of my work over the last few years has involved working with women and moving forward that focus is going to be even more, so the primary groups that I will be working with are women professionals, executives and business owners, the teams they lead and the corporations that hire them.

If you would like to know more, please contact me directly and we can set up a time to discuss further.

I hope that your own planning and review process helps you remain excited about what you do or identify something new that you are passionate about and want to get involved in.

Wishing you a successful, healthy and happy new year.

Is Your Personal Brand Ready for 2011?

2010 A YEAR OF FEAR?

In my business 2010 has for me been a good year, on par with 2009, which was particularly pleasing as 2009 was my best since starting Square Peg over 7 years ago. But what has been even more fantastic this year has been seeing my wife Keri develop in to a very capable and successful business owner and leader. Last week I was so proud as she entered in to qualification to be a Regional Vice President for Arbonne, a skin care and wellness company - from nothing, just 16 months ago, she will be responsible next year for a sales operation that will likely generate over $1 million.

I would say that a lot of her success has been due to finding what went and worked well for her in the early stages, set some new goals and then really being focused and going for it, it is amazing not just what she has achieved personally but also in helping a number of other women start to realise their own business success. She even got me looking after myself better and using skincare on a regular basis, I have to admit the products work great!

(BY THE WAY - QUICK ADVERTISEMENT! - Stuck for those last minute gift ideas? Check out the Arbonne site by clicking here and then contact Keri directly (keri@kericopcutt.com) quoting Square Peg and she will give you 35% off your order or she can tell you about the other great offers she has).

So how has your 2010 stacked up, is it a year that you can celebrate about, like Keri, or is it a year you would rather see the back of? Either way you need to take the time to wrap up the year and then be ready to embrace 2011.

2011 YOUR BEST YEAR EVER

I firmly believe that 2011 is going to be a year full of fantastic opportunities for those who are ready and open to being the best personal brands they can be. In fact I am so excited that I am going to be running a very special program starting just before the holiday break that will help you identify the good things about 2010 that can set you up for a fantastic 2011.

The "Review Your Year with No Fear" program is going to delivered virtually via e-mail and blog FREE! as my gift to you - no charge, no hidden extras, no small print, yours to take advantage of and also pass on to anyone else you feel might benefit.

There is going to be a optional 3 month follow up coaching program starting on January 1st 2011 "Get Your Year into Action", open to a limited number of people, which will take the work you do with the earlier program and set some objectives, goals and actions to make 2011 your best year ever.

Details of both programs will be coming out shortly, to be on that announcement send an e-mail with "Best Year Ever" in the subject line to office@squarepegsolution.com

 What kind of year do you see 2011 shaping up to be? Take a moment to add your toonies worth below.

 

 

Where does the buck stop when it comes to brand experience?

Our family has just returned from a relaxing and enjoyable vacation in Jamaica, a country I had never visited before and we were able to experience some really fun and unique moments on the island as well as really just switch off and unwind.

Obviously I still had my 'branding hat' on and it was interesting to observe that the staff at our resort were generally not typical of what I expected based on my previous perceptions of Jamaica and the hotel write up.

We had gone to a number of independent review sites and as usual the resort had a mixture of reviews good and bad. But I beleive what we really experienced was total lack of leadership from those running the resort and just management. Management of time, resources and people, but no-one being empowered to the point of delivering a really positive brand experience for us of the resort.

Except two consistent people - one our chambermaid. She was what I expected, her brand attributes were friendly, fun and flexible to our requests and this was from someone earning US$50 a week! The other was the young mother responsible for running the Kids Club - her brand attributes were energetic, enthusiastic and entrepreneurial - she tripled her weekly salary just from us with the offer of babysitting and other services.

Yes it is the responsibility of the individual to deliver on their personal brand, which is what these two had decided to do, but it is also the responsibility of the leadership to do the same and that was sadly lacking.

Take a moment to add your toonies worth